I am thinking about Wake Forest, and I heard that it is optional to send in standardized test scores. I have a 3.9 UW and a 4.5 Weighted, and I have pretty good E.C.'s. What would it take to be able to get into Wake Forest w/o sending in your standardized test scores? And does anyone know of anyone or heard anything about the people who get accepted without standardized test scores? Thanks!
I was accepted last year without my scores! They really are test OPTIONAL. if you want to send them, great. if not, i dont think it hurts your application. If they are high i would send them to just add a little something extra to you app, but I know plenty of people who didnt send them
Tons of people are admitted every year without SAT scores. They won’t look down on you for not submitting your scores.
I was admitted ED this year without sending in my test scores. I was really hesitant on not submitting them because it just feels super weird not sending them in. I really put an emphasis on my ec and opened myself as much as possible in my essays. Good luck!
Can you please give a little info about your app?
I would be interested in hearing form those admitted to the school without scores if they were full pay or not. My impression is that score optional allows some schools to admit students with lower scores without suffering the consequences of looking like they are less competitive now than in the past. The result is that they increase the number of full pay students while also increasing their scores because those who have low scores simply don’t send them. So, if you are describing your situation, can you also tell us if you are full pay or are requested financial aid? It is definitely a great option!
My daughter was admitted ED without submitting her test scores and is a current freshman. The rest of her application was very strong and she decided the test scores were not a good indication of her ability. There have been many longitudinal studies regarding test scores and academic success at the college level. The true accurate indicator is your work over 4 years. The kind of student you are in high school will in all likely hood continue through out college. In other words someone who tests very well but has an average transcript will be an average student. Your work ethic over 4 years is more of an indicator than any given Saturday for a few hours. Wake chose to follow these studies. They also keep an eye on those admitted without test scores and those with. There is no difference what so ever in their performance. Therefore admissions is not looking for full vs financial need but quality of the applicant.
Wake Forest has been a pioneer in the test-optional wave. Their admissions blog is full of references to the research @Barbie4 mentioned and is fascinating reading. Wake has plenty of students willing to pay to go there, they don’t need to play games to get tuition money. What being test-optional allows them to do is admit kids with strong academic records, great ECs, but weak test scores, without hurting their overall competitiveness (since so many people look only at rankings such as US News & World Report). It takes more effort to be test optional, but Wake’s results prove it can work. A complete list of test-optional schools can be found at http://www.fairtest.org/university/optional. The list is over 800 schools, including some public universities.
Schools are also graded on their graduation rates, which would be impacted if the effect of going test-optional was to admit a whole bunch of less-qualified students just to get their money. Wake is looking for qualified students, but understanding that a standardized test may not be the best measure for every student.
Great comments by @InigoMontoya; I’d also add that one of the things people often don’t realize is that even as a test-optional school, WFU requests the scores after a student enrolls in order to submit them for ranking by US News and World Report-an organization strikingly involved with the SAT/ACT folks… They require a certain percentage of all students’ scores in order to be considered for ranking. I think it’s a bit of nasty business by them, but… c’est la vie. Thus, when you see average SAT scores at WFU they actually DO include the scores of non-submitters (last time I heard ~90% of non-submitters end up giving their scores afterwards to Wake). Also, @lostaccount I think that you would find a larger correlation between lower income folks/poorer performing schools and lower scores than vice-versa so I’m not sure that the possible tuition game you suggested WFU might be looking for would be useful.not saying that it does not need money because, if you look at Wake compared to other Top-25 schools, it is comparably broke. Hope that helps and does not confuse.