A lot of the teenagers who have asked me for advice have earned above average grades, but crummy SAT scores. In the past, the options for these kids would have been much smaller. Today, however, there are 815 colleges and universities which have gone SAT and ACT optional.

So what does this mean? These test-optional schools no longer require applicants to submit ACT or SAT results to be considered for admission. Whether or not a student submits scores should not impact his or her financial aid package and most of these schools also seem to award merit scholarships without seeing test results.

I’d argue that colleges possess noble reasons for choosing the test-optional  path, as well as less savory motivations. You can learn about the ugly underbelly of the test-optional trend in an article that I wrote this summer for The New York Times entitled, The Other Side of Test Optional.

The kids I’m talking with, however, don’t care about a school’s motivations. They just want to know if they’ve got a chance at some wonderful schools despite crummy SAT scores. I’ve been relieved to tell some of these teenagers that I think they do.

By the way, it’s hardly just obscure schools that have jumped on the test-optional bandwagon. Participating schools include Mount Holyoke, Middlebury, Union, Pitzer, Bates, Wake Forest and the University of Texas, Austin. In fact about a third of the top 100 liberal arts colleges have instituted test-optional policies.

You can find the list of all the test-optional schools at FairTest.org.

Further Reading:

Studying for the SAT: Is It Worth It?

Comparing ACT and SAT Test Scores

The Dirty Secret Behind the ACT and SAT Tests

Great Reading Lists for Teenagers

What adjective would best describe your SAT or ACT scores:

A) Transcendent.
B) Puissant.
C) Sublime.
D) Dreadful.

If  your answer was “D,” here’s news that can chase away that funk:  The number of  SAT and ACT-optional schools continues to climb so even if you don’t earn a good SAT score or good ACT score, there is hope.

FairTest.org, the anti-testing nonprofit group, has updated its list of schools that will gladly accept qualified applicants without ever seeing their test scores.  In the latest list, about 840 schools are now testing optional.

One word of caution. If you pin your hopes on these schools, ask the admission office how your chances at merit or financial aid might be impacted by the missing scores.

Learn more about SAT strategies by visiting my blog’s SAT archive and by reading my book The College Solution.

Further Reading:

ACT vs SAT: How to Compare Scores

Studying for the SAT: Is It Worth It?