What I’m saying is the more positive data you have the better your shot. If all you have is not positive for a particular school, then the test may be your only hope. So many top schools have a high % of TO enrollees, some over 50% that I’d assume you have to be a stud otherwise with the increased # of applicants.
I’m saying the test may be the tool needed to get over the finish line or even get considered. Not that it’s a panacea. But it won’t hurt and unless the school is test blind, if there were impact it would be positive.
I expect the hs class of 22 will be similarly competitive to ‘21 bcuz we will see a lot of gap years again. The difference will be that schools may have (or have not) figured out TO. Top schools over enrolled this year. I’d expect admit rates to slip this year. Just my hypothesis.
I disagree on this. I think colleges are going to get tougher on gap years and will not hold a bunch of spots open for kids that are not coming.
I expect Guidance Counselors and parents/applicants to get smarter about not falling for the “test optional” bait that schools use to spike their application numbers when these same schools are not getting past transcripts for most of these marginal candidates. I expect application numbers to drop as applicants stop wasting their time on schools where they have no chance.
I also think that test optional candidates are going to stand out because unlike the class of 2021, almost every applicant will have sat for the tests and the stronger candidates will provide scores.
Since almost definitionally, the legacies, school affiliate candidates, and athletes are borderline acceptances or they wouldn’t have had to use their special status, I think it is reasonable to assume they are more likely to apply test optional.
I certainly have an open mind if you want to make the case that legacy or athlete candidates are stronger than the rest of the admit pool at top universities.
Edit: This link is for a whitepaper that quantifies as much as possible how much weaker LDC candidates are than the core admitted pool at Harvard.
There was talk about the SAT/ACT profile of the kids who took it late last year and over the past few months on Reddit and among advisors . The perception was that the students who did take the SAT in late 2020/2021 were stronger - it shifted the curve - and reported scores were higher. The average SAT scores and ranges seem to have shifted to a more competitive number at many schools compared to 2 years ago. Don’t know if there is data to support this, but there is chatter
Some schools have shared admitted student test score data, and the mid 50% range is indeed higher for class of 2025 at some schools ….which makes sense as many counselors were advising some applicants to apply with scores only if above the previous year’s range (whether admitted or matriculated ranges).
I haven’t see data from ACT or SAT thatcshow last years average test scores were higher though…please post if you have seen that. Of course those tests wouldn’t just be for class of 2025 though.
A couple of AO’s at colleges told kiddo “Don’t submit your SAT score unless it is over 1500 - if under, do TO”
That’s with all A’s on the transcript, to boot. They actually told us, they value the high scores for USNWR rankings. Maybe they value those scores more than yield now? Gee - In my day a 1480 would have been sweet!
@1NJParent - do you think it is easier? When I took it in the 1970’s, I don’t recall being allowed to use a calculator. I just drew Christmas tree patterns on the math section after a while
Yes, I hear some of the same. Fundamentally it comes down to a decision at each school as to whether the test scores strengthens the app. If it doesn’t why send it?
Thanks for the simplicity of that comment. That’s sort of where we are for D22. Her app is stronger without it and we’ll have to deal with whatever the reality of TO is, or will be for 2022.
SAT scores have not changed much over time until 2017, at which point there was a test redesign that appears to have bumped average scores by 50-60 points, although percentile scores are all on the same curve so it does not matter that the average score went up.
Grade inflation, on the other hand, is much more pervasive over the last 20 years or so, especially at prep schools. So middle and working class kids are falling further behind in GPA as there is a movement to de-emphasize standardized tests. Who will that benefit?
It isn’t the average score that tells you whether the test has become easier. It’s the percentage of scores in the highest test bands that tells the story.
