Test Optional: Easy in or alternative path?

The many faces of Test Optional
Colleges are putting less emphasis on standardized test scores, but that doesn’t mean the same thing for every college. The New York Times found that while Hampshire College announced it would go test-blind, not looking at scores at all, Pitzer College allowed students to decide for themselves if their tests were reviewed.

Many colleges have gone the route of Pitzer College, and have adopted Test Optional admission policies, but Test Optional opens the admission process to more questions. How do students applying without test scores compete with the students who do? Do students who don’t submit test scores still qualify for merit aid? We’re finding that while there is a trend for Test Optional colleges to require students to submit an alternative to the test scores, what it is that students have to submit varies.

Test-flexible colleges like Brandeis University still require test scores, but the student can choose Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate subject tests in place of the SAT or ACT. Other Test Optional colleges may require students to complete extended applications,
like Cornell College, which requires students submitting without test scores to show their motivation to succeed and their fit with the college through short-answer questions and personal portfolios.

High school performance also becomes more important in the decision process for students who don’t submit test scores—with a brighter spotlight on GPA. For a few Test Optional colleges, like George Mason University, only students with a 3.5 grade-point average and class rank in the top 20 percent can submit applications without test scores.

What does Test Optional mean for merit aid?
U.S. News reports that “even test-optional schools may require scores to dole out their merit aid awards and decide class placement,” but students who submit applications sans test scores to Cornell College are eligible for merit aid based on their GPAs and personal portfolios.

The rule of thumb on test-optional and merit aid is, there is no rule of thumb. If good financial aid packages are important to your students, they will have to speak with admission officers about the policies of the individual colleges they are applying to before deciding to apply Test Optional.

Is this change worth the extra work?
Reviewing test optional applications is a more time intensive process for admission officers. While it takes half a second to look at test scores, reading short answer questions and reviewing personal portfolios takes some time.

Test optional doesn’t necessarily make college admission easier for anyone involved. Easy isn’t what Test Optional is about. Test Optional is about providing an alternative path for students who don’t want the ACT or the SAT to speak for them.

While Test Optional has been criticized for further complicating the admission process, the benefits to students and colleges are worth the extra work.

Test Optional opens doors for students who don’t perform as well on standardized testing, but who are academically competitive and motivated to put together a strong application for admission. It’s worth the extra work for colleges to accept an intellectually diverse group of students. It’s worth the extra work for students who strongly feel that they can perform better in college than their test scores would indicate, and for those students who choose not to participate in standardized testing by principle.