Breaking it down: test-optional, test-flexible, test-blind, and test-free

Test-optional

Under a test-optional policy, colleges still welcome test scores from students who choose to submit them and consider them a valuable data point and part of the review process if testing is available. At the same time, they are confident in reviewing a file without a test score and still rendering a fair decision—in other words, students without scores are not disadvantaged.

Test-flexible

Either testing is required or optional, but if you are sending scores under a test flexible policy, you have choices about which tests to include—SAT, ACT, IB, or AP (or some international exams). Be sure to review the specific criteria for the universities you’re applying to.

Test-blind or test-free

Test-blind and test-free are synonyms! If a school is test-free, it means they will not consider standardized testing in their application review. Even if you have a 36 on the ACT or a 1600 on the SAT, and you send it to them, they will not consider it as a part of your file.

Test-free policies are far more rare than test optional. Notable schools with test-free policies include the University of California system and the California State University system. Reed has implemented test-free pilot programs through the fall 2026 application cycle. 

Common myths about test-optional policies

“Test optional is a new concept.”

False. Test-optional admissions policies have been around for decades; Bowdoin College was the first to move to test optional more than 50 years ago, in 1969. Historically, many of the other colleges that have adopted such policies have been small liberal arts colleges like Bowdoin, though in recent years, a number of larger schools have also become test optional, like American University and the University of Colorado Boulder. The University of Chicago made major waves when they moved to test optional in 2018; they were the most selective college to ever make the leap prior to COVID-19.

“All colleges are test optional now.”

False. While the majority of colleges remain test optional, some (like the Florida state system) never changed to test-optional policies, even in the height of the pandemic. In the past few years, Yale, Dartmouth, and Brown have joined MIT and Georgetown as highly selective colleges reinstating testing requirements. More recently, other schools such as University of Miami, Auburn University, and Ohio State University have also returned to testing. For a complete (and regularly updated) list of test-optional schools, see below.

“Test scores don’t matter anymore.”

False. A school that is test optional will absolutely still consider a student’s standardized test scores, and those scores can be valuable tools for admissions officers. So who should still send their scores? We would encourage any student who has achieved a score in or above the average range of admitted students to submit scores. A strong score can provide important information that supports a student’s academic work and their growth and achievement across time. The role of standardized tests has always been to support and contextualize the work that students are doing in the classroom, and that will continue to be true. As we have seen from the decision making of colleges returning to testing, many colleges still value tests highly. In an age of rampant grade inflation, this is even more relevant.

“The college I want to attend is test-optional now, so getting in will be a breeze.”

False. While more students may feel they can now apply to certain schools, that does not mean the school is going to admit more students or change their overall admissions practices. Indeed, since the mass move to test optional, we have seen increases in application pools at selective colleges, in some cases dramatic ones, resulting in the lowest acceptance rates in history at many schools. Ultimately, a selective school will remain just as selective, whether or not they require the SAT or ACT. In some cases, they may even become more selective, as the pool of qualified applicants expands.

Students who choose not to submit scores should also keep in mind that if they don’t submit testing, the other aspects of their applications (academic profile, extracurricular life, essays, recommendations) will be weighed more heavily. This approach is evidenced in Boston University’s original statement when they announced their test optional policy:

While the admissions process at Boston University has always been holistic and decisions have never been based solely on one single factor, such as an SAT or ACT score, the move to test optional over the past few years has improved our process by adding considerable weight to the important qualities and characteristics that focus more on you and your academic and personal accomplishments. 

In other words, Boston University still has just as rigorous a review process as it always does; if and when a student doesn’t submit the SAT or ACT, admissions officers will simply be shifting how they weigh different components of the application and evidence of intellectual vitality.

Should I apply test-optional?

In the past few years, we have seen test-optional students achieve success in the college admissions process, just as we saw students with test scores do well. Overall, colleges received test-optional applicants in large numbers, and they admitted many of those applicants. Even as some colleges return to required testing, we anticipate that applying test optional will remain a viable option for some students, depending on their college lists, their test results, and their academic profiles.

We would like more concrete data from colleges and universities about the number of test optional applicants and admits; unfortunately, most colleges have not reported their test-optional statistics. While this is being incorporated into Common Data Set questions, this reporting is always a year out of date, anyway. So how should students decide when to submit tests?

When considering whether to apply test optional, ask yourself the following questions:

1. How does my standardized test score fit with the story my transcript tells?
2. Would my academic profile benefit from a score in some way?
   • Supporting an upward trajectory
   • Corroborating level of rigor of my courses/high school
   • Supporting an application from a new/lesser known high school
3.  Are my test results in the middle 50% range of admitted students at my colleges of interest?
4. How did test-optional applicants from my high school fare at my colleges of interest last year? (Note: You may need to ask your guidance counselor for this information, since platforms like Naviance, SCOIR, and Maia Learning do not yet specify test optional results in scattergrams and admissions statistics.)

These questions can provide a framework for your testing decisions.

How should I apply to test flexible schools?

If you’re applying to test flexible schools, you can choose which standardized tests to submit. However, test flexible policies may vary widely, so it’s important to review each school’s policies carefully. Here are just a few examples of how test flexible policies vary among universities:

• Yale University requires students to choose to submit either the ACT, SAT, AP, or IB exams.
• Carnegie Mellon’s testing policy varies by college or program, with the College of Computer Science requiring an SAT or ACT score and a number of other colleges and programs requiring students to choose to submit either SAT, ACT, IB, AP, Cambridge A-Levels, or French Baccalaureate scores. Additionally, Carnegie Mellon’s College of Fine Arts remains test optional.
• At Auburn University, applicants with a GPA of at least 3.6 can be considered without test scores, though all applicants are encouraged to submit them.

The takeaway? If you’re applying to a test flexible school, be sure to do your homework, so you know whether you need to submit scores at all, and if you do, which scores you’ll need.

Who isn’t test optional?

The majority of colleges and universities in the United States will remain test optional through the 2025-26 application cycle. Many have already announced that they will remain so through 2026 or later, but a few notable colleges rejoined the ranks of those requiring testing for this cycle.

Popular colleges that will require testing for fall 2026 include:

• Auburn University (for students with below a 3.6 GPA)
• Brown University
• Caltech
• Carnegie Mellon University (test flexible; students may use AP or IB scores to fulfill requirement)
• Dartmouth College
• Florida A&M University
• Florida Atlantic University
• Florida Gulf Coast University
• Florida International University
• Florida Polytechnic University
• Florida State University
• Georgetown University (requires full testing history)
• Georgia State University
• Georgia Tech
• Harvard University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Ohio State University
• New College of Florida
• Princeton University
• Purdue University
• Rice University
• Stanford University
• United States Air Force Academy
• United States Naval Academy
• University of Central Florida
• University of Florida
• University of Georgia
• University of Miami
• University of North Florida
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of South Florida
• University of Tennessee
• University of Texas, Austin
• University of West Florida
• West Point
• Yale University (test flexible; students may use AP or IB scores to fulfill requirement)

For a complete list of colleges that are test optional, visit fairtest.org.

Test-free colleges for the fall of 2026

The following list of schools are known to be test-free for the fall of 2026:

• Cal State system 
• Reed College 
• University of California system (all campuses)