How many colleges are test optional for 2024?

Wondering what all the changes of the last two years mean for current 10th & 11th graders? 

Here’s what we at The Best U think you need to know:

What’s the current status of test optional admissions? 

Some background: 

• Pre-pandemic admissions saw a long growing trend of colleges adopting test optional policies in recognition that standardized testing is a weak predictor of college success. Large public universities, Ivies, and some of the most selective liberal arts colleges were the holdouts on this long shift, led mainly by liberal arts institutions for well over two decades. 
• With massive pandemic disruption to the availability of SAT and ACT testing, a new wave of colleges adopted test optional admissions policies. Most of these institutions retained their policies for at least the 2021-2022 application year, and a few have indicated extensions through 2023. 
  • The entire University of California System has indicated they will not return to evaluating SAT or ACT scores
  • On the other hand, the University System of Georgia reinstated required score submission for all applicants for the Fall of 2022. 

So what does this mean for the Class of 2023? 

• Colleges should release their testing policies for the Class of 2023 by late Spring- early Summer. That said, waiting until then to find out if you need scores, is probably too late. 
• Know that even test optional colleges may still require scores to evaluate a student’s course placement, or consider eligibility for merit scholarships and honors programs. For this reason, it makes sense for most students to take the SAT or ACT, and have the ability to decide what to do with their scores.
• Also note that having strong scores to submit can work in your favor, even at test optional institutions: 
  • Some institutions that adopted new test optional policies for the class of 2021 admitted students who opted to submit test scores at slightly higher rates than their peers who applied without test scores. 
  • This trend was magnified in programs such as business, engineering and some other STEM fields that have traditionally relied heavily on scores as a quantitative assessment of academic strength.

What a sane testing plan looks like for the Class of 2023 or Class of 2024: 

• Choose 1 exam to focus on:

• • Take a practice SAT and ACT. Comparing your scores on each practice test can help you decide which exam is a better fit for you. 
  • These are free to download online, and you can do a timed self-test at home. 
  • Once you pick one exam: stick with it. There’s no need for students to prepare for both exams. 

• Make a preparation plan and follow through: 

• • Whether you are using free resources online like Khan Academy, purchasing a book, or working with a test prep professional individually or through a course, dedicating a modest amount of time to building familiarity, confidence, and strategies for the exam will pay off. 
  • When PSATs or free/low-cost prep resources are offered at your school or in your community, take advantage of them! 
  • Our philosophy is to invest your time in targeted preparation and reduce the number of times you take the exam.

• Schedule your exams and commit to your testing dates: 

• • We generally recommend taking the chosen exam (SAT or ACT) two times, and generally not more than three. 
  • A good testing schedule might look like:
    • December or March and June or August for the SAT 
    • December or February and June or July for the ACT 
  • This Winter/Early Spring & Summer exam schedule achieves a few goals:
    • Importantly, it has testing out of the way before the start of the busy 12th grade year and allows you to evaluate your scores when considering your best fit.
    • It also avoids testing in the month of May which can be full of AP exams for some students. 
    • It provides enough time between exams to meaningfully learn from your past performance and prepare in a targeted way. 
• Do NOT send your scores directly to colleges on exam day: 
• • We advise against sending scores on exam day, as we want every student to have the opportunity to receive and evaluate their scores, then make informed decisions about which colleges they will share this information with. 

What else can students and families do?

• Review the fine print on the specific policies at the institutions you apply to. Check back on college websites to look for policy updates through the early summer of 2022:

Policies can include:

• • Test Optional: students may opt to send scores or not and have their application considered complete. 
  • Test Flexible: the college requires scores, but offers a range of options for which exams can be submitted. This may include SAT, ACT, AP or IB exam scores.
  • Test Blind: No scores will be considered as part of a student’s application. 

While the shifting testing landscape can be confusing, most students in the Class of 2023 and 2024 will still benefit from making a reasonable plan, preparing, and taking their chosen exam. Having scores empowers a student to make decisions closer to submission time about how best to utilize testing to their advantage.