There are now hundreds of colleges and universities, including more than half of the top liberal arts colleges in the US News and World Reports, that are “test optional” – meaning you can choose whether or not to send in your SAT/ACT scores, and if you don’t, they will evaluate your application on the same level as all others. This year, one of my students didn’t even sit for the ACT or SAT at all and was accepted to Whitman in the Early Decision round.
47 schools changed their testing policy this year alone, including University of Denver, Marquette, University of San Francisco, Indiana University, University of Chicago, and we are all waiting on the results of the CA law suit that is challenging the discriminatory nature of testing. If the CA system falls (the biggest client of the SAT), it will certainly be a game-changer for the industry. If you would like to see a current list of test-optional schools, follow this link: https://www.fairtest.org/sites/default/files/Optional-Schools-in-U.S.News-Top-Tiers.pdf
Does this mean you shouldn’t take the SAT or ACT? The likelihood of a student applying to all schools that are test optional is still low. Test scores drive most merit and scholarship decisions. A solid test score can still enhance your application. I’ve seen students with almost exact profiles (including grades, rigor, extra curriculars and strong essays), with the exception of different test scores, get offered very different amounts of merit money.
However, this trend also means that admissions officers are, in general, weighting the value of the application essays more. The trend away from evaluating test scores as a primary factor in admissions, means applicants will be writing more supplemental essays and the personal statement essay takes on more significance.
Even colleges and universities that still look at test scores closely, are taking more time to evaluate the essay portion of the application. UW ranks three things as being “most important” in their decision for acceptance: grades, academic rigor, and the essays. Test scores are ranked just below that. That means that they carefully read through the required, multiple essays of 45,000 applications. University of California/Santa Barbara, as well as most all schools in the UC system, receives more than 80,000 applications a year and ranks the five required “Personal Insight Questions” as “most important”, along with GPA and test scores.
I’ve seen a wrong essay (not poorly written but poor subject matter) sink an application, and I’ve seen great essays make an application stand out. How do I know? From hand-written notes on the acceptance letter saying so and examples that admissions reps have shown me that have been the cause of acceptance or a rejected applicant that was otherwise qualified.
Oftentimes, I hear students say that writing is their strength, they “got this” and they will run their essay by their English teacher if they need help. There is nothing wrong with that, and in many cases, I recommend having your English teacher, especially one who knows you well, be one set of eyes. But, the school English composition is a very different kind of writing than a personal essay, and teachers do not have time to sit down with admissions representative from all over the country to understand what admissions are looking for in a college essay, what essay content admission representatives see most frequently (and so should be avoided), what makes them tune out and what makes them tune in. How will your essay stand out from the other 45,000 applications received by UW?
Another trend? November deadlines for Early Action (non-binding), priority consideration for scholarships, including WUE, and Honors School applications is the new normal. This means that you should be at least half way to completing applications and essays by the time school starts in September if you plan on meeting these deadlines.
Given all this, it’s no surprise that our application and essay workshops were full last year. For this reason, Andrea and I have increased the number of our week-long application and essay workshops from three to five and are offering a 10% discount if you register by 4/30. In fact, we feel so strongly about students getting a good start on their applications during the summer, that if our workshops are not convenient for you or don’t work out for any reason, we will refer you someplace else!
Registration for our summer application and essay workshops (scroll down to Summer 2020 workshops): http://www.liddanetutoring.com/summer