To send test scores or not send test scores? that is the question.

Luckily, the answer to this question is easy. If your scores are in reported range, send them. If they are not in range, do not send them.

How do you find out what the college’s score ranges are?

There are many excellent, user-friendly online resources that will show you score ranges. The US Department of Education’s Navigator is a good option. Just type in the name of the school, then head to the “admission” section for detailed information about score ranges. If you want an even more detailed view, you can search for the college’s Common Data Set (CDS) information and then go to Section C of the CDS PDF. On the CDS, you’ll both SAT and ACT broken down by the lower 25th, middle 50th, and top 75th percentiles.

Should you send your score even if it’s in the lower 25th percentile?

In the pre-Covid times (before the majority of American colleges became test-optional), I would have been wary about a student’s admissions chances at a school where they were on the low end of the range. But NOT ANY MORE! The score ranges represent only accepted students who have submitted scores, so if you have a score that is anywhere in this range, I would submit it. Again, if it’s in range, submit. If it’s not in range, do not submit.

Will I be penalized for not submitting scores?

Anecdotally, I have noticed greater overall admissions success when students submit scores… but, of course, this is because they are submitting good scores that are in range. Ideally, you have an in-range score to submit (and a great transcript).

THAT SAID, you will still get into college if you go test-optional!

So how does that work? Imagine this: you and your family go on vacation and you miss a few days of school. While you’re absent, you miss a 5-point homework and a 10-point quiz in your Chemistry class. Instead of having you make up the missed work, your teacher exempts you. In other words, you don’t have to make up the assignments, but you also don't get a score for them. If the class is graded on total points, she will just subtract the value of the missed work (like if the whole course is out of 300 points, it will now be out of 285—reflecting the subtracted 5-point homework and 10-point quiz). What this means is that all the other points you earn in the class are worth more (it’s like decreasing the denominator in a fraction while keeping the numerator the same).

Another way to think about it is that if you don’t submit scores, every other component of your application (transcript, extracurricular activities and teacher recs) matter more.

You won’t be penalized for not submitting scores, but everything else in your application will get increased attention... so these parts better look extra-good.