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As we get nearer to the end of the first college admissions cycle defined by Covid, and the test-optional policies that it created, we are starting to see just how particular colleges treated students with and without test scores. Some colleges seemed to have truly embraced test optional admissions, admitting students without regard for those previously all-important scores. Others seemed to have a harder time embracing those without the traditional measures of achievement (or simply didn’t receive as many applications that didn’t also include scores).
At Georgetown, early round applicants had at least a 47% better chance of being admitted with scores than without.
Tufts University, which saw a record increase in applications this year (up 35% over last year), used it’s test-optional opportunity to accept more of the types of students that are traditionally disadvantaged by standardized tests. Tufts offered admission to just 11% of its applicants - but over 42% of those accepted students did not submit test scores. The result is the most diverse class in Tufts’ history, with 56% identifying as students of color. Tufts’ move to a more aggressive test-optional policy does not surprise us, since they committed to a three-year test-optional plan, while most top schools enacted just a one-year policy in the wake of Covid.
Then of course there are those colleges that had a hard time ignoring test scores. Georgetown, notably a test-loving school that held onto the SAT II Subject Tests longer than virtually anyone else, showed its hesitancy in the early round. According to the Georgetown Hoya, the college’s early application round resulted in a 10.79% acceptance rate, which was the lowest in history. But for those applicants who did not submit test scores, the acceptance rate was just 7.34%. That may not seem like a big difference since they are both small numbers, but it translates to having at least a 47% better chance of being admitted with test scores than without (and likely higher when you consider that the 10.79% is a blended rate).
Admissions season isn’t over yet, and most schools will not release its admissions stats with and without test scores. But as always, it appears that when it comes to college admissions, it is valuable to throw every bit of qualification you have in front of highly selective colleges. So if you have the opportunity to study for, and do well on the SAT or ACT, it is definitely worth doing it.
