'Test-Optional' Doesn't Mean 'Test-Prohibited'

Last week, I was chatting with the mom of twins who are rising seniors.  When I asked whether the boy, with sights set on Vanderbilt University, had taken the SAT or the ACT, she responded, “The colleges don’t accept scores now, right?”  As a college counselor and test prep coach, I gently corrected her. 

“Some colleges – such as the University of California system – don’t accept scores.  But most will accept them if you send them.  ‘Test optional’ doesn’t mean ‘test prohibited.’ Many kids applying to highly selective schools like Vanderbilt purposely take the SAT or ACT to ‘prove’ their academic strength.” 

While I didn’t share these stats with her, indeed, a Wall Street Journal article last week notes that more and more students are taking the ACT or SAT as a way to stand out from their peers in the admissions process.  In a recent webinar, the Common App reported to college counselors that 48% of students in the 2021-22 admissions cycle reported test scores, up from 43% the year before.  Because grade inflation is so prevalent in U.S. high schools now, it makes sense that colleges want a standard arbiter of students’ college readiness.

A look of fear and confusion crossed this mom’s freckled brow.  To save you the same sinking feeling, here’s the advice I gave her, in three simple steps.

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1.    PICK A TEST, EITHER TEST.

Unless your child has crippling test anxiety and / or is applying to schools that accept more than 80% of those who apply, they should take the SAT or ACT.  The first step is to choose which test they want to prepare for.

Take a listen to my webinar, “To SAT or Not to SAT” for a thorough comparison of both tests and my assessment of which kinds of students do better on each test.  Have your child start with a practice test administered in the time they’re allowed (i.e., allow them 1.5 or 2 times as long as the directions state only if they get those accommodations already).  You can find links to both practice tests here. 

To get an accurate picture of which test a student might do better on and feel more comfortable taking, it’s essential NOT to take more time than allotted and to take both tests relatively close together in time.  As a test prep coach, I’m often shocked when parents send me practice tests separated by a year or more and expect to reliably compare those two scores. If a student has learned nine or even two more months of algebra before taking one test rather than the other, it’s a flawed comparison.  Try to take the practice SAT and the practice ACT no more than a week or two apart.

As a test prep tutor, I’m even more baffled when students take a whole practice test, but they do so on multiple days and / or allow themselves many minutes more than they would get on an actual exam.  As I mention in “To SAT or Not to SAT”, part of the challenge of the ACT is its time pressure relative to the SAT.  If you get rid of that constraint, then of course it might seem easier than the SAT!  If you’re worried that you won’t be able to accurately time the test, search for “ACT timer” or “SAT timer” on YouTube to get a “mock proctor” online.

After you score both tests, choose to prepare for the test on which you scored higher.  (Consult an ACT-SAT concordance table to do so.)  It’s very likely your score will differ minimally.  If that’s the case, then feel free to pick the test which you felt more comfortable taking.  As always, if this process seems more complicated in real life than I’m making it sound here, feel free to sign up for a free consultation here.)

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2.    REGISTER FOR TWO TEST DATES that occur no more than 6 weeks apart. 

Pick your first test date and count backwards ten weeks for when to begin preparing – and then prepare for several hours per week.  For better or for worse, many students will forget content or test-taking strategies that they haven’t used in a month or so.  For that reason, I like to compare the test prep process to training for a marathon.  You wouldn’t expect to take a month off in the middle of training for a marathon – at least not if you hope to perform to your full potential.  Likewise, preparing for the SAT or ACT requires consistent effort for those hours to pay off on test day.  If you cannot spend about 5 hours per week studying during the ten weeks prior to your first test, then my best test prep coach advice is to pick a different test date. 

Likewise, if you can’t put in at least a couple of hours per week in between your first and second test dates, then you should pick a different first and second test date.  Studies show that students’ scores go up on their second actual test, but level off after that.  So, make sure that your teen is committed from the start of test prep through the second test if you want all of their efforts to bear fruit.

While New York Times journalist Jeff Selingo, author of the bestselling Who Gets in and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, reported that the only significant gains in test scores came from working with a test prep tutor, there are lower-cost options.  Crimson Coaching offers small group classes twice per year, and Khan Academy’s free prep course is co-sponsored by the College Board, makers of the SAT.

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3.    DECIDE TO SUBMIT OR NOT – OR BOTH. 

Only once you have a score that represents your very best effort should you make decisions about to which colleges you should submit it and to which colleges you should apply without scores.  A general rule of thumb among college counselors like me is that you should submit scores when your own falls within or above the median.  However, since there are so many variables that might influence a college’s eventual decision, it pays to consult your child’s school counselor or a private college counselor for their opinion.  (Feel free to sign up for a free consultation here.)

So, while standardized testing for college admissions isn’t quite as simple as that mom of twins believed, it’s not really that difficult.  Pick a test, register for two dates, prep for ten weeks, and then decide where and whether to submit!