Where did your 2026 kid get in EA Test Optional?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at naviance reports for my school, lots of kids got into colleges EA with SAT scores below 1000. Seeing schools like Catholic University, George Mason, St Marys of Maryland, Georgetown, Indiana, Michigan St, Rutgers, Oregon St

You mean they got into GMU test optional with a score below 1000, right? Because GMU is a 1360 at the 75th percentile; a 1260 at the median and the bottom 25th had a 1180, so getting in with below 1000 is unlikely. https://research.schev.edu/rdPage.aspx?enrollment&rdReport=Enrollment.B10_FreshmanProfile

Someone accepted into Geogetown (which doesn't do test optional) with an SAT score below 1000 must be a basketball player, child of a billionaire, or child of a head of state.

That student actually had no SAT on file. So they had nothing to submit

Georgetown is test required.

I am looking at my school level admin naviance reports and this student has a Highest SAT score of zero and was accepted to Georgetown University EA. Also only took 15 Honors/AP classes in high school

I know a kid who got a 36 on the ACT first try so he never took the SAT making his highest SAT score 0.

He didn’t apply to Georgetown, as far as I know, but got into another competitive school that requires test scores.

[Anonymous]

Not my kid but TO into UNC, UVA, UofSC, American with $25k merit, several others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame
Indiana - 8k merit
Marquette - 38k merit
UMD honors
Fordham - 50k
Vanderbilt

DS couldnt crack 1300 on SAT on multiple tries even superscored. Lucked into ECs being very compelling and unique this cycle.

Notre Dame and Vanderbilt? Isn't ND EA restrictive?

Hmmmmmmm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame
Indiana - 8k merit
Marquette - 38k merit
UMD honors
Fordham - 50k
Vanderbilt

DS couldnt crack 1300 on SAT on multiple tries even superscored. Lucked into ECs being very compelling and unique this cycle.

Notre Dame and Vanderbilt? Isn't ND EA restrictive?

No, ND is not “EA restrictive”. It’s ED restrictive. You can’t apply to ND and apply ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame
Indiana - 8k merit
Marquette - 38k merit
UMD honors
Fordham - 50k
Vanderbilt

DS couldnt crack 1300 on SAT on multiple tries even superscored. Lucked into ECs being very compelling and unique this cycle.

What kind of ECs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame
Indiana - 8k merit
Marquette - 38k merit
UMD honors
Fordham - 50k
Vanderbilt

DS couldnt crack 1300 on SAT on multiple tries even superscored. Lucked into ECs being very compelling and unique this cycle.

Notre Dame and Vanderbilt? Isn't ND EA restrictive?

No, ND is not “EA restrictive”. It’s ED restrictive. You can’t apply to ND and apply ED.

I know that, thanks for mansplaining. How did they get into Vanderbilt ED and Notre Dame REA? That's my entire question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 3.5 wgpa kid from fcps, 8 APs, 1200 sat kid (so, remedial for this board hahah) has gotten into:

Indiana (not Kelley) JMU, Loyola Maryland (for business) UMW, Michigan State, and Xavier so far.

Deferred to RD by South Carolina.

Asked for 1st semester senior grades by Pitt, Delaware.

Given 2+2 branch campus admit to Penn State.

Rejected by CU boulder, Fordham and Tennessee (TN is not test optional)

Applied RD to College of Charleston and Syracuse.

The ones where my kid has gotten merit aid are Loyola Maryland (35k, making cost of attendance less than 30k) and Xavier ($30k merit). The rest are full pay. But JMU and UMW in state are relatively inexpensive COA, around $30k, whereas OOS publics like PSU and Indiana, I expect to be more like $60k and have no merit aid. So, huge factor in the final decision there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at naviance reports for my school, lots of kids got into colleges EA with SAT scores below 1000. Seeing schools like Catholic University, George Mason, St Marys of Maryland, Georgetown, Indiana, Michigan St, Rutgers, Oregon St

You mean they got into GMU test optional with a score below 1000, right? Because GMU is a 1360 at the 75th percentile; a 1260 at the median and the bottom 25th had a 1180, so getting in with below 1000 is unlikely. https://research.schev.edu/rdPage.aspx?enrollment&rdReport=Enrollment.B10_FreshmanProfile

Someone accepted into Geogetown (which doesn't do test optional) with an SAT score below 1000 must be a basketball player, child of a billionaire, or child of a head of state.

That student actually had no SAT on file. So they had nothing to submit

Georgetown is test required.

I am looking at my school level admin naviance reports and this student has a Highest SAT score of zero and was accepted to Georgetown University EA. Also only took 15 Honors/AP classes in high school

I know a kid who got a 36 on the ACT first try so he never took the SAT making his highest SAT score 0.

He didn’t apply to Georgetown, as far as I know, but got into another competitive school that requires test scores.

My child was admitted to NYU, UVA and F&M with only 1 AP course that she didn’t send the score for and 3 Honours classes.

She applied TO. I don’t know the new review process but she clearly hit the lottery. Merit aid at all of the schools except for NYU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3.5 wgpa kid from fcps, 8 APs, 1200 sat kid (so, remedial for this board hahah) has gotten into:

Indiana (not Kelley) JMU, Loyola Maryland (for business) UMW, Michigan State, and Xavier so far.

Deferred to RD by South Carolina.

Asked for 1st semester senior grades by Pitt, Delaware.

Given 2+2 branch campus admit to Penn State.

Rejected by CU boulder, Fordham and Tennessee (TN is not test optional)

Applied RD to College of Charleston and Syracuse.

The ones where my kid has gotten merit aid are Loyola Maryland (35k, making cost of attendance less than 30k) and Xavier ($30k merit). The rest are full pay. But JMU and UMW in state are relatively inexpensive COA, around $30k, whereas OOS publics like PSU and Indiana, I expect to be more like $60k and have no merit aid. So, huge factor in the final decision there.

Cost of attendance at Loyola MD is $81k/yr for 2026-2027. How do you get COA less than 30k with 35k merit? DC received $41k merit but I calculated COA would be over $40k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at naviance reports for my school, lots of kids got into colleges EA with SAT scores below 1000. Seeing schools like Catholic University, George Mason, St Marys of Maryland, Georgetown, Indiana, Michigan St, Rutgers, Oregon St

You mean they got into GMU test optional with a score below 1000, right? Because GMU is a 1360 at the 75th percentile; a 1260 at the median and the bottom 25th had a 1180, so getting in with below 1000 is unlikely. https://research.schev.edu/rdPage.aspx?enrollment&rdReport=Enrollment.B10_FreshmanProfile

Someone accepted into Geogetown (which doesn't do test optional) with an SAT score below 1000 must be a basketball player, child of a billionaire, or child of a head of state.

That student actually had no SAT on file. So they had nothing to submit

Georgetown is test required.

I am looking at my school level admin naviance reports and this student has a Highest SAT score of zero and was accepted to Georgetown University EA. Also only took 15 Honors/AP classes in high school

I know a kid who got a 36 on the ACT first try so he never took the SAT making his highest SAT score 0.

He didn’t apply to Georgetown, as far as I know, but got into another competitive school that requires test scores.

My child was admitted to NYU, UVA and F&M with only 1 AP course that she didn’t send the score for and 3 Honours classes.

She applied TO. I don’t know the new review process but she clearly hit the lottery. Merit aid at all of the schools except for NYU.

What major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Notre Dame
Indiana - 8k merit
Marquette - 38k merit
UMD honors
Fordham - 50k
Vanderbilt

DS couldnt crack 1300 on SAT on multiple tries even superscored. Lucked into ECs being very compelling and unique this cycle.

So either they broke their REA agreement with ND or this is not truthful.

[Anonymous]

DD applying to smaller schools, competitive LACs. For reference, HHI just under $200k, excellent ECs and LORs, 3.9 uw GPA from a strong private school. Chose to go TO bc of her learning disabilities, made the intentional decision to focus on grades and ECs over test prep in her junior year. It’s infuriating when people equate high test scores with intelligence, and being “deserving” of a slot at a T20. Her older brother had a similar application profile, many of the same ECs but didn’t have the LD issue, 35 ACT and is currently at an Ivy. She’s just as smart as he is and it frustrates me when people online insinuate that TO applicants aren’t deserving of good acceptances. So far, in EA:
Oberlin $70k merit
Kenyon $75 merit
Brandeis $45 Presidential Scholarship
Several others to schools that DCUM won’t care about, but are still solid schools. Waiting for RD, most of those are only need-based aid. I’m proud of her, especially because we offered to pay for test prep last year and she made the choice to go TO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 3.5 wgpa kid from fcps, 8 APs, 1200 sat kid (so, remedial for this board hahah) has gotten into:

Indiana (not Kelley) JMU, Loyola Maryland (for business) UMW, Michigan State, and Xavier so far.

Deferred to RD by South Carolina.

Asked for 1st semester senior grades by Pitt, Delaware.

Given 2+2 branch campus admit to Penn State.

Rejected by CU boulder, Fordham and Tennessee (TN is not test optional)

Applied RD to College of Charleston and Syracuse.

The ones where my kid has gotten merit aid are Loyola Maryland (35k, making cost of attendance less than 30k) and Xavier ($30k merit). The rest are full pay. But JMU and UMW in state are relatively inexpensive COA, around $30k, whereas OOS publics like PSU and Indiana, I expect to be more like $60k and have no merit aid. So, huge factor in the final decision there.

Cost of attendance at Loyola MD is $81k/yr for 2026-2027. How do you get COA less than 30k with 35k merit? DC received $41k merit but I calculated COA would be over $40k.

Your right. It is not tops on my kid’s list so what I thought the COA was just the tuition amount. You’re right COA is higher than I originally thought, more like $45-50k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking at naviance reports for my school, lots of kids got into colleges EA with SAT scores below 1000. Seeing schools like Catholic University, George Mason, St Marys of Maryland, Georgetown, Indiana, Michigan St, Rutgers, Oregon St

What is “lots” of kids?
Because I am definitely not seeing “lots”. I am seeing a small number of schools in our scattergrams that had a max of 1 kid accepted with a low SAT. I assume they play football.

Georgetown did not admit a single kid with a sub 1000 SAT.

[Anonymous]

I am hearing Vanderbilt admitted far fewer TO candidates in ED this cycle.

Can anyone confirm?