Hey guys! Can someone please give me a good list of competitive SAT Optional Schools?!!!
Thank you all!
The only one I know is Wake Forest .
Mount Holyoke has a very rigorous curriculum but is test optional.
Wake Forest, Bowdoin, I think Bryn Mawr is as well. But yeah I’d follow the links above.
I am a big proponent of test optional schools in general but more judgement will be placed on the transcript and high school than if tests were submitted. I think the schools are reasonably upfront about this.
It is a mistake to assume that test optional schools are “easier” to get into, at least the selective test optional schools. We visited Bowdoin last summer and the admissions officer explained that the profile of the typical student not submitting test scores is exceptionaly strong
@Wje9164be Both Bowdoin and Bates have predictive models that rely heavily on certain courses and the stats of the high school.
I was adamant with my son about taking four years of lab science and AP Calc in high school because of this.
Wesleyan went test optional last year.
“We visited Bowdoin last year and the admissions officer explained that the profile of the typical student not submitting test scores is exceptionally strong.”
This may be true by the standard of Bowdoin’s particular priorities, but by traditional academic standards, it may not be. USNWR profiled a student accepted at Bowdoin last year with a 1650/2400 SAT (presumably not submitted) and a 3.3 GPA.
@merc81 Harvard admitted at least 32 students last year with between a 2.5 - 3.25 GPA. 10% of enrolled students had below a 30 ACT.
The Bowdoin kid was an AA football recruit who was referred to Bowdoin by the Harvard coach. Hardly the average Bowdoin applicant.
“The Bowdoin kid was an AA football recruit who was referred to Bowdoin by the Harvard coach.”
I won’t take a strong stance on this, but, prima facie, does this indicate anything about someone’s academic qualifications, which are purported to be the baseline criterion for admission to most schools?
In terms of what is typical, I view every college somewhat openly, since what I know about them is often dependent on what I read about them.
My point was only that the Bowdoin AO said that the typical non-submitting applicant was exceptionally strong. As the football recruit with a 1650/3.3 was in no way a typical applicant his assertion stands. As BatesParent2019 pointed out, the Ivies take plenty of kids with stats far below the average. The fact that Harvard admitted a kid with SAT scores in the 400-499 range on each of the subtests and a few with GPAs below 3.0 doesn’t negate the fact that it’s an exceptionally hard place to get into.
There is no way of knowing from the CDS that the person who scored 400-499 on CR is the same person who scored 400-499 on the math.
Well, the obvious point is that Ivies, and everyone else, admit half the class with stats below average 
. One should assume, however, that the students that were admitted to Harvard with a <3.25 GPA had at least one incredible hook.
“the Bowdoin AO said”
I think my underlying point relates to the relationship between what some colleges project to the public (i.e., that it is always academics first and foremost) and what is actually the case. From USNWR in this example to Daniel Golden and Rachel Toor in their books, independent observers have often told a story that differs markedly from that communicated by some admissions departments. Nevertheless, you are right to imply that I shouldn’t consider a single example – an example, for that matter, for which I do not have all the facts – to be proof of any larger point.
@skieurope Yes of course like the kid from Bowdoin noone is disputing the hook point.
When it was first posted it was omitted the Bowdoin kid was a sought after recruit with a GPA higher than 2% of Harvard’s class and much higher than 1% of Harvard’s class.
Yes. Perhaps I should have phrased it differently. I would assume it was 3 different kids and that their other scores were higher.
Yup, just like the Bowdoin kid!
@sue22 Bowdoin must have higher standards than Harvard if they will take 16 kids as low as 2.5 and Bowdoin stops at 3.3.