As more colleges switch to being test-optional and test-flexible regarding their admissions, Syracuse University should look into evaluating this policy to see if it would be beneficial.

Test-optional and test-flexible colleges offer an alternative to students who don’t want to share their ACT or SAT scores, and instead allow stronger emphasis on grades and extracurricular activities. There are more than 800 four-year colleges that have gone test-optional, and more are becoming test-optional after seeing the success of students in test-optional schools, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.

Test-optional colleges can attract a wider array of students that might not have applied if the university placed heavy significance on test scores. With test scores optional, students that have high grades and impressive extracurriculars but don’t want to share their test scores might be more inclined to apply to colleges that are test-optional. This would bring in different students who have strong qualities that fall outside of test-taking ability.

But becoming a test-optional university could also potentially discourage students that did receive high test scores from applying. If students feel that test scores are not as highly considered as they are at other schools, they might decide to apply elsewhere.

There are pros and cons to becoming a test-optional college. Due to the number of schools that are adopting a test-optional or test-flexible policy, SU should look into how test-optional colleges that are similar to SU are benefiting from not requiring standardized test scores. There’s no downside to exploring how test-optional admissions could affect the SU student body. The university should dedicate time to researching this policy and if it would positively affect the university as a whole.