Lindsey Wetmiller, from Shelburne, Vt., is a government major and a student delegate to the Alumni Council.  She has been a member of the Thelomathesian Society (student government) and of SLU Republicans. “The option is there; it’s up to you to decide if you think the scores will help your application.”

You’ve Got Options
our parents had to submit SAT scores, but today some schools are giving you a choice.

By Lindsey Wetmiller ’07

If you are like a lot of high school students, you’re probably preparing to embark on the near-four hour mental marathon known as the SAT with feelings of dread.  You might feel that your scores will fail to show colleges how smart you really are and, as some college admissions personnel say, will be an insufficient indicator of your future success in college. 

I have great news for you: many small liberal arts colleges are starting to agree! In fact, over a dozen schools, including St. Lawrence, that rank in U.S. News and World Report's top liberal arts colleges are not requiring applicants to submit any standardized test scores.  While most students still feel they should take the test, many like knowing that the decision of whether or not to submit their scores is up to them, and many of them do submit their scores when applying to “test-optional” schools.  The option is there; it’s up to you to decide if you think the scores will help your application.

Why is this option becoming a trend?  High school transcripts, personal essays, teacher recommendations and face-to-face interviews are considered more effective predictors of how you will fit with a given campus culture, and whether you will benefit from and contribute to the fabric of the school. These schools want to know who you are, not just what numbers you’ve gotten on a bunch of tests!

How you do on the exam also depends on your surroundings and state of mind. What if you have a headache on the day of the test? What if you have a history of test-taking anxiety? What if the heater in the test-taking area rattles every 10 minutes?  These are factors that could affect your performance, and no one looking at your test scores will know they existed.

The recent overhaul the SAT received is another factor that has compelled schools to put less emphasis on test results. Adding a writing section (with a controversial method of scoring) and adding more complex math problems may have created headaches for you and your friends, but also for college admissions counselors, who have less ability to compare scores on the revised tests with scores taken in recent years.  Partly because of this, test preparation services, such as SAT courses and books that offer sample tests, have become major industries. Some colleges question the validity of the tests, knowing that some students can essentially teach themselves how to do well on them. Don’t fret, though, because applying to a test-optional school means you don’t have to submit your scores!  These colleges can see for themselves what kind of writer you are by looking at your application essay as a better indicator than how well you write for a test (see page x for some tips on how to attack the essay).

“Standardized test scores rarely play a decisive role in determining a student’s admissions decision,” says Daniel F. Sullivan, president of St. Lawrence. “Recent studies of ours show that a high school grade point average is twice as predictive as standardized test scores.”

So, here’s the deal.   Schools that have adopted the test-optional policy are giving you the choice to submit your scores.  These schools want to get to know you in more meaningful, personal ways.  In your applications, be sure to emphasize how your past experiences prove that you are ready for college. 

An added bonus of this new trend in college admissions? Significantly less stress during your junior and senior years in high school!