Is Test Optional Actually Test Optional? The Real Answer

Short answer: It depends on the school and your scores.

Longer answer: Test optional means you get to decide whether to submit your scores — not that scores are irrelevant. If your score strengthens your application, submit it. If it doesn’t, don’t. Simple as that.

The catch: at highly selective schools, most admitted students who had scores submitted them. “Test optional” shifted the decision to you. It didn’t level the playing field.

Fun fact: For many schools, test optional is largely left over from Covid-19 closures.