Test Optional Applications

For those schools that have shifted to a test optional format, what is the downside of that? My daughter is a terrible test taker, and we’re working hard at trying to get her scores up, but her ACT might stay in the low 20s. Is it just eligibility for merit scholarships that will be affected? If so, she probably wouldn’t qualify for those anyways because of the low score.
I’m just curious if there is any other downside of not reporting these.

The only downside in this scenario might relate to a miscalculation. That is, your daughter might, based on misinformation, decide to withhold a score that would be high enough to enhance her application.

If your student’s test score falls below the 25%tile for the stats for that particular college and they offer “Test Optional,” I think it would be beneficial to go with NOT submitting scores. There is no downside and an upside is that her scores will not knock her out of contention.