<p>Thanks for the link, gcf101. I thought that it was an interesting article … especially since it echoed some of my own thoughts on the cynical side of why colleges decide to become test-optional. :)</p>
<p>It also raised some good points about awarding merit aid in a test-optional process. I was delighted to see two of my all-time favorite admissions honchos quoted in the story, Deb Shaver of Smith and Bob Massa of Dickinson. (Well, technically, Bob Massa is now a former admissions honcho. He recently left a long and distinguished admissions career to become VP for Communications at Lafayette.)</p>
<p>In this article ("The Other Side of Test Optional’ "), Deb Shaver suggests that it doesn’t make sense to exclude test scores from the decision-making process but then require them for merit scholarships. </p>
<p>Massa, however, counters that he finds nothing hypocritical in expecting test scores from merit-aid contenders, pointing out that the main idea of merit aid is to snatch top candidates away from competitor colleges. Why on earth would we award a non-need scholarship to someone who is not going to get funds from a similar institution? asks Massa. </p>
<p>I certainly see Deb’s side, but I’m with Bob on this one (sorry, Deb). I think that it’s fine to insist on test scores as a quid pro quo for merit bucks. </p>
<p>BUT … I also think that test-optional colleges need to clearly publicize their aid-award policies. Are test scores mandatory for merit-aid consideration? If not, will those who do submit strong test results still have an edge over those who don’t submit any scores? </p>
<p>Given how hard it is to extract information about so many varying application policies without having an advanced degree in Scavenger Hunting, it does worry me that students who apply to test-optional colleges without submitting test scores may have no clue that they could be torpedoing their shot at merit money. </p>
<p>Of course, if their scores are low, they might not be in the running for these scholarships anyway, but sometimes “low” scores can be in the eye of the beholder, so many students (and their parents) don’t have a realistic sense of where their test results will put them in the merit-aid arms race, and colleges are often vague about that when asked. Admittedly, this vagueness about who is really on the short list for merit aid (and for how much) is true at most merit-aid colleges, but it seems especially true at test-optional schools. </p>
<p>So students who are on the fence about whether to send–or not send–their test scores to test-optional colleges have yet another caveat emptor sitution to consider. </p>
<p>(Yikes … I used two Latin phrases in this post, despite the fact that I recently told my 12-year-old son that I was happy he had decided to take Spanish in school in lieu of Latin. Well, I took three years of Latin myself, and you’ve just seen pretty much all I can remember 
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