Should son submit test scores if they are optional?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Parents
1

My son’s test results were pretty good - around 80%. The question is - a couple of schools we applied for don’t require test scores, they are optional.

Thoughts on if we should just go ahead and submit them? or not if they are optional?

Thanks

2

What schools are you applying to? Also, what was the overall score?

3

I just posted a similar reply in other thread. My son got son 85% overall on his SSAT. He only sent this score to the schools that required SSAT and the schools that were not part of the GLADCHEMS. We asked someone in admissions at one of the GLADCHEMS, and they told us not to submit as the average composite score is much higher than 85% at their school. So, it could be a red flag in the admissions process if we were to submit. If a school is truly test optional, then not submitting a score should not hurt their admissions application (in theory).

4

I don’t think it will hurt or help in your sons case.

5

Do you think 85% overall for a non-native English speaker is good enough for that type of schools?

6

I feel like a 85%+ would be fine at any school as long as you have the academics/ecs/awards to make up for it. My friend got into 3 of the GLADCHEMMS with a 81% and now shes attending Andover.

7

It depends on where he is applying and what his sub scores are. If you have an 80%, but one score is well below that, it could be a red flag to AOs.

8

I think no score could hurt, however.

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9

I agree with this, which is why I would submit. I had a similar score and I submitted at the height of TO. I doubt it would hurt, so to me submitting is the choice.

10

I am thinking that not submitting is the red flag, suggesting that your scores were low. So if not embarrassingly low, I would submit - above 80%ile.

1 Like
11

Having had one kid who is a great standardized test taker and one kid who is the opposite, I don’t think there’s nearly as much weight placed on these scores (good, bad or not existent) as applicants may think. Probably matters a bit more if student is coming from an unknown school because admissions doesn’t have a sense of what the grading is like. But otherwise, it’s just one small piece of the application and it’s what so many schools have remained TO.

1 Like
12

I think I would say submit because your son’s scores are not low enough to “disqualify” him from any school. Maybe they won’t help, but it’s extremely unlikely it’ll hurt. However, and it may be different for prep school, but I’ve heard personally from college AOs that they say they’re test optional, but if person A has a test and person B doesn’t, assuming they have the same stats, they accept person A.

13

Also, to highlight @RoonilWazlib99 ‘s question, what were the breakdowns?

Example:
Math: 85
Reading: 75
Verbal: 80

Does not pose red flags. A score set that may do so looks like:

Math: 50
Reading: 97
Verbal: 85