Things you need to know about Test-Optional Admissions
There has been growing internal agreement in universities’ admission offices that high school grades predict better than the standardised tests like SAT and ACT and that you do not necessarily need SAT/ ACT to make a fair decision in admission. With a paradigm shift in evaluating students in a more holistic manner, rather than on scores, and the Covid-disruption to classes and tests is surely another pulling factor, more and more universities or colleges have gone Test-Optional or test flexible.
But first, what is Test-Optional and Test-Flexible?
Put in simplest terms, Test-Optional means you can submit other standardised tests other than SAT or ACT, including the International Baccalaureate (IB) results which count equally as the result of SAT. Test-Flexible, on the other hand, means you do not necessarily need to submit the standardised test results while still be admitted to a college. There are also universities or colleges which turn Test-Blind, which literally means that even if you submit your standardised test scores, the admission officers will turn a blind eye to it.
The next question you may ask is: if universities turn Test-Flexible or even Test-Blind, then what do they look for in the applicant?
While test scores have been seen to play a huge, if not the only, role in college admission, there are different other resources that either quantitatively or holistically reflect the kind of learner you are, and demonstrate how you would fit for this university.
Resources that give such rich information are i. your high school record/ transcripts, ii. your secondary school teacher’s recommendation, iii. the admission essay or the supplementary essays that you are submitting during your college application. All these are more than sufficient for admission officers to make decisions over your application.
Of course, depending on the schools or particular degrees you are applying for, there may be additional requirements on top of these documents that you are submitting. For example, if you are applying to the School of Engineering or School of Life Science, they may be interested in knowing the types of projects related to the disciplines that you work on during your years at the secondary school, or some written essays in class that were graded by your school teachers. Another example is performing Arts, you may need to submit a portfolio or attend an audition as part of your application.
It is, therefore, extremely important for you to read through carefully the requirements of the universities or colleges you are applying for and make sure you do not overlook any of the requirements!
Finally, if you are applying for any kind of financial aid from the universities, including scholarships, note that there is a chance that test scores are still looked at as a reference for financial aid applications that are merit-based since test scores are usually seen as the ‘fair’ or ‘objective’ way (which I do not agree with) to sort out the best candidates.
My advice to international students:
- First: Check out whether your dream university or college adopts a test-optional/ test-flexible policy during your application year. (You can check out this link compiled together by Sarah Loring de Garcia.
- You can choose to still apply and submit your standardised test scores if you are an all-time high achiever in tests
- If you usually just perform average in tests:
1. Work to build your continuous learning portfolio.
2. Tell yourself that every assignment or school test counts and work hard.
3. Brainstorm on which school teacher knows you best and can write a good recommendation letter for you.
4. Practise writing a good personal essay that is persuasive enough to show why you are the best fit for your dream school!
Some of the content above is notes taken from the College Essay Guy podcast with Bob Schaeffer — Public Education Director of FairTest: the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, a non-profit that advocates for better forms of student assessment. Check out this link for the original podcast!
