Applications to the most competitive colleges have surged this year, following schools’ wide-scale decision to make the submission of SAT or ACT scores optional in the admissions process. Students who in previous years might not have applied to an Ivy League school, for example, due to a test score are now putting the holistic admissions method to the test by applying without such scores.
With increasing numbers of schools already announcing test-optional policies for the high school class of 2022 and even beyond, the rubric by which admissions officers evaluate students will continue to evolve. And in the absence of test scores, a compelling essay can help a student stand out, even among increased numbers of applicants.
Applications to Colgate University doubled this year. Associate Dean of Admission and Coordinator of Outreach for Opportunity and Inclusion Jamiere Abney explained how going test-optional has changed the school’s approach to evaluating prospective students.
“In holistic admissions where standardized test scores were never the end all be all, standardized test scores still are keeping certain students out of the applicant pool for us to even think about. [The test-optional policy] pushes your hand as an admissions evaluator to think more broadly about what it means to be academically qualified,” Abney said. “This pool is incredible with a lot of really interesting students with more across the board growth in diversity in terms of race and ethnicity, socioeconomics, international applicants and [first-generation] applicants.”
He noted that the increase in the number of applicants, while bringing welcome diversity to the pool, makes admission even more competitive.
Emerson College requires students who do not submit test scores to submit an alternative component of the application, of which one of the options is “a contemplative essay responding to a topic related to attributes that define the Emerson experience.”
A well-told story that showcases a student’s core values, strengths, and/or interests can say as much or more about a candidate’s potential contribution to a campus community than would a test score. And the time that might have been spent preparing to take the SAT or ACT can instead be used to practice writing (and reading examples of compelling writing) so that when the time comes to pen those 650 words, a student is ready to tell a great story.