What Does Test Optional Mean for Your College Admissions Strategy

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Since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted testing availability in 2020, “test optional” policies have become a central feature of college admissions. But five years later, as some institutions reinstate testing requirements and others double down on test optional policies, families are left with more questions than answers.

What does “test optional” actually mean in practice? Should your student submit scores if they have them? And how does this decision affect their application narrative - especially at selective schools?

With advice from John Morganelli, Ivy Tutors Network’s Director of College Admissions, we’ll walk through what test optional really means, how it affects your strategy, and how to make a confident, context-aware decision about testing, using the Morganelli Method framework to anchor your choices.

What Does Test Optional Mean?

Test optional means students are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores to be considered for admission to a college or university. Schools with test optional policies promise a “full and fair review” whether or not scores are included. In theory, this levels the playing field for students without access to strong test prep or those who simply don’t test well. But in practice, test optional doesn’t mean test ignored.

At many schools—especially selective ones—submitted scores are still considered, and often valued. When a student submits a high score, it can strengthen an application. When they don’t, the admissions office looks for other indicators of academic credibility: GPA, course rigor, research output, advocacy work, or academic deliverables.

Additionally, while schools market their test optional policy as inclusive, internal data often reveals that students who submit scores are admitted at higher rates. This is often interpreted as bias, but might simply be correlation (the jury’s still out on this) as students with high scores often also have stronger academic and extracurricular profiles overall.

In short: test optional provides flexibility by giving applicants a choice. But it’s a choice that should be made strategically.

How Does Test Optional Affect Your Admissions Strategy?

To have test optional be a boon to your admissions strategy, students must replace data with narrative. When a score is submitted, it acts as a shorthand for academic preparedness. Without it, admissions officers look harder at other aspects of the file, especially the transcript, coursework rigor, and the coherence of the student’s academic story.

If your testing is strong, it can support or even elevate a narrative. But if it's absent, your application ethos - the underlying values, priorities, and intellectual direction - must be sharper and more compelling. A test score is a data point; without it, every other data point must do more work.

Test Optional ≠ Test Blind: Know the Difference

We want to return to a point we briefly made earlier, and that is test optional does not mean test blind. Test optional means the school will consider your test scores if you submit them, but you (theoretically) won’t be penalized for withholding them. Test blind, however, means the school will not consider your scores at all (even if you send them). These two very different policies are often confused, leading to misunderstandings about the relevance of test scores when deciding where to apply.

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The University of California system, including UC Berkeley and UCLA, are among the only prestigious schools to be test blind. Most highly selective schools vary: Stanford requires testing, while Duke and UChicago remain test-optional.

Ultimately, students who misunderstand the difference between test optional and test blind run the risk of submitting scores to a test blind school (wasting strategic energy), or withholding a strong score from a test optional school (where it would have helped). Be sure to always double check the policies of the schools you’re applying to.

How Test Optional Affects Your Application Narrative

The Morganelli Method frames each student’s application as a narrative arc, structured around academic direction, intellectual contribution, and personal ethos. In this model, test scores can support—but never define—that arc.

When scores are withheld, the PAGE framework becomes even more essential:

• Perspective: What drives your curiosity or worldview?
• Activity: How have you acted on that perspective?
• Goal: Where are you heading intellectually (major, career, community)?
• Ethos: How do these pieces work together?

Without a score, your PAGE story must communicate:

• Academic credibility through advanced coursework
• Intellectual maturity through research or investigation
• Evidence of self-starting via deliverables or advocacy
• Thematic cohesion (i.e. your story must hold together the other parts of your application)

Here’s a comparison:

It’s of interest to note that John’s experience shows students without test scores who submit high-quality research and a cohesive narrative have no statistically significant disadvantage at institutions with truly test optional policies (provided they also meet GPA and rigor benchmarks). Consider speaking with a college advisor if you’re unsure about whether or not to include your test scores in your application materials.

What Ivies Are Test Optional?

As of the 2025-2026 application cycle, most of the Ivy League schools have returned to a test mandatory policy. Here’s the current Ivy League testing policy breakdown:

For students interested in attending an Ivy League School  - or truthfully most top 25 schools - standardized testing is no longer optional in most cases. This reinforces the importance of early testing planning - ideally beginning in 10th grade - and aligning scores with other application elements.

What Colleges Are Test Optional?

While many elite schools have returned to test-required policies, plenty of US colleges remain test optional, or test blind, including the University of California system. You can find a complete list here. And as always, check the websites of all the schools you’re applying to to ensure you have the most up to date information.

Is Test Optional Better? Pros and Cons Evaluated

Test optional policies have been marketed as equalizers, giving students the choice to decide whether their scores are reflective of their academic potential. But now that many top schools (including most Ivies) have returned to required testing, the real question becomes: When you still have the choice, is test optional better for your specific case?

Let’s break down the core advantages and disadvantages.

Pros of Test Optional

• Flexibility for strong students with weak scores: High-GPA students with test anxiety or limited access to prep can avoid submitting a low score that might drag down an otherwise strong application.
• Equity-minded policy: Particularly beneficial for students from under-resourced schools or households without access to expensive tutoring or multi-round testing.
• Holistic review can work - if you’re ready: For students with excellent research, well-developed PAGE narratives, and strong recommendations, a test score may not add meaningful value (and can sometimes detract if not aligned).

Cons of Test Optional

• Most admitted students still submit scores: At test optional schools like Notre Dame, Emory, and Tufts, institutional Common Data Sets reveal that 60–80% of enrolled students submit SAT/ACT scores. Going test optional can put applicants in a smaller, more closely scrutinized group.
• Admissions officers may expect compensation elsewhere: No test score often means extra pressure on GPA, AP/IB rigor, and research outputs. Admissions committees may look for clear deliverables or local academic investigations to fill the credibility gap.
• Hidden penalties in some programs: Even when universities are test optional, certain departments—particularly business, computer science, or engineering—may view strong scores as an informal requirement.

Whether test optional is "better" ultimately depends on your profile, your narrative, and your school list. Your best bet is to work with a knowledgeable college counselor to determine strategy.

Who Should Submit Scores? Benchmarking by Selectivity

If your schools are test optional, the decision to submit scores should be driven by benchmarking, i.e. comparing your score against each institution’s middle 50% SAT/ACT range.

Here’s a simplified guide based on the selectivity tiers of the Morganelli Method, which we use at Ivy Tutors Network.

Tier 1: HYPSM (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT)

• Submit if: SAT is 1530+ or ACT is 35+
• Below that: Rarely helpful—admissions decisions at this tier are made on the margins

Tier 2: Ivies and Ivy Peers (Penn, Duke, Brown, Northwestern, etc.)

• Submit if: SAT is 1480+ or ACT is 33+
• Borderline: 1430–1470 may help with compelling narrative and strong academic rigor

Tier 3: Top 25 Liberal Arts and Research Universities

• Submit if: SAT is 1400+ or ACT is 31+Borderline: 1350–1390 may help if it offsets a weak GPA or comes from a rigorous school

Tier 4: Top 50 Institutions

• Submit if: SAT is 1350+ or ACT is 29+
• Below that: Consider going test optional only if GPA, narrative, and deliverables are strong

Additional Factors to Consider:

• If your GPA is below median, a strong test score can compensate
• If your intended major is highly competitive (e.g., Computer Science, Business, Engineering), a score can validate readiness
• If your high school is well-known to colleges for grade inflation, test scores can provide a third-party benchmark

Used wisely, test optional policies can help students with strong stories but imperfect scores. Used incorrectly, it can leave your application materials feeling incomplete.

Will Test Optional Policies Stick Around?

The short answer: not at the most selective schools. We are in the middle of a national reversal—especially among top-tier institutions—where many colleges are abandoning test optional policies they once embraced. While some mid-tier and regional universities may maintain test optional frameworks for the foreseeable future, the schools driving admissions trends have already begun to change course.

Here’s what’s driving the shift:

1. Legal and Political Pressure After the End of Affirmative ActionThe Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to eliminate race-conscious admissions created a vacuum in how colleges demonstrate fairness and rigor in their selection process. Standardized tests, while controversial, offer measurable and comparable data across thousands of schools. Without them, some institutions felt they lacked a consistent metric for evaluating applicants, particularly in highly competitive contexts. This was a key part of Dartmouth’s and Harvard’s justification for reinstating testing in 2024.

2. Internal Institutional Research Supports the Use of TestsWhen schools analyze their own admissions outcomes, they often find that test scores still offer predictive value - especially for identifying high-achieving students from under-resourced backgrounds. Dartmouth made this case explicitly when returning to required testing, stating that scores helped uncover "hidden gems" whose academic profiles may not have stood out otherwise.

3. Public Trust and Donor ConfidenceIn elite admissions, perception matters. Universities are increasingly accountable to alumni, donors, and the public. With growing scrutiny around fairness in admissions, some institutions are reinstating testing to preserve the appearance—and often the reality—of merit-based evaluation.

4. Data from the Class of 2023 and 2024 CyclesCommon Data Set reporting from many top colleges shows that a significant majority of admitted students still submitted test scores, even when they were not required. That trend suggests both students and admissions offices still value those scores, reinforcing the notion that test optional is not test neutral.

If you’re currently in 10th or 11th grade and aiming for top-tier schools, it is safest to plan on submitting scores—unless you’re applying to a well-documented test optional holdout - as testing is once again becoming a default expectation.

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Final Decision Checklist: Should You Submit Your Score?

Use this checklist to determine whether submitting your SAT or ACT score will strengthen or weaken your application strategy. This applies primarily to schools that are test optional or test flexible. If the school requires testing, your only question is which score to send.

Step 1: Benchmark Your Score

• Does your SAT score fall at or above the 50th percentile of your target school’s middle 50% score range?
• Does your ACT score fall at or above the 50th percentile of your target school’s middle 50% score range?
• Is your score within 30–40 points (SAT) or 1 point (ACT) of the lower end of the middle 50%—but you have a high GPA or strong rigor?

If you answered yes to any of the above, your score may be helpful. If not, continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Consider Contextual Strengths

• Is your GPA above the median for admitted students at your target school?
• Have you taken the most rigorous course load available (AP, IB, honors)?
• Have you completed a research project, local investigation, or advocacy deliverable that aligns with your intended major?
• Is your Additional Information section being used to explain academic credibility or research contributions?
• Do you have evidence of contribution in your intended field (e.g., competitions, internships, awards)?

If you answered yes to several, you may be able to go test optional without penalty—especially if your score is below benchmarks.

Step 3: Assess Major and Departmental Competitiveness

• Are you applying to a high-demand major (e.g., Computer Science, Business, Engineering, Pre-Med)?
• Is the major known to be quantitative-heavy (e.g., Economics, Data Science)?
• Does the department admit fewer than 10% of applicants at your target school?

If yes to any of these, submitting a strong test score is often recommended, even if the school is test optional. A strong score supports perceived readiness.

Step 4: Weigh School Policy Type

• Is the school test optional (your score will be reviewed if submitted)?
• Is the school test flexible (you must submit some form of standardized score, such as AP or IB)?
• Is the school test blind (scores will not be reviewed, even if submitted)?

Use this step to avoid wasting time. Never submit scores to test blind schools.

Step 5: Make a Strategic Decision

• My score strengthens my application and aligns with the academic narrative → Submit your score
• My score is below the benchmark, but my narrative, research, and rigor are strong → Consider going test optional, but make sure the rest of your file carries academic weight
• My score is well below benchmarks and would weaken the application → Do not submit; invest effort into your PAGE narrative and Additional Information section

As the testing landscape continues to shift, students and families must be more strategic than ever. Look at submitting a score from the perspective of how that number fits into the larger story your application tells. Whether you’re aiming for an Ivy League school that now requires testing, or applying test optional to a top research university, your decision should reflect your academic profile, narrative strength, and long-term goals.

If you're unsure how to make that decision—or how to build the kind of compelling application that stands out with or without a test score—working with an experienced college admissions counselor can make a meaningful difference. Our team specializes in guiding students through strategic application planning using the Morganelli Method. You can also explore Ivy Tutors Network's  College Boost course, a 3-month interactive class that walks you through the exact framework we use with our 1:1 students -  and gives you direct access to John - at a lower price point.  Either way, you’ll get the tools to apply with confidence.