Is Your Test-Optional Policy Helping or Hurting Your Recruitment Opportunity?

Adopting a test-optional admissions policy is far from a new idea, but the COVID-19 pandemic has left an unprecedented amount of students unable to submit an ACT or SAT score, and many schools have had to adjust their stance on test-optional to be able to hit their enrollment goals.

Today, upwards of 80% of private institutions and 50% of public institutions are test-optional, and the nature of the policy and how effectively it is communicated with prospective students make a big difference in its efficacy.

Ask yourself the below questions with the understanding that answering “No” to any of them could be derailing your test-optional policy efforts.

Alleviate student confusion

While most schools have adopted test-optional policies, there are many different types—test-optional, test-blind, test-alternative, and test-conditional. As a result, many students find themselves confused and unsure of what is and is not optional.

• Is your policy clear, concise, and easy to understand?
• If complexity or exceptions are necessary, are they clearly communicated and designated as exceptions?
• In addition to your own website, is your policy stated clearly and consistently on other sites, such as Common App or other relevant college admission websites?
• Do the top page returns from a Google search accurately reflect your current policy?

Break down additional barriers

One in four institutions has an alternative requirement when applying its test-optional policy (e.g., GPA thresholds, additional essays). In a highly competitive market where many students do not have a test score available, schools with additional requirements risk losing considerable application and enrollment opportunity.

• Is your policy in line with those of your competitors?
• If additional requirements are necessary, are they positioned in a way that could potentially delay or inhibit application submission and/or application completion?
• If your institution requires a GPA threshold, how many enrollments in Entering Class 2020 had GPAs below that level?
• Is the benefit of the additional requirements worth the potential cost in application and enrollment opportunity?

Restructure last year’s policy for today’s market

Prior to COVID-19, most test-optional policies were designed to address the notion that test scores may not be the best indicator of success for some students. While this is still an important consideration, a post-COVID-19 policy must also address the fact that many students do not have access to a test score.

• Is your legacy test-optional policy in line with today’s competitive best practice?
• Are you effectively communicating and promoting your test-optional policy?
• Has the policy been updated and consistently presented across your website, marketing materials, and social media?