Test-Optional Admissions: Should You Submit Your Scores?

Since the rapid, pandemic-driven adoption of test-optional policies, prospective students have faced a genuinely confusing question: if a school doesn't require standardized test scores, should you submit them anyway? The honest answer is that it depends on your specific scores and your specific target schools—there's no universal rule.

Today, School Match Pro will explain what test-optional actually means in practice, summarize the current research on its effects, and give you a practical framework for making this decision for yourself.

Let's start with what's actually being studied. NACAC was selected to convene a major, Gates Foundation-funded, multi-university research effort specifically to study how test-optional and test-free policies affect enrollment access for historically underrepresented students. [1] This research initiative was formed precisely because so many institutions adopted these policies quickly during the pandemic, and researchers wanted rigorous, ongoing data on the real effects—not just assumptions.

What has the research found so far? The results are genuinely mixed, not a simple "test-optional helps everyone" story. NACAC's own Defining Access research found that a well-executed test-optional policy can increase overall applications and increase the representation of underrepresented minority students and, to a smaller extent, Pell Grant recipients. [1] However, more recent analysis has found that these equity effects are not uniform across institutions—the benefits tend to be more pronounced at moderately selective colleges and when policies are implemented broadly and consistently, rather than as a token gesture. [2]

So how do you decide whether to submit your own scores? Think of test-optional not as "tests don't matter" but as "tests are one optional data point among many." If your standardized test scores fall at or above the middle 50% range of a school's typically admitted students, submitting them generally strengthens your application by providing additional evidence of your academic readiness. If your scores fall meaningfully below that range, you can likely omit them without disadvantage, since your application will simply be evaluated based on your other materials—grades, coursework rigor, essays, and recommendations.

Check each school's specific published data on admitted student score ranges, which is often available through their Common Data Set or on College Scorecard-linked resources. Every school's range is different, so a score that's competitive at one institution might be below the typical range at another.

Consider what test-optional actually means for your application in a practical sense. It doesn't mean your grades and coursework rigor matter less—if anything, they carry more relative weight in a test-optional review, since there's one less data point in the file. Focus your energy on the elements you can control most directly: your GPA trajectory, the rigor of your course selections, and the quality of your essays and recommendations.

There's no test-optional strategy that works for every student. The right decision depends on your specific numbers, your specific target schools, and an honest assessment of what your scores actually add to your application.

At School Match Pro, we help you understand what matters most for your specific target schools, including how to navigate test-optional decisions strategically. Whether you're interested in nursing, criminal justice, business, or earning an associate degree, we'll help you build the strongest possible application. Click HERE to get started.

[1] NACAC — Defining Access: How Test-Optional Works

[2] Higher Ed Dive — NACAC on the Shifting Test-Optional Landscape