Are colleges secretly factoring test scores into decisions for test-optional applicants?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn't it also depend on the school? For example, if you're at a DMV private do you want to be the applicant who has no test score? That's what I'd be worried about.

My kid went TO and got in everywhere. Most of the schools he applied to have been TO for years. People just need to stop applying to so many reach schools. Do you homework so your kid will have plenty of choices that they actually like.

But where

Not PP, but my white DC was accepted at Northwestern TO from a DMV private. Sibling attending a Top 20 school also TO (I'm not saying where for anonymity purposes). I'm starting to wonder if all of these anti-TO posts are from the College Board and tutoring companies that have a vested interest in testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TO has to be TO, at least for this year, based on the admissions this fall/winter. It has seemed like anything submitted under a 1550 is considered worse than TO, both for admission and for merit awards/honors colleges. My daughter has friends that have gotten in TO to Yale, Brown, Michigan, Vanderbilt, Duke, Northwestern, Bowdoin, and Notre Dame and that’s just off the top of my head. So hard to know how to proceed with a current junior.

how does your junior know that many seniors' college admissions results as well as their testing status? And then comes home and tells you? Just wondering how this works.

Our school isn’t that big. Are your juniors not close with seniors? And we’re in CT, not California.

Not close enough to know if kids submitted test scores. I asked my senior who is super social with a group of maybe 6 very close friends and a dozen close friends and she said "I have no idea what my friends scored, we don't talk about GPAs or scores."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is perfectly reasonable and logical for a college to assume that a test optional applicant has a score too low for that college.

Yep. That said my kid has a one sitting 35 ACT and an UW 4.0 and deferred (not a top 10)—25+

[Anonymous]

Just take a look at the thread titled Bad Choices today about the student with a 3.7 uw who is disappointed with her options. Not to pick on that poster, but more generally, since the rapid move to TO, there are assumptions made by applicants and their families that they never would have made under a tests-required scenario, assumptions that don't quite verge on entitlements, but not recognizing that to college AOs, TO = low score.Some colleges also pretend that this isn't true, but it is a simple fact that TO applicants scored "low"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what about TO for the class of 2025? Scores will probably become more important.

I have a junior and a senior. Private school.

College Counselor telling us test optional is here for next year but that there are certain schools to focus on more than others if TO.

The usual suspects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn't it also depend on the school? For example, if you're at a DMV private do you want to be the applicant who has no test score? That's what I'd be worried about.

My kid went TO and got in everywhere. Most of the schools he applied to have been TO for years. People just need to stop applying to so many reach schools. Do you homework so your kid will have plenty of choices that they actually like.

But where

Not PP, but my white DC was accepted at Northwestern TO from a DMV private. Sibling attending a Top 20 school also TO (I'm not saying where for anonymity purposes). I'm starting to wonder if all of these anti-TO posts are from the College Board and tutoring companies that have a vested interest in testing.

This year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn't it also depend on the school? For example, if you're at a DMV private do you want to be the applicant who has no test score? That's what I'd be worried about.

My kid went TO and got in everywhere. Most of the schools he applied to have been TO for years. People just need to stop applying to so many reach schools. Do you homework so your kid will have plenty of choices that they actually like.

I’m starting to wonder the same. There’s also one very active poster here who clearly favors testing. Good for her and her kids.

But test optional is definitely here to stay and it is working for white and Asian kids. Especially at private schools. Especially.

But where

Not PP, but my white DC was accepted at Northwestern TO from a DMV private. Sibling attending a Top 20 school also TO (I'm not saying where for anonymity purposes). I'm starting to wonder if all of these anti-TO posts are from the College Board and tutoring companies that have a vested interest in testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn't it also depend on the school? For example, if you're at a DMV private do you want to be the applicant who has no test score? That's what I'd be worried about.

My kid went TO and got in everywhere. Most of the schools he applied to have been TO for years. People just need to stop applying to so many reach schools. Do you homework so your kid will have plenty of choices that they actually like.

I’m starting to wonder the same. There’s also one very active poster here who clearly favors testing. Good for her and her kids.

But test optional is definitely here to stay and it is working for white and Asian kids. Especially at private schools. Especially.

But where

Not PP, but my white DC was accepted at Northwestern TO from a DMV private. Sibling attending a Top 20 school also TO (I'm not saying where for anonymity purposes). I'm starting to wonder if all of these anti-TO posts are from the College Board and tutoring companies that have a vested interest in testing.

I’m starting to wonder the same. There’s also one very active poster here who clearly favors testing. Good for her and her kids.

But test optional is definitely here to stay and it is working for white and Asian kids. Especially at private schools. Especially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn't it also depend on the school? For example, if you're at a DMV private do you want to be the applicant who has no test score? That's what I'd be worried about.

My kid went TO and got in everywhere. Most of the schools he applied to have been TO for years. People just need to stop applying to so many reach schools. Do you homework so your kid will have plenty of choices that they actually like.

Why stop applying to many reach schools?
You don't need to apply to many safety schools.

Why? I’m not wasting money on applications to schools he won’t get into. Ditto for wasting time since many schools require more essays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just take a look at the thread titled Bad Choices today about the student with a 3.7 uw who is disappointed with her options. Not to pick on that poster, but more generally, since the rapid move to TO, there are assumptions made by applicants and their families that they never would have made under a tests-required scenario, assumptions that don't quite verge on entitlements, but not recognizing that to college AOs, TO = low score.Some colleges also pretend that this isn't true, but it is a simple fact that TO applicants scored "low"

If a kid scores 1550+ in a practice SAT, what are the disadvantages of taking the actual test and reporting it?

[Anonymous]

TO is here to stay for many schools but some will start requesting tests again. The recent NYT article had quotes from presidents of top schools saying there was a role for testing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But doesn't it also depend on the school? For example, if you're at a DMV private do you want to be the applicant who has no test score? That's what I'd be worried about.

My kid went TO and got in everywhere. Most of the schools he applied to have been TO for years. People just need to stop applying to so many reach schools. Do you homework so your kid will have plenty of choices that they actually like.

But where

Not PP, but my white DC was accepted at Northwestern TO from a DMV private. Sibling attending a Top 20 school also TO (I'm not saying where for anonymity purposes). I'm starting to wonder if all of these anti-TO posts are from the College Board and tutoring companies that have a vested interest in testing.

+1

Anonymous TO detractors.

It's hard to accept changes to the status quo. And yes, the College Board is lobbying hard to maintain any semblance of influence in the standardized testing industry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just take a look at the thread titled Bad Choices today about the student with a 3.7 uw who is disappointed with her options. Not to pick on that poster, but more generally, since the rapid move to TO, there are assumptions made by applicants and their families that they never would have made under a tests-required scenario, assumptions that don't quite verge on entitlements, but not recognizing that to college AOs, TO = low score.Some colleges also pretend that this isn't true, but it is a simple fact that TO applicants scored "low"

If a kid scores 1550+ in a practice SAT, what are the disadvantages of taking the actual test and reporting it?

Exactly. If they had the potential for a good score, they would have tested.

However, I'd argue that what is sufficient to submit is far less than 1550. I think some people got bad advice on that this season.

[Anonymous]

submit if it's 25% or up per CDS. which is usually about 1500 for even top colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:TO is here to stay for many schools but some will start requesting tests again. The recent NYT article had quotes from presidents of top schools saying there was a role for testing.

A lot of the Ivy Presidents have 4-5 year studies showing testing is the best predictor of future college success, over everything else and that crosses privilege, race, wealth lines, etc.

Many alluded this cycle that it is going to be more and more important.