It would be interesting to watch how long the top schools can stay test optional without compromising their academic standards. I still think standardized tests are an important barometer for gauging a candidate’s scholastic aptitude - at leas, they make it easier for the AOs to evaluate the candidacy of each student.
Also, the boarding school situation is somewhat different than colleges because part of the reason that more parents are sending kids to BS is because they wanted the kids to stay in COVID-free bubbles, and many schools have done an excellent job at that.
With the increase in vaccinations, hopefully the # of apps will come off and the admit rates will normalize somewhat in the next cycle.