<p>Does anyone know if the acceptance rate for students that do not submit sat scores is higher or lower then the reported by sat optional schools.</p>
<p>school A is sat optional with an acceptance rate of 50% - students that submit sat scores have an acceptance rate of 60% those that do not only have an acceptance tate of 35%. Is this information available anywhere or would I need to rely on information from the school?</p>
<p>That's a great question and I would be surprised if schools released that information because it would imply a preference.</p>
<p>bump--- anyone?</p>
<p>your question is confusing, tom. Perhaps you could rephrase it.</p>
<p>Bates College was one of the pioneers, I believe, in SAT-optional admissions. They have studied their own classes to determine whether SAT submitters vs. non-submitters differ in their college success and they have determined that they do not.</p>
<p>They have also commented on admit rates (but this data is more than 10 years old, I believe.
[quote]
The percentage of students choosing the non-submission option has remained fairly constant over the years, totaling about 28% of all applicants. The non-submitters are admitted at a lower rate than submitters, about 19%, compared to 30-35% for all students, but enroll at a 4-5% higher rate than submitters. So Bates' freshman class is typically comprised of 25% non-submitters.
[/quote]
<a href="http://www.fairtest.org/univ/Bates.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.fairtest.org/univ/Bates.htm</a></p>
<p>jmmom- thank you. The quote you provided answers the question for Bates. Non submitters of SAT scores are admitted at a lower rate. I have a feeling that a lower rate of admission exists at all SAT optional schools.</p>
<p>But you would have to look deeply into the research, tom, to fully understand. (also that quote is from 1995; lots of time has gone by and patterns may have changed). There is a lot there - who tends not to submit etc. etc. The non-submitters are likely to have the "less stellar" SATs, we can assume. Among the non-submitters, there is probably a higher proportion of "less stellar" other stats (GPA...). So:</p>
<p>I think (and I will give you my single data point) that if the student is strong in all other regards and chooses not to submit, it will not be a "point against." Single data point: S applied to JHU as a transfer (very low acceptance rate). He is a top student who has never performed on standardized tests in a manner representative of his hs grades, college GPA, recomms etc. etc. He was admitted. </p>
<p>If you/your kid are the right profile for an SAT-optional school, the conventional wisdom is: submit your scores if they exceed the published average; don't submit if they don't. Reason? the school wants that published average to rise, so if you're going to help it, submit. If you're not, don't and you still have a good chance of admission.</p>