Trying to decide about submitting test scores or going test optional. How much, if any, did it seem that going test optional affected applicants?
My son has a good (excellent) GPA, but his test scores so far aren’t on par.
Test optional means test optional. Some schools want scores for merit scholarships, but otherwise he should be fine.
1 Like
Same dilemma here with D22. She has a decent ACT score but it isn’t as strong as her GPA/rigor. I got the impression from admissions threads last cycle that students applying TO with an otherwise strong transcript and good ECs/recs/essay did not feel disadvantaged… but I have no idea how going TO affects chances for merit money.
Truth is you’ll never know. My daughter had a 32 SS. She submitted everywhere but Rice. She was turned down there. Would it have been different if she submitted ? Doubtful.
At UNC she submitted. Rejected. Emory and W&M waitlisted. Had a 3.98/4.5.
Just impossible to know.
The post is related to Northeastern. They don’t say what % of admitted is enrolled did so as TO but you can be assured it’s high as they do acknowledge over half the class applied that way for those in 2021 HS class.
I think if you are close to their range use and if not, don’t and apply anyway. Wesleyan is considered elite. More than 40% of enrollees didn’t submit.
If your test score is in the top 75th percentile, submit. If it’s above the 50th percentile, it’s probably still fine to submit, but it’s impact will be less. Personally, if the school is test optional, I wouldn’t submit a score below the 75th percentile unless the student is hooked.
2 Likes
Thanks. It’s so hard to know because even though they say test optional, is it really behind closed doors. I guess really it comes down to seeing what his august SAT shakes out as
My eldest (ACT 35, GPA 4.14) was deferred, then waitlisted, then ultimately denied. He landed where he was meant to be, although I do think NEU would have been awesome for him. I think I am just wondering what we can do for his brother to make things swing in his favor. They have similar EC, and he has a better GPA. The test score isn’t quite there though
That seems odd. Unless that 4.14 was out of 5.0, I’m pretty shocked that Northeastern didn’t want him. I would imagine that a GPA like that would have been top 5th% if it had been out of 4.4 or 4.5. Even if it had been out of 5.0, wouldn’t that have put your son in the top 10th% of his class? And a 35 on the ACT is as good as you need for any school!
I do share your impression that in this year’s cycle, schools that only went test optional due to the pandemic will assume that the applicant’s scores were not good, rather than assume that the applicant didn’t have access to testing, and aside from hooks and spikes, favor applicants who confirm their GPA with a standardized test score.
I was told when my kid was early in 11th grade that some kids are better-suited to the SAT, some to the ACT, and that the PSAT can be seen as a potential preview of how they might do on the SAT. Based upon this, I had my kid take a practice ACT from the ACT website. He felt better about that practice ACT (I think he got a 30 or better on it, and it had been pulled down by an initially low science score, which he was sure that he could raise just by doing more practice sections). He didn’t really need to study for the two language sections, since he’d been something of a reader, and since we speak grammatically correct English in the home. He studied hard for the math using Best ACT Math Books Ever series, and we downloaded legally released, legally available retired ACTs for him to do math and science sections for practice. He wound up with a 36 (34 math, 36 everything else) on the one shot he got at the test last September. Afterwards, he said that had he had Calculus before the test, he would have done better on the math section. His PSAT hadn’t been even commendation level, let alone anything near National Merit semifinalist.
So I’m wondering if your son could possibly raise his ACT or SAT score with some prep, or the help of an excellent tutor. Then his scores would be consistent with his GPA. My kids said that the most valuable thing that one can do to improve one’s record late in the game is to prep for the standardized test and raise one’s s score.
But assuming your kid has had it with test prep, and the scores are what they are, I would not submit a sub 50th% score for that school, unless your child is a recruited athlete or an URM. I would definitely submit if the score is 75% or above for that school. The question is whether one should submit if the score is 50-75% for that school. You have to realize that the range listed includes that of URMs and recruited athletes. That means that for an unhooked, unspiked applicant, the “average” accepted student’s score (and GPA) is probably really close to that 75th% number, or above.
1 Like
I do share your impression that in this year’s cycle, schools that only went test optional due to the pandemic will assume that the applicant’s scores were not good, rather than assume that the applicant didn’t have access to testing, and aside from hooks and spikes, favor applicants who confirm their GPA with a standardized test score.
I too share this impression although I do hope they acknowledge that the access to testing has still been pretty spotty across the country. D22 was able to sit for one ACT test in April (administered state wide to all juniors), and registered to take it again in June since she’d have time to prep after AP tests. Her seat for the June test was eventually cancelled, and the only test center available in the state that she could then re-register for in July was cancelled about 2 weeks before test day (in a town that is located 1.5 hours away).
At this point she has no interest in trying to take it again when school will be well underway as she’s taking a heavy course load and will also be busy with sports, other ECs, and college apps. I appreciate that every school on her list is TO this year, I just hope that they consider the fact that there were limited opportunities to take multiple bites at the apple. Some kids are tippy top test takers and get 34+ first sitting but there are a fair number of students who do wind up with great scores after multiple sittings. She did not want to play the game and is willing to take her chances TO. I guess we’ll see what happens!
There are kids going Ivy rejected at Northeastern. Getting in there is truly an accomplishment.
Yes, it’s really become much more competitive. In my area, the kids who were good students (very good GPA with rigor, very good SATs, nice in-school ECs, but not likely to get into an Ivy) are getting into Northeastern. It still feels like a T50 school from what I can see of this year’s acceptances.
My daughter’s friend got into NE with lower stats than that, so who knows? Maybe they were low on applicants from our state? Another got into UNC-CH but rejected by UTK’s direct admit nursing program. It was a weird year, and I think 2022 will be similar.
2 Likes
Absolutely being from MA hurts us. And my kids school specifically has a % of kids who do get in each year.
NEU has become very competitive. It’s definitely harder to get in to, especially when 
isn’t a non issue.
Do you have any data supporting this view? I am not sure it accurately reflects how schools are viewing test optional.
I agree with @parentologist anecdotally but I don’t think it’s correct. I only looked up a few schools but if more than 40% of Wesleyan and nearly 60% of Trinity and Connecticut College kids got in sans test score one would assume #s are similar everywhere. So they are letting them in for sure !!
1 Like
My son applied TO last fall because he wasn’t able to take the SAT. He was accepted but he applied ED and he was also a NMCS so admissions could take an educated guess at what his SAT might have been.
2 Likes