Most high school students who plan on attending college will begin taking their college entrance exams in their junior year. Once they get their results back from their first test they will take stock of the area(s) they didn’t do so well in and put some more time into test prep and take the tests again during the summer before their senior year or in the fall of their senior year.
Due to Covid-19 the class of 2021 has had this schedule upended and many students haven’t even taken the ACT or SAT once.
So Should the Class of 2021 Seniors Keep Trying to Take the ACT or SAT?
Normally the answer to that question would be ABSOLUTELY, but as we all know, not much about 2020 has been normal.
I would have to say that the answer to this question is, IT DEPENDS. However, for many students, I would say that they can stop trying to take these tests.
To figure out what is best for you, or your student, to do we need to break things down into specific situations.
Do the Colleges You Want to Apply to Require the ACT or SAT for Fall 2021 Admission?
Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, some colleges were already test-optional for admissions purposes, but since the Covid-19 pandemic started the majority of colleges have gone test-optional.
So what you need to do is check with each school you are considering applying to and see if they have switched to test-optional for this year. You will probably get the answer very easily from each school’s website. However, if you can get your questions answered from a school’s website a call to the admissions office should get you the answers you need.
Do the Colleges You Are Looking At Require Test Results to Be Awarded Institutional Scholarships?
Most schools use each student’s ACT or SAT score for more than just admissions purposes. Many schools will also use student’s test results to help them make decisions about who to award their scholarships to. If you are a strong student with high test scores the amounts of these institutional scholarships can be very significant.
You want to know if ACT or SAT test scores are required to be considered for scholarships at the schools you will be applying to. The vast majority of schools that switched to test-optional admissions shouldn’t require test results for a student to be awarded a scholarship from the college. However, it would be worth the time to verify this on each school’s website or to speak to an admissions officer.
Note: One school that I spoke with this summer said that they were in the process of converting the criteria that they use for awarding their institutional scholarships so that they wouldn’t require ACT or SAT scores, but they weren’t sure if all of their scholarships would be converted in this way. So it is also good to verify that if you apply without test scores that you will be considered for all (not just some) of the college’s scholarships.
What Does Your High School Transcript Look Like?
Each student’s high school transcript tells a story about the student. For each student that story is unique and what you think that story says about you will help you decide if you want or need to keep looking for available ACT or SAT dates or to move on to the application process without test scores.
Looking at your high school transcript will help give you valuable information that you can use to make your decision.
Does Your High School Record Look Strong?
Two things that stand out when schools look at your high school transcript are the courses you took and the grades you received in them.
If you challenged yourself by taking rigorous courses in high school and have a strong GPA you are probably in a good position to apply without test scores.
Does Your High School Record Have Room for Improvement?
If you didn’t challenge yourself academically or didn’t work very hard in high school to earn the grades you were capable of you might feel like your high school transcript doesn’t properly reflect your academic capabilities. If this describes your situation having some solid ACT or SAT test results could help strengthen your application for admission.
How Competitive Are the Schools You Are Looking at Applying To?
Depending on what school or program you are applying to, what constitutes a competitive application can vary from place to place. In other words, what is considered a strong application at one school may not be considered as strong when you are applying for admission to a more competitive college or major.
So if you are applying for admission to a competitive program that normally would require you to get a test score that puts you at or above the 90th percentile, but your high school transcript doesn’t reflect as high of a level of academic achievement you might benefit from taking the ACT or SAT (assuming you get a strong score).
In the end, it is very helpful to know how competitive the school or program you are applying to is as you try to decide if you want to apply with or without test scores.
What if You Have Already Taken a Test Once?
Most people will do better taking the ACT or SAT the second time than they did the first time they took it. The first time people take these tests they might be pretty nervous. When they take them for the second time they are often less nervous since they are familiar with what the test day and test environment will be like. Plus, as we said earlier, once you get results back from your first test you will have the opportunity to spend some time doing additional test prep in the area(s) where you didn’t do as well. So if you didn’t get the score you wanted the first time and you have the opportunity to do some additional test prep you may want to see if you can find a time to take the test again.
On the other hand, if you knocked it out of the park when you took the ACT or SAT the first time and you know that your score will make you a very competitive applicant at the schools you will be applying to you can probably sit tight and not worry about having to take the test again. This is especially true if you have a great high school transcript.
Note: If you don’t do any additional test prep before taking the ACT or SAT for the second time it might be difficult to get a better score. For many students, this becomes even more true the farther away you get from the first time you took the test.
Final Thoughts
So if any of the following criteria apply to your situation you may want to keep looking for opportunities to take a test.
- The college(s) you are looking at still requiring ACT or SAT test scores for admission
- The college(s) are looking at are using test results as the sole criteria for awarding scholarships (that you think you have a strong chance of being considered for)
- You are applying to a competitive school or program and feel that your high school transcript isn’t as strong as you would like it to be and doesn’t reflect the kind of student you really are.
On the other hand, if you have a strong high school transcript and the schools you are looking at aren’t requiring test results for admission, or to be considered for scholarships, you are probably okay not taking the ACT or SAT.
Obviously, every student and each situation is unique and I am making generalizations in this article, but hopefully, this has helped provide some clarity on how to best move forward during this crazy time.
