Are You Really Test-Optional?
As college admission becomes increasingly competitive, the journey to securing that coveted spot at your dream university has shifted in unexpected ways. During the pandemic, various universities across the country pivoted towards new testing policies: some remained test-required, others switched to test-free, and then there were those who went test-optional.
USC admission has always been holistic. We are also test-optional policy. So, what does this mean for our applicants exactly? Does a test score actually affect an admission decision? Does it increase or decrease an applicant’s chances? What other components of the application are weighed more heavily if test scores are optional?
We know these are the buzzing questions in the back of your mind. So, let’s clear a few things up! When we say USC is test-optional, we truly mean that. This is not a trick, or a calculated ploy aimed at your downfall. It is up to you, as the applicant, to decide for yourself if you wish to have an exam score considered, whether the SAT or ACT.
In our review process, we understand that you all are unique individuals with your own stories, passions, and experiences—and that is what we want to learn about within your application. If you have taken an exam and are proud of that score, you are more than welcome to send it in to us to have it considered. However, if, for whatever reason, you choose not to, that is perfectly fine, because a test score is not the only way to showcase your academic strengths. You can still showcase your academic strengths through an award, your involvement, a challenging course you took and so on—and we’ll get to see this through other components of your application!
To further elaborate on this, let’s imagine your application as a build-your-own-pizza. All of the components you give to us in the application, no matter the “ingredients”, will always give us a whole, 8-slice pizza. Therefore, if you choose not to send in a test score, that’s okay, because we will still have a great, whole 8-slice pizza. There will not be a “missing piece” simply because you don’t submit a test score. And vice versa: you won’t have an “extra slice” that’ll make your pizza look better than anyone else’s if you do submit a test score. Regardless of what toppings you put on that pizza, it will be representative of you, and it will be a complete pizza!
Now, let’s talk more about how our test-optional policy has played out in the admission process. According to the 2024 USC First-Year Student Profile, roughly 36% of our applicants reported an exam score (SAT and/or ACT). That’s nearly 30,000 of our applicants! When it comes to the students we admitted to USC, approximately 51% of students submitted exam scores. With these numbers, you might begin to try to create a complex mathematical model of how to “play the admission game” but note that there is no intent in admitting a specific number of students that send versus don’t send in test scores. We don’t have quotas and, through the magical ways that the world operates (and a very extensive review from our admission team), we end up with those numbers unintentionally. To provide another analogy, you can view this from the perspective of seeing how many students we admit that have chess club (or any other type of involvement) listed on their activities list. Perhaps one year the majority of students that we admit just so happen to be chess professionals and the next year only one chess player gets into USC. Therefore, just because you see a number or fact, doesn’t necessarily mean there is a correlation.
From USC’s admission team, we really do mean it when we say we’re test-optional. We want each of you to do what’s best for you. And, if a test score is or isn’t that, then that’s okay. There is still so much more that we look at in our admission review. If you’re curious in learning more, check out our holistic admission blog here.
Written by: Leslie Escobedo, Assistant Director of USC Undergraduate Admission