Test Optional Policy at UVA in Fall of 2026

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA is doing an awful job of managing expectations here. It's as if nobody on BOV are parents themselves and do not know what it's like to have kids this age. Most juniors have upcoming summer jobs (or year-round jobs), internships, take summer classes to free up space for electives. They need to be giving kids as much notice to prep for these tests. Most juniors (especially applying to UVA) don't have a lot of free time and are already focused on AP tests in May/June. Kudos to schools who have already decided and announced for next year and even years beyond. If schools decide to go back to requiring tests, that's their right, but give people ample notice. UVA is failing here.

UVA alum with a high school junior here. I would never tell my kid that test optional is a given at UVA or anywhere else. Your kid should be prepping to do their best on the test regardless of when the BOV is meeting. Your kid can’t fit in a few hours of test prep here and there over an entire summer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When are people going to realize that the BOV and the "powers that be" don't care about your junior in high school. They just don't. UVA is a business and a political organization. If the BOV and UVA did care, they would have announced this decision last fall (or earlier) and given students plenty of time to prepare if the decision was going to be go back to test required. UVA and its leadership is absolutely failing by not announcing a decision on a timely basis. The only right decision at this point is to stay test optional for Fall 2026's admissions cycle and, if UVA wants to return to test required, articulate a roadmap for that going forward. As an aside, going back to test required would be a big mistake and run counter to UVA's public statements regarding the importance of the high school transcript as well as the fact that the number of college-aged students will not be working in their favor going forward the next ten years. If UVA wants its application numbers to drop, go back to test required and see what happens. Finally, I just don't see the value in answering the silly questions the College Board asks. Two hours and 15 minutes is not a reflection of who someone is as a student. Stay test optional UVA. It's the right decision.

Your kid should take the test regardless and see what happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop with the URM BS. If 50% of the kids at Vandy were TO, you know darn good and well that most of them were white. This isn't 1980's admissions with paper applications. Colleges have so much more data on applicants and their high schools. A test score is only one metric.

+1

Apparently, TO is bad - except when whites use it.

TO seems to be great from the perspective of the schools in many ways. They can admit who they want without it negatively impacting the metrics they report for ranking.

TO is only good for schools.

It sure as heck isn’t good for students who have high scores. Everyone seems to assume they lied, stole, and cheated to get them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When are people going to realize that the BOV and the "powers that be" don't care about your junior in high school. They just don't. UVA is a business and a political organization. If the BOV and UVA did care, they would have announced this decision last fall (or earlier) and given students plenty of time to prepare if the decision was going to be go back to test required. UVA and its leadership is absolutely failing by not announcing a decision on a timely basis. The only right decision at this point is to stay test optional for Fall 2026's admissions cycle and, if UVA wants to return to test required, articulate a roadmap for that going forward. As an aside, going back to test required would be a big mistake and run counter to UVA's public statements regarding the importance of the high school transcript as well as the fact that the number of college-aged students will not be working in their favor going forward the next ten years. If UVA wants its application numbers to drop, go back to test required and see what happens. Finally, I just don't see the value in answering the silly questions the College Board asks. Two hours and 15 minutes is not a reflection of who someone is as a student. Stay test optional UVA. It's the right decision.

Your kid should take the test regardless and see what happens.

I would disagree with this if your child knows they will have a very low score (like a kid with significant dyslexia or veery sever ADHD might). Some employers (investment banks, PE, etc.) and at least a few UVA clubs ask for your scores. In that case, it would be better to say N/A than to have to put a low score that you did not even use to get into school. I. just had this discussion with my kid who is o in one of the business clubs and told me they actually consider SAT score when deciding who to accept. I was blown away by that. My kid was saying the kids who put low scores were more disadvantaged than the ones that put N/A. One kid even lied about their score but got caught because someone had interviewed the student for a different club earlier and the student had put a lower score on that application. It's silly to me that employers and clubs consider the scores since the pre-date college and arguably are irrelevant to being in a club or working, but fair warning, they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop with the URM BS. If 50% of the kids at Vandy were TO, you know darn good and well that most of them were white. This isn't 1980's admissions with paper applications. Colleges have so much more data on applicants and their high schools. A test score is only one metric.

+1

Apparently, TO is bad - except when whites use it.

TO seems to be great from the perspective of the schools in many ways. They can admit who they want without it negatively impacting the metrics they report for ranking.

TO is only good for schools.

It sure as heck isn’t good for students who have high scores. Everyone seems to assume they lied, stole, and cheated to get them.

If you have a high score ... submit it. That's why it's called Test Optional. No one assumes your kid lied, stole, or cheated (unless your Varsity Blues 2.0). If your kid does well on standardized tests ... great. I disagree though that TO is just good for schools. Rather, it's good for kids (as it takes one stressor out of the high school experience) and it recognizes that there is a not a one size fits all methodology to determine who has potential. I, for one, don't buy the arguments that the Testing-Industrial Complex sells to maintain their business and $$$ that say the SAT/ACT is the best predictor of college success. A high school transcript, work ethic, genuine curiosity, social/team skills, initiative, and day-in, day-out commitment is much more predictive in my mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is doing an awful job of managing expectations here. It's as if nobody on BOV are parents themselves and do not know what it's like to have kids this age. Most juniors have upcoming summer jobs (or year-round jobs), internships, take summer classes to free up space for electives. They need to be giving kids as much notice to prep for these tests. Most juniors (especially applying to UVA) don't have a lot of free time and are already focused on AP tests in May/June. Kudos to schools who have already decided and announced for next year and even years beyond. If schools decide to go back to requiring tests, that's their right, but give people ample notice. UVA is failing here.

UVA alum with a high school junior here. I would never tell my kid that test optional is a given at UVA or anywhere else. Your kid should be prepping to do their best on the test regardless of when the BOV is meeting. Your kid can’t fit in a few hours of test prep here and there over an entire summer?

This is like telling someone to go ahead and train for the marathon, but they may not have to run the race. Working for a school district, I understand that many kids have extreme test anxiety, ADD/ADHD, so I get that parents want to know if this is something that they need to be planning to take. UVA should join the other state schools on their level (UNC Chapel Hill, Michigan) who have announced their decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is doing an awful job of managing expectations here. It's as if nobody on BOV are parents themselves and do not know what it's like to have kids this age. Most juniors have upcoming summer jobs (or year-round jobs), internships, take summer classes to free up space for electives. They need to be giving kids as much notice to prep for these tests. Most juniors (especially applying to UVA) don't have a lot of free time and are already focused on AP tests in May/June. Kudos to schools who have already decided and announced for next year and even years beyond. If schools decide to go back to requiring tests, that's their right, but give people ample notice. UVA is failing here.

UVA alum with a high school junior here. I would never tell my kid that test optional is a given at UVA or anywhere else. Your kid should be prepping to do their best on the test regardless of when the BOV is meeting. Your kid can’t fit in a few hours of test prep here and there over an entire summer?

This is like telling someone to go ahead and train for the marathon, but they may not have to run the race. Working for a school district, I understand that many kids have extreme test anxiety, ADD/ADHD, so I get that parents want to know if this is something that they need to be planning to take. UVA should join the other state schools on their level (UNC Chapel Hill, Michigan) who have announced their decision.

Judging by this thread, I think I know where they got it from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is doing an awful job of managing expectations here. It's as if nobody on BOV are parents themselves and do not know what it's like to have kids this age. Most juniors have upcoming summer jobs (or year-round jobs), internships, take summer classes to free up space for electives. They need to be giving kids as much notice to prep for these tests. Most juniors (especially applying to UVA) don't have a lot of free time and are already focused on AP tests in May/June. Kudos to schools who have already decided and announced for next year and even years beyond. If schools decide to go back to requiring tests, that's their right, but give people ample notice. UVA is failing here.

UVA alum with a high school junior here. I would never tell my kid that test optional is a given at UVA or anywhere else. Your kid should be prepping to do their best on the test regardless of when the BOV is meeting. Your kid can’t fit in a few hours of test prep here and there over an entire summer?

This is like telling someone to go ahead and train for the marathon, but they may not have to run the race. Working for a school district, I understand that many kids have extreme test anxiety, ADD/ADHD, so I get that parents want to know if this is something that they need to be planning to take. UVA should join the other state schools on their level (UNC Chapel Hill, Michigan) who have announced their decision.

UVA is a by no means a guarantee… so you plan to tell your kid to only apply to colleges that are TO and assume they’ll all stay that way?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is doing an awful job of managing expectations here. It's as if nobody on BOV are parents themselves and do not know what it's like to have kids this age. Most juniors have upcoming summer jobs (or year-round jobs), internships, take summer classes to free up space for electives. They need to be giving kids as much notice to prep for these tests. Most juniors (especially applying to UVA) don't have a lot of free time and are already focused on AP tests in May/June. Kudos to schools who have already decided and announced for next year and even years beyond. If schools decide to go back to requiring tests, that's their right, but give people ample notice. UVA is failing here.

UVA alum with a high school junior here. I would never tell my kid that test optional is a given at UVA or anywhere else. Your kid should be prepping to do their best on the test regardless of when the BOV is meeting. Your kid can’t fit in a few hours of test prep here and there over an entire summer?

This is like telling someone to go ahead and train for the marathon, but they may not have to run the race. Working for a school district, I understand that many kids have extreme test anxiety, ADD/ADHD, so I get that parents want to know if this is something that they need to be planning to take. UVA should join the other state schools on their level (UNC Chapel Hill, Michigan) who have announced their decision.

UVA is a by no means a guarantee… so you plan to tell your kid to only apply to colleges that are TO and assume they’ll all stay that way?

Nobody is saying that UVA is a guarantee. But considering my child is only applying to college once, in the Fall 2026 (BTW the name of this thread) then that is all we care about. And if they choose to only apply to TO schools, then they have a lot of great schools to choose from. Whether or not schools stay TO after that, is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop with the URM BS. If 50% of the kids at Vandy were TO, you know darn good and well that most of them were white. This isn't 1980's admissions with paper applications. Colleges have so much more data on applicants and their high schools. A test score is only one metric.

+1

Apparently, TO is bad - except when whites use it.

TO seems to be great from the perspective of the schools in many ways. They can admit who they want without it negatively impacting the metrics they report for ranking.

TO is only good for schools.

It sure as heck isn’t good for students who have high scores. Everyone seems to assume they lied, stole, and cheated to get them.

Things that no one thinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is doing an awful job of managing expectations here. It's as if nobody on BOV are parents themselves and do not know what it's like to have kids this age. Most juniors have upcoming summer jobs (or year-round jobs), internships, take summer classes to free up space for electives. They need to be giving kids as much notice to prep for these tests. Most juniors (especially applying to UVA) don't have a lot of free time and are already focused on AP tests in May/June. Kudos to schools who have already decided and announced for next year and even years beyond. If schools decide to go back to requiring tests, that's their right, but give people ample notice. UVA is failing here.

UVA alum with a high school junior here. I would never tell my kid that test optional is a given at UVA or anywhere else. Your kid should be prepping to do their best on the test regardless of when the BOV is meeting. Your kid can’t fit in a few hours of test prep here and there over an entire summer?

This is like telling someone to go ahead and train for the marathon, but they may not have to run the race. Working for a school district, I understand that many kids have extreme test anxiety, ADD/ADHD, so I get that parents want to know if this is something that they need to be planning to take. UVA should join the other state schools on their level (UNC Chapel Hill, Michigan) who have announced their decision.

UVA is a by no means a guarantee… so you plan to tell your kid to only apply to colleges that are TO and assume they’ll all stay that way?

Nobody is saying that UVA is a guarantee. But considering my child is only applying to college once, in the Fall 2026 (BTW the name of this thread) then that is all we care about. And if they choose to only apply to TO schools, then they have a lot of great schools to choose from. Whether or not schools stay TO after that, is irrelevant.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is doing an awful job of managing expectations here. It's as if nobody on BOV are parents themselves and do not know what it's like to have kids this age. Most juniors have upcoming summer jobs (or year-round jobs), internships, take summer classes to free up space for electives. They need to be giving kids as much notice to prep for these tests. Most juniors (especially applying to UVA) don't have a lot of free time and are already focused on AP tests in May/June. Kudos to schools who have already decided and announced for next year and even years beyond. If schools decide to go back to requiring tests, that's their right, but give people ample notice. UVA is failing here.

UVA alum with a high school junior here. I would never tell my kid that test optional is a given at UVA or anywhere else. Your kid should be prepping to do their best on the test regardless of when the BOV is meeting. Your kid can’t fit in a few hours of test prep here and there over an entire summer?

This is like telling someone to go ahead and train for the marathon, but they may not have to run the race. Working for a school district, I understand that many kids have extreme test anxiety, ADD/ADHD, so I get that parents want to know if this is something that they need to be planning to take. UVA should join the other state schools on their level (UNC Chapel Hill, Michigan) who have announced their decision.

UVA is a by no means a guarantee… so you plan to tell your kid to only apply to colleges that are TO and assume they’ll all stay that way?

Nobody is saying that UVA is a guarantee. But considering my child is only applying to college once, in the Fall 2026 (BTW the name of this thread) then that is all we care about. And if they choose to only apply to TO schools, then they have a lot of great schools to choose from. Whether or not schools stay TO after that, is irrelevant.

With the number of schools requiring scores on the rise, the number of kids with good test scores will ensure that schools like UVA need not take a chance on TO applicants.

But you are correct there will be TO schools to apply to this year. But is TO really TO at any given school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please stop with the URM BS. If 50% of the kids at Vandy were TO, you know darn good and well that most of them were white. This isn't 1980's admissions with paper applications. Colleges have so much more data on applicants and their high schools. A test score is only one metric.

+1

Apparently, TO is bad - except when whites use it.

TO seems to be great from the perspective of the schools in many ways. They can admit who they want without it negatively impacting the metrics they report for ranking.

TO is only good for schools.

It sure as heck isn’t good for students who have high scores. Everyone seems to assume they lied, stole, and cheated to get them.

Things that no one thinks.

I know, right? Where did the poster get that idea. . . Unless they did. lol.

[Anonymous]

Well said ....

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/03/editorial-u-va-should-go-test-optional-indefinitely#google_vignette

[Anonymous]

During our fall tour, they’d set expectations for January, and they’ve since reset expectations for February. February ends this week… have we heard anything?