Is it me or are test scores now more important than ever?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of us have been saying this for 2 years, test optional is for institutional priorities and tests still matter for everyone else. At the most selective schools.

Schools that are truly test optional include usc, Tulane and NE.

Vanderbilt.

Not sure about that, Vandy seems to follow the pack and as other schools say they prefer test scores, I expect them to follow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP is correct. The way schools use test optional now, there is no difference between a 1200 and a 1500 (both are advised to apply test optional), but all the difference in the world between a 1500 and a 1520. Which puts kids scoring at the upper end of the test optional range under enormous pressure to get their objectively very good scores up to the reportable level.

I'm not sure if these types of comments are from parents who really think that they can discourage kids with higher scores to go test optional or if this is just someone trying to be funny. I'd go by the 25th percentile at each school, if you are at or above that mark you submit or risk the school assuming the score was much lower. (If you are below the 25th mark you are probably reaching anyway.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Neo wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP is correct. The way schools use test optional now, there is no difference between a 1200 and a 1500 (both are advised to apply test optional), but all the difference in the world between a 1500 and a 1520. Which puts kids scoring at the upper end of the test optional range under enormous pressure to get their objectively very good scores up to the reportable level.

Very true, in the recent Dartmouth ED round.. two identical profiles from same school, they accepted one with 1560 and rejected the 1540. Even though, 1540 was a shade better in ECs.

Are you a school counselor or the parent of twins who applied to Dartmouth? If not, how would you know any of this, most especially the quality of their essays, recommendations and coursework taken by these two different students?

Also, it's one isolated case. Who knows how these kids connected or didn't in their apps.

[Anonymous]

Some schools only want test scores that allow them to increase their average test score profile. It's not that they wouldn't accept your 1450 or that it isn't good enough (it clearly is), they just don't want to be forced to report it if their rival schools aren't. Stupid games, all caused by silly rankings that don't mean anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP is correct. The way schools use test optional now, there is no difference between a 1200 and a 1500 (both are advised to apply test optional), but all the difference in the world between a 1500 and a 1520. Which puts kids scoring at the upper end of the test optional range under enormous pressure to get their objectively very good scores up to the reportable level.

I'm not sure if these types of comments are from parents who really think that they can discourage kids with higher scores to go test optional or if this is just someone trying to be funny. I'd go by the 25th percentile at each school, if you are at or above that mark you submit or risk the school assuming the score was much lower. (If you are below the 25th mark you are probably reaching anyway.)

As the author of the comment: the comment assumes for illustrative purposes that the 25th percentile mark at the school in question is 1520. In that situation, your position (“submit if you are at or above the 25th percentile mark”) means that there is no difference between 1200 and 1500, because according to your own rule you would advise both students to apply TO. I’m not sure any schools have 25th percentile marks that high at the moment, but if people follow your rule the mark will keep moving upwards until they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Neo wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP is correct. The way schools use test optional now, there is no difference between a 1200 and a 1500 (both are advised to apply test optional), but all the difference in the world between a 1500 and a 1520. Which puts kids scoring at the upper end of the test optional range under enormous pressure to get their objectively very good scores up to the reportable level.

Very true, in the recent Dartmouth ED round.. two identical profiles from same school, they accepted one with 1560 and rejected the 1540. Even though, 1540 was a shade better in ECs.

Are you a school counselor or the parent of twins who applied to Dartmouth? If not, how would you know any of this, most especially the quality of their essays, recommendations and coursework taken by these two different students?

Thus proving that top schools are destroying their legacies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just because dcum harps on small test score differences doesn't mean admissions offices do.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of us have been saying this for 2 years, test optional is for institutional priorities and tests still matter for everyone else. At the most selective schools.

Schools that are truly test optional include usc, Tulane and NE.

Vanderbilt.

Not sure about that, Vandy seems to follow the pack and as other schools say they prefer test scores, I expect them to follow.

~40% of accepted Vanderbilt applicants in last cycle went TO.

If that's following the pack, then TO will be a fixture going forward across most schools, including the elite ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TO is just a mechanism to let schools cherry pick the reason they accept students without having supporting data to show their bias in selection.

I think this probably is part of it, but also probably not the whole story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some schools only want test scores that allow them to increase their average test score profile. It's not that they wouldn't accept your 1450 or that it isn't good enough (it clearly is), they just don't want to be forced to report it if their rival schools aren't. Stupid games, all caused by silly rankings that don't mean anything.

Except that admissions officers at elite schools, e.g. Yale and Dartmouth, have recently explicitly said they want to see more scores than that, and that there is a negative inference of low scores with a test optional submission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of us have been saying this for 2 years, test optional is for institutional priorities and tests still matter for everyone else. At the most selective schools.

Schools that are truly test optional include usc, Tulane and NE.

Vanderbilt.

Not sure about that, Vandy seems to follow the pack and as other schools say they prefer test scores, I expect them to follow.

~40% of accepted Vanderbilt applicants in last cycle went TO.

If that's following the pack, then TO will be a fixture going forward across most schools, including the elite ones.

It’s only in the last few months that admissions officers at elite schools have publicly stated that test scores are preferred.(other than MIT) Wouldn’t know if Vandy is following until results from next cycle or two. Obviously detrimental to school reputation if staying loose on test optional when other elites tightening up. And Vandy very much wants to be thought of as elite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of us have been saying this for 2 years, test optional is for institutional priorities and tests still matter for everyone else. At the most selective schools.

Schools that are truly test optional include usc, Tulane and NE.

And Vandy…
2 TO ED from our private….

[Anonymous]

We were told to only submit 34-36 to Vandy.

Our schools had great success TO..

[Anonymous]

Vandy fall 2022 freshmen only had 61% max (excluding possible overlap) submitting scores. That may not last forever. Eventually that data will begin to matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For colleges that are test optional, no - test scores are not "more important than ever."

Logic.

It’s amazing how many people today accept surface level explanations and don’t consider unintended consequences or ulterior motives.