Penn State won’t ask applicants for SAT, ACT scores. Should you still submit them?
Following a nationwide trend, Penn State will continue offering test-optional admission to prospective undergraduate students.
The university’s test-optional application policy will continue through the fall 2025 admissions cycle, Penn State said last week. The extended accommodation allows prospective undergraduate students to file admissions applications without submitting their SAT or ACT standardized test scores.
Like many schools, Penn State implemented a test-optional admissions process to ease requirements for students who couldn’t complete standardized tests during the coronavirus pandemic’s earliest days. Now, the continuation is expected to promote accessible admissions for prospective students.
“One intent of an extension is to continue the standardized testing relief to students. There was already anxiety about tests before the pandemic. COVID-19 added even more stressors and changed college admissions,” Rob Springall, Penn State’s assistant vice president for Enrollment Management and executive director of Undergraduate Admissions, said in a statement. “Two more years will also give Penn State the benefit of time to see what has permanently changed and how we can do our work even better. We are making this announcement now so current high school juniors and sophomores can make their college application and testing plans.”
More than half of Penn State’s undergraduate applicants filed without using their SAT or ACT scores since test-optional admission launched in June 2020, the university said. A successful roll-out prompted Penn State to extend its test-optional policy in January 2021 before doubling down yet again this year.
While test-optional undergraduate applications may seem novel, Penn State is hardly the first school to implement such a process. Here’s how it stacks up to other colleges and universities.
Following nationwide trends
Penn State is far from the first big-name institution to implement test-optional admissions since the pandemic began.
The university’s 13 peer institutions in the Big Ten conference, including Ohio State, Michigan and even Northwestern, the league’s lone private school, will waive requirements for SAT and ACT score submissions in 2023. Some of them, including Minnesota and Maryland, have already extended their relaxed requirements through 2025 and beyond.
Of Pennsylvania’s four state-related universities, Penn State, Temple and Pitt do not require test score submissions for undergraduate applicants. Lincoln University, meanwhile, allows applicants to choose between submitting SAT or ACT test results and writing a test-optional essay, according to the school’s admissions office.
Test-optional admissions remain quite common outside of Penn State’s peers, according to data published by the Common App, a nonprofit undergraduate admissions application that represents more than 1,000 schools across the U.S.
Approximately 55% of Common App member institutions required applicants to submit standardized test scores during the pre-pandemic 2019-20 admissions cycle, according to the nonprofit’s most recent report. Today, just 4% of member institutions require test score submissions.
The Common App said approximately 47% of its applicants submitted test scores through the 2022-23 admissions cycle so far, falling below 2021-22’s 48% and slightly above 2020-21’s 44%. This year’s mark falls well below the reported 78% submission rate from the 2019-20 admissions cycle, which did not offer test-optional applications.
Score submission trends vary significantly between demographics, the Common App said. Underrepresented minority students (35% submission rate) were far less likely to submit test scores than non-minority students (49%) during the 2022-23 admissions cycle, the nonprofit’s January report said. First-generation college students (33%) were also less likely to submit scores than continuing-generation students (51%).
Registration fees have long been viewed as a significant barrier to standardized testing. The SAT’s current registration fee sits at $60, while a full ACT exam, complete with a writing portion, can reach up to $88. Both tests can tack on additional costs for late registrations, date changes or additional score reporting.
SAT and ACT fee waivers are available for eligible low-income students who receive public assistance or are enrolled in free or reduced-price lunch programs, among other criteria.
The Common App will release monthly reports with updated admissions statistics through March, followed by a final season summary in August. Future reports should reflect the entirety of the 2022-23 admissions cycle, which opened in August and closed in early January.
If scores are optional, why submit them?
While applicants are often no longer required to submit standardized test scores, a good grade can make a difference in the admissions process.
Generally, submitted SAT and ACT test scores give admissions committees another benchmark to consider when evaluating a prospective student. A strong result can significantly boost the chances of receiving an offer of admission.
Anna Ivey, the founder of Ivey Consulting, a California-based college and graduate school consulting form, says prospective students should research their desired colleges and universities before submitting an application. Look up the “middle 50” — the range of test scores between the 25th and 75th percentiles for previous admitted classes — and see if your scores fall between that range.
“If you’re in the upper part of that band or above, those scores help you,” Ivey told U.S. News and World Report. “But if you are in the bottom half of that band or below, those scores don’t help you. So, unless there’s some other extraneous reason why you should be submitting those scores, I would say don’t submit them. My general rule for people is submit your scores only if they are required or if they help you.”
Most schools’ “middle 50” ranges, including Penn State’s, are available on their admissions office websites.
Before applying, it’s also important to recognize the differences between a college or university that is “test-optional” and one that is “test-blind.” Schools that give applicants the option to submit test scores are likely to still use results that are provided when reviewing an application. Those that refuse to consider scores, including the University of California system, will not let them influence the outcome of a prospective student’s application.
In lieu of required test scores, Penn State says it strives to examine the full scope of applications more than ever. Prospective students are considered through their high school grades, performance in upper-level honors and Advanced Placement courses, personal essays and statements and involvement in extracurricular or volunteer activities.
“In the end, at Penn State the bulk of the admission decision is a result of a student’s academic preparation in high school, including overall grade-point-average and the academic rigor of their high school curriculum,” the university said.
This story was originally published February 13, 2023 at 12:12 PM.
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