Test-Optional
An admissions policy where students may choose whether to submit SAT or ACT scores. The school evaluates submitted scores when present.
Test-optional means a college will accept and consider SAT or ACT scores if submitted, but does not require them. Students who choose not to submit scores are evaluated on the rest of their application — coursework, GPA, essays, recommendations, activities. Most U.S. colleges adopted test-optional policies during the COVID-19 pandemic; many have continued through subsequent cycles.
Test-optional is not the same as test-blind. Under a test-optional policy, submitted scores are still considered, and strong scores can help. The practical question for families is when to submit: as a rule of thumb, submit if the score is at or above the school's published 50th percentile, and consider not submitting if it falls below the 25th percentile.
For parents, the test-optional landscape is shifting. Some schools (Caltech, MIT, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Cornell, others) have re-instated testing requirements. Always check each school's current policy before deciding whether to test or submit.
Related terms
View all terms- Test-BlindAn admissions policy where SAT and ACT scores are not considered at all, even if submitted. The most common case is the University of California system.
- SuperscoreA composite SAT or ACT score combining a student's best section scores across multiple test dates.
- Score ChoiceThe option to send only specific SAT score reports to colleges, not the full testing history. Some schools require all sittings.