Since every Ivy League college—Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Barnard*, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell—extended their test-optional policies to include Fall 2022 admissions, current high school Class of 2022 juniors will not be obligated to submit SAT or ACT scores with their application.
Given the sudden change to test-optional policies, applicants inevitably ask whether they should submit SAT/ACT scores or not. The question is complex to answer as the motivations vary for wanting to submit SAT or ACT scores.
- Is the applicant seeking a supposed advantage over another applicant who may not submit scores?
- Are students trying to validate their ranking in the academic meritocracy with their score on the test?
- Does the applicant want to demonstrate their intellectual ability in a form other than their transcripts?
- Did the applicant strategize that the SAT/ACT score would compensate for less extracurricular activity participation?
First, assess why a student may want to submit an SAT/ACT score, which may include one or many of the aforementioned rationale. Then, contemplate the costs of both preparing for and taking the SAT/ACT as well as the likelihood of scoring well enough to strengthen one’s overall application for admission in order to define an analytical framework for making an effective decision on whether to take the SAT/ACT this spring or not.
* Note: Students applying to Barnard for Fall 2023 admissions (current high school sophomores) will also not need to submit SAT or ACT scores.
For more information about how Jill Yoshikawa, EdM can help students and parents navigate the complex college admissions process, even more complicated as admissions processes are changing for Fall 2022, contact her at Creative Marbles Consultancy.
