Will colleges still be test optional when I apply?

Many colleges were already test-optional before the pandemic. However, the pandemic accelerated the test-optional movement and many colleges responded by piloting test-optional admissions for two to three years. Now the question is will colleges keep the test-optional policy in place.

Some colleges, like MIT and University of Tennessee, resumed requiring SAT/ACT scores for the 2022-23 admissions cycle. Purdue and the University of Georgia announced that they will require SAT/ACT scores beginning with the 2023-24 admissions cycle. Other schools, such as Cornell and UNC, have not announced beyond the 2023-24 admission season. Virginia Tech and UVA have both committed to staying test-optional through the 2024-25 admission season. Still other schools will allow test-optional applications with a minimum GPA. For example, Georgia State University will be test-optional for students with a 3.4+ GPA.

Because there is so much variation in the admissions requirements between colleges, my advice to class of 2025 is to plan to take the SAT or ACT. It’s better to have a score and not need it, then need a score and not have one. If standardized testing is not your strength, there will definitely be a lot of test-optional colleges to choose from. However, if you want to keep your options open, plan to prepare for and take the SAT or ACT. You do not have to send the scores in if your program is test optional, and the test-makers will not inform colleges of your exam scores.

Should I still send SAT or ACT scores, even if a college is test-optional? Will it “look bad” if I don’t send SAT/ACT scores?

Many colleges do not publish the data comparing percent accepted of applicants that submitted scores compared to percent accepted that did not submit scores. For schools that did publish that data, there were higher acceptance rates for applications with SAT/ACT scores. For example, for the 2021-22 admission cycle for UVA, 42% of applicants opted not to submit SAT/ACT scores. However, only 26% of acceptance offers were given to the group of students that chose not to submit scores. Similarly, Boston College admitted 25% of applicants with test scores but only 10% of applicants without SAT or ACT scores.

The bottom line is that nearly everything is optional when it comes to college applications. Students don’t have to participate in sports. They don’t have to join clubs or play an instrument. They don’t have to push themselves to take the fourth year of a language or AP Calculus. However, all of these things contribute to the college application. You should think of SAT/ACT scores in context of your strengths and weaknesses and what your application will look like as a whole. If standardized tests show a strength, it’s worth putting time into preparing and doing well on the SAT or ACT, even if a school is test-optional. If your score is competitive, you should send it to test-optional programs.

Should I take the paper SAT in 2023, the digital SAT in 2024, or the ACT?

All of them! The SAT is changing from the current paper-and-pencil version to the new digital version in the beginning of 2024. That means, for students in the class of 2025, you will have three options: current version of the SAT, new digital version of the SAT, or ACT. While it is nice to have options, this can be confusing. Colleges are accepting both the paper and the digital SAT as separate tests. That means if you take the paper exam and do well on it, you can submit that as your application score. If your score on the paper SAT is worse than your score on the digital SAT, you can send your digital score to schools instead! If your ACT is highest, you can send that score to colleges. Colleges will not be informed of any scores you do not submit, so that should not be a concern. The concepts tested on the digital SAT are similar to the concepts tested on the paper SAT, so I recommend students prepare for the paper SAT this fall before transitioning to focus on the digital SAT before the March exam. To learn more information about the transition to digital, you can look at Collegeboard’s digital suite page here: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital