Are students more likely to gain admission to selective colleges if they submit ACT/SAT scores?
This is a burning question for many families today.
The table above depicts the difference in admission percentages at a variety of selective colleges over the last two admission cycles between students who did not submit ACT/SAT scores and those that did submit ACT/SAT scores.
Grey Bars: Admission percentages for students who did not submit ACT or SAT scores.
Red Bars: Admission percentages for students who did submit ACT or SAT scores.
The above data strongly indicates that when applying to selective colleges, it is to students’ advantage to earn strong scores on standardized exams.
Highlights:
Notre Dame: Students were nearly twice as likely to be accepted to Notre Dame with an ACT or SAT score.
USC: Students with an ACT or SAT score were accepted 30% more often.
Boston: Students without scores had an admission rate of 14%. Students with scores had an admission rate of 25%.
““Test scores are the single most effective factor in predicting a student’s first-year and four-year grade point average.””
But don’t take our word for it, colleges are expressing their preferences publicly:
“Scores help differentiate amongst applicants with similarly high grades, and also help students who do not have equitable access to high-level courses demonstrate college readiness.” - MIT
“While high school grades are a strong predictor for academic success in college, the combination of grades and standardized test scores has been shown to strengthen that prediction…we still find value in scores if you choose to send them.” - Northwestern
Test scores do add information that admissions officers find useful in assessing a student's preparation, and how a student compares to the applicant pool as a whole. There were certainly some students where we wish we'd had scores and we didn't.” - Duke
Contact us to learn more about preparing your student to reach his or her scoring potential on the ACT or SAT.