As we mentioned earlier, a number of colleges have opted to go test-optional for this year’s round of applications. As more and more upcoming SAT and ACT test dates are canceled, scheduling and access issues are becoming more widespread.
But what really happens when a school goes test-optional, and how does it change the application process? We know that standardized tests have long been criticized by some, and also said to be a crucial element of determining admissions viability by others. And numerous studies have been conducted in an attempt to find out whether or not test-optional and test-flexible schools result in more diverse campuses. Ultimately, the decision to go test-optional is almost always at least partially financial because it means that more students will apply in general.
There are many ways that colleges can lower the barrier to entry. We wrote about Carnegie Mellon’s decision to no longer consider demonstrated interest here, and have written many a blog post about the trap that is an optional writing supplement. The constant back and forth about whether or not take SAT subject tests comes to mind as well, with colleges now saying that they’re encouraged, unless it’s not financially feasible. And schools without application fees and writing supplements tend to be thrown into the “why not apply” bucket for students eager to hedge their bets. All of this means that when the application process is streamlined and made more accessible, more students throw their hat in the ring which ultimately leads to a lower acceptance rate.
For this blog post, let’s focus on a few test-optional schools. We scoured the internet for these numbers, and sourced them from the colleges themselves, press releases, and other sites with aggregated numbers. For this reason, our numbers might be slightly off. If for any reason, you know a better place for this data -- hit us up!
Let’s start with Skidmore, a school that went test-optional in the spring of 2016. Stats below:
2015: (the year before Skidmore went test optional)
8,508 students applied
3,105 were admitted
Acceptance rate: 36.5%
2016: (the year Skidmore went test-optional)
9,181 applied
2,670 admitted
Acceptance rate: 29.1%
2017: (the year after Skidmore went test optional)
10,053 applied
2,465 admitted
Acceptance rate: 24.5%
Now, it seems like every single year colleges boast about their “highest number of applicants ever!” Still, you can see here how the decision to remove testing from the equation resulted in increased applicants and a decrease in acceptance rate.
Wake Forest went test-optional in the spring of 2008, and the numbers for the following five years tell a slightly different story. The policy went into effect with the class that entered in the fall of 2009, and the acceptance rates for the following five years are listed below. We see some fluctuation in the middle years, but over time the accepted rate has continued to decrease.
2009-2010: 37.5%
2010-2011: 40.3%
2011-2012: 39.9%
2012-2013: 34%
2013-2014: 35.2%
When looking at Wesleyan, who went test-optional in the spring of 2014, we start to see a dip in their acceptance rate starting in 2015. In that year, 9,822 students applied and 2,180 were accepted which made for an acceptance rate of 22.2%. Between 2016 and 2017, the number of applicants grew by 3.62%, while admissions declined by 5.45%.
We are using these three schools as examples, but when looking at the group data for test-optional schools, we can conclude that the decision to go test-optional usually results in additional applicants. So while we understand the excitement that high schoolers feel when they no longer have to prepare for testing, we think it’s important to stress the fact that competition is just as stiff at top-tier test-optional schools. We explained earlier that we expect to see more public schools discount standardized tests for this year, and are keeping an eye on the announcements. As it relates to preparing for this year’s SAT and ACT’s, we are suggesting that our clients and readers use this time to continue preparing.
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