Marketing Test-Optional Policies to Prospective Students
By Aaron Basko, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services, University of Lynchburg
I was recently on a panel for a college planning night for junior students at a great private high school. The eight panelists represented private and public institutions of all sizes. As the students asked questions, it was clear that they were confused by the current landscape of policies on standardized test scores. The director of college counseling cut to the chase by asking, “How many institutions represented on the panel still require test scores?” Not a single hand went up.
This would have been impossible to imagine 10 or 15 years ago. Until recently schools who allowed students to apply without test scores were viewed as somewhat suspect in their commitment to quality, even though some were considered academic powerhouses. As a test-optional institution, you had to very clearly market the results of studies demonstrating that test-optional students were not inferior in quality. I was director of admission at a regional public institution that was one of the first to go test-optional. The university system required that we complete a five-year pilot study where we compared the success of test-optional applicants vs. test submitters by their GPA, retention rates, and course completion rates.
At the time, marketing test-optional was about giving a second chance to good students who didn’t test well. There was a lot of discussion about how standardized testing was biased against rural students and females, and how it advantages students who went to schools with easy access to test prep opportunities. Test-optional was primarily about democratizing higher education.
More schools jumped on the bandwagon as the word “access” grew in cache, and as test-optional institutions enjoyed what seemed like an inevitable pop in applications with relaxed testing requirements. Test-optional admission seemed like it would be one of the keys to correcting underrepresentation of socio-economic and racial diversity. Focusing on the biases in testing, marketing test-optional admissions became about removing barriers and becoming more representative.
Fast-forward to 2020, when the whole testing industry seemed to unravel. As The Chronicle of Higher Education reports (Test-Optional Policies Now Dominate Higher Ed), over 800 colleges switched to test-optional admission in a two-year period during the pandemic. The marketing of test-optional changed to emphasize relieving the stress of students in a difficult situation and prevention of the derailing of college dreams for students caught up in forces beyond their control. Underlying this marketing was also a quiet acknowledgement by institutions that survival of the system, and many campuses, depended on a quick pivot.
In an interesting twist, students also took this opportunity to apply to places they would not have if scores were required. The Chronicle article previously referenced demonstrated that high-end research universities benefitted the most from dropping their test score requirements. Many students thought, “I finally have a shot at that reach school.” Ironically, the test-optional approach inflated applications disproportionately at highly selective institutions, which actually lowered the chance of acceptance.
Where does this leave us in marketing test-optional admissions post-pandemic? Now that so many colleges and universities have switched their policies, is there a benefit to tout in being test-optional? How should we be talking about it?
The biggest current opportunity for marketing test-optional admissions lies in providing clarity. While most institutions that changed to test-optional during the pandemic have made that change permanent, some (roughly 90 institutions, according to Forbes: More Than 80% Of Four-Year Colleges Won’t Require Standardized Tests For Fall 2023 Admissions) have continued with a temporary extension. In addition, a similar number of institutions are using the terms “test-blind” or “score-free” to indicate that they will either not be accepting scores or not looking at them, even if students submit. These additional categories create confusion in the marketplace for students. The first step in marketing a test-optional policy for your institution should be creating a clear statement of policy that is easy for both students and counselors to find on your website. Are you permanently test-optional? Are there any conditions? Chapman University and the University of Missouri are examples of institutions who have well-developed websites to help students understand their processes.
Your institution can also distinguish itself by having a clear policy on scholarships. In the past, many institutions accepted test-optional applications for admission, but required test scores for a student to be considered for certain scholarships. Sometimes this extended to all scholarships. The traditional way of thinking about this was that students were already receiving a benefit by gaining admission, and that students submitting test scores deserved additional consideration because they were submitting everything needed, plus they were bringing an extra benefit to the institution’s profile with their scores.
Before 2020, schools began to expand scholarship consideration to test-optional applicants, but often slowly, or around the margins. Test-optional students often had different yield rates than test-submitting students, so it made sense to try out how different levels of scholarships would impact them. With the tsunami of test-optional conversions, however, accurate historical modeling on such a large scale was very difficult. Many institutions spent a cycle or more very worried about a change in yield they could not anticipate. Now, however, with two years of data under their belts, colleges are becoming more comfortable aggressively using scholarships to attract test-optional students.
If your institution considers test-optional students for your whole range of scholarship opportunities, make this clear in your marketing messages. You have a distinct advantage that you should be publicizing.
The third, and maybe most important, question you should be answering with your marketing of test-optional is the “why.” Students, parents, and even school counselors are skeptical about whether institutions are really considering test-optional applications equally. There were many institutions that made the shift to test-optional because the saw the writing on the wall during the pandemic, but that does not mean that those institutions had any history or experience working with test-optional applicants. Students’ instincts tell them there is still bias out there in favor of students who also have scores. To what degree do individual institutions really embrace test-optional from an access and equity perspective, and to what degree are they just committed to not seeing their application numbers go down?
This represents a chance for your institution to tell your test-optional story. You can share your philosophy of what really makes a student a good fit for your institution. This is a brand opportunity. If you are seeking good community members, tell your audience why this is more important than a test score. If you want students with leadership, volunteer hours, honors potential, or curiosity, utilize your test-optional statement to talk about why these characteristics are as valuable or even more valuable than numeric data. Voicing your values will help reassure students that you are embracing the uses of test-optional that benefit them.
Most institutions are missing the benefits of marketing their test-optional programs. Now that test-optional is commonplace, it is easy to think of it as just a checkbox on the application, but this is akin to students not using their personal statements to market themselves to you. Your test-optional policy is an easy conversation starter about your values as an institution and a chance to provide clarity and reassurance to students in the uncertain world of college admissions. Use it to your benefit!x
