Are Colleges Really TEST OPTIONAL?

As always in college admissions, the experts know that we have to read between the lines AND look for the evidence in terms of what ACTUALLY happened ... colleges delayed deadlines and made SATs 'optional' which resulted a steep increase in applications, and decrease in acceptance rates.

Colgate - up 100%
Duke - up 20%
University of Virginia - up 38%

NYU got over 100,000 applications, while USC had over 40,000 applications for scholarships alone.

Of the Early Action pool only 7.34% of applicants who did not submit standardized test scores were admitted.

SO far ... our results and reported statistics on admission supports the reality that the "test-optional" option isn't quite an option, and definitely not a free pass for students who are:

Just because you don't HAVE TO doesn't mean it won't help your application significantly if you do submit.

Your In Class / In School Grades and GPA REALLY COUNT too!

In a pool that is larger than ever before, you must pay close attention to your AP scores, IB predicted scores, CAPE scores and GPA in school ... these count more than ever!

Finally... it's not just about grades and scores!

Students are doing INCREDIBLE activities and campaigns online. Applying for virtual summer internships. Taking online courses. Applying for competitive summer virtual enrichment programs with colleges. Awesome programs!

Since COVID is making admissions even MORE competitive, you have to make sure you build your profile from NOW.

For more than 10 years, AIM has helped scores of students to build the strongest profile possible to get into their top 3 choice schools with over US$10Million every year. We can help you too with our College Prep programs. Let's win this college application thing together!