## Welcome from Coach Art [00:00] Okay. So, welcome, welcome, welcome. I'm Coach Art with Eagle Lock. I'm doing my training for this evening. And uh first of all, I just want to thank you for joining me. I'm always so appreciative when you join me for my trainings because I know that you could be spending time with your family and friends or doing some interesting things that you have in your life um but you choose to spend it with me. So, I'm so always grateful for you joining these trainings and I truly truly hope that you get a lot out of the trainings because we um I look forward to providing, you know, useful information for all of our families and all those who are joining us that are not part of our program as well. So, tonight we're going to be talking about a very interesting uh topic which is test optional. Okay? And specifically test optional meaning the SAT ACT. Okay? Um there was a transition over uh to this during the COVID times. I'll go into that. Um but so talking about you know really building your test optional strategy what it's all about or so. Okay. So, what I'd like for you to do is um again, I'm a reaction guy and so I always say, you know, if if you ever see anything in which uh you think what I've said uh was interesting um that you liked, then please uh go ahead and give me a heart reaction. Let's try that right now. And I'd love to see the heart reaction just so I can see that you guys um Ah, there you go. I love it. And the reason why because that gives me an indication of what are the things that I'm saying that really, you know, resound well for you. Okay? So that helps me in future types of trainings uh to be able to form fit that to to the audience. Okay. So again, uh we'll go ahead and get started here. We're ## What test optional really means [01:45] building your test optional strategy. So what are we going to talk about today? What we're going to do is first we're going to look at how to tell if your scores actually help or possibly even quietly hurt your application. Okay? Then we will demystify what test optional is uh and even test required and what it really means and what it doesn't mean. Okay? And then finally I'm going to walk you through some strategies to make your application even stronger if you choose not to submit scores or if you choose to submit scores. Okay? So that can be from both ways. So, let's talk about what test optional actually really means because there's so many terms out there um that you will see that um has been out in the in kind of the I guess in the landscape uh since this has really become a big um you know a big thing and really that happened you know during the co time right so um first of all let's clear up some confusing terms um I've heard test optional test blind test flexible okay so what do they all these all mean first of And you could see that here. So first of all, test optional really means that the school will review your application with or without test scores. Okay? Again, thus the term optional. If you submit the scores, they will be considered. If you don't, you're not going to be penalized for that. Uh at least in theory. Okay? At least in theory. Um and then there's another opt. They say test blind. Okay? So that means they won't even look at your scores even if you submit them. Um you know they will not look at them. So one prime example are the UC's the University of California schools. They are a prime example because they literally in the application it says do not post your your your tests uh scores on here. We do not want to see them. Okay. So that's test blind. And then lastly, there's a term they say like test flexible, which means some schools might offer or might accept other standardized tests, for example, like APs um or or IB type of C scores instead of SAT, ACT, and that's uh a little bit more rare. But again, you have these terms. But, you know, here's the catch. Just because a school is test optional, it doesn't mean that they don't prefer test scores. Okay? So, many of the colleges out there still expect scores. Um, and especially because if they're trying to determine merit aid, uh, if they're trying to deter, you know, uh, select between, uh, competitive majors and students or even outofstate applicants. Okay. So that's where the where we talk about and I'll be talking about later about the unspoken rules that come in uh with respect to uh test optional. Okay. So if we take a look at you know what does uh test optical test opt optional actually mean. Okay. Um we can kind of talk about the different things here. So first of ## Test blind vs test required [04:42] all um you know we want to clarify that you know the misconception optional doesn't mean that you won't be considered. Okay and that's true. Um it really means is that uh and so you don't want to make you don't want to say is oh gosh I didn't turn my test in so I'm not going to be seen. That's not true at all. Okay. Um now there is a fact that the scores that are are submitted they will be weighed heavily. Now, when I say weigh heavily, that might be too much of a stronger term, but they will be considered definitely because there's a lot of uh ways, and then we'll talk about that in the strategies that the scores can benefit you if you do um submit them versus other candidates that don't. Okay? Because really, this is the hidden truth that some colleges are test preferred. Okay? Meaning that they prefer that you do submit it, but it's still optional. Okay? Um but that unfortunately is transparent. So it's not I'm sorry it's not transparent out there and a lot of times you don't know if this colleges are test preferred. Okay. So that's what you know again test optional actually means okay when we talk about it. Okay. So why why what happened? Why did the ## Why test optional became a thing [06:01] colleges go to test optional? Well first of all something happened. You all know about it about four or five years ago. You know, a fairly uh significant event happened which is COVID. Okay. And COVID really uh made access to testing uh unpredictable unfortunately. You know, too many students couldn't get to the testing centers. They were closed down. They were closing down the actual uh availability of sites. So, so many schools paused the score requirements because students frankly just couldn't take the test. Okay. Secondarily, um going to test optional has really boosted the application numbers. Um so, you know, I always say this in the UC's precoid, there was about 60,000 applicants. Okay? And then just recently, uh which was last year, 27,000 applicants. So you see the the in the boost the increase of application numbers just dramat you know uh skyrocketed dramatically because there was no longer that barrier of oh I have to make a certain score right uh which this really helps schools look more selective in the rankings just because they have you know just a bigger pool and then lastly finally it aligns with their equity goals meaning this especially helped the students that were underresourced backgrounds or test diverse learners um you know those that complained said that maybe the tests were you know biased or so. So this really allowed and freed that up and u kind of met the goals the equity goals that these schools had. But basically what do we what can we derive from that is that test optional isn't always about changing um how they admit students. It's also about how they market themselves. Right? And so that because it's so open now um that you know they are able to accept much more so they're able to market themselves out there. Okay. Now of course you all know test required. This is what it used to be right a lot of the schools um you know major percentage of the schools before prior to COVID really were test required and that's how they use it as a um you know a system to to select students. Well, what are we talking about when we say test required? So, test required policy really means that a college or university requires all applicants to submit a standardized test score. Okay, it makes sense, right? So, typically the SAT or the ACT, which are the two main types of tests. Um, and this is included as part of the admissions process. Now these scores are mandatory. Okay, for those who are test required and your application will be considered incomplete without them meaning that they will not go any further in reviewing your uh application until you uh show evidence and submit your test uh test scores. Now what are the key elements with respect to test required? First of all, as I mentioned, it's mandatory. You got to submit your SAT ACT scores to be considered. It applies to all applicants. There are no considerations for instate, out of state, international. The only exception is for transfer students or those students that have test subject alternatives. Okay. Now, there's also um ## The truth about test required schools [09:23] it's used within the holistic review because everybody understands that throughout the United States, most of the majority of the state uh the schools out there are using what's called a holistic review. Okay? They're no longer just accepting students based on GPA and and um SAT or ACT scores like the UC's used to like in 2012. Okay, so test scores are still required part of the academic review even if the holistic review is used. Okay, there are no exceptions. Okay, there's no way to opt out of submitting scores. And lastly, many of the schools when you if they are test required, they tie the merit aid, the honors, the college admissions and placement decisions to those submitted scores as well. So, um if it is a test required score, you want to uh test required school, you want to take it very seriously. So, what are some of those schools? So, you can see here test required schools. Again, this is not a absolute um you know definitive list of all of them, but here are some um you know pretty pretty well-known uh Harvard University, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, uh PE UPEN, uh Cornell, which is going to be starting in 2026, fall, uh MIT, Caltech, Stanford as well, Georgetown. Uh there are some private institutions here that you can see which you probably may have never heard of. Um but one of them is John Hopkins. Okay. Requiring scores starting in the fall of 2026. Okay. Um other ones, uh you can see a lot here in in the various states. Uh Florida is a big one. They u majority of the Florida schools um are are are test required. Um and you could see some big names there. University of Florida, Miami, Georgia, uh Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, uh in Tennessee, you have ten University of Memphis. Okay. University of Tennessee and Knoxville and Chattanooga and in Texas, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, TCU and University of Dallas. Okay, so those are are bigger names with respect to those who are test required. And then you also have some other ones. Purdue, okay, a very popular school with respect to engineering. Uh Louisiana Tech, okay, uh Auburn, um let's see here, West Virginia. And then of course the militarymies the US air force naval uh army all of themies are uh definitely test required. Okay. So what are the key insights with respect to test required? Well first of all the test scores are are are used as gatekeepers. Okay. The scores are often used in the initial review to filter out candidates and applicants. Okay. even though there is a holistic review um there it still does have some weight from that perspective. So falling below a school's middle 50% range can definitely and significantly reduce your odds even if you have a strong GPA because if they do a test if there are test required again they are looking at the SAT scores the middle if you are below middle 50% okay middle 50% of the range um that they advertise um it's going to be difficult to get in. Now scores are also compared within context. So admissions officers will evaluate scores in the context of the high school, the curriculum rigor and access to to you know to prep uh to preparation. So for example, a 1350 SAT from a title one high school may carry more weight than a 1450 from an elite prep school because again um they're looking at, you know, the resources that are available for that student. Okay? And so uh still the holistic review as I mentioned is still part of it. High scores can strengthen uh the academic index. Okay. So at highly selective schools you know test scores feed into their academic interest which is a metric used to compare applicants very quickly with respect to their academics. But remember we've always mentioned academics activities application. Academics is the least important but it doesn't mean it's not important. Right? So, a strong score, it can really balance out a slightly lower GPA, particularly for athletes or those from underrepresented schools. So, a stronger SAT, ACT can definitely offset a lower um type lower grades. Okay. Uh AP and IB scores may complement, but they do not replace the ACT and the SAT. Okay. So, at test required schools, AP or even IB are additive. They're not substitutes. Okay. So, meaning additive is that it can add to um you know having you become more successful in getting accepted. Um ## SAT vs AP vs course rigor [14:19] and really because the AP scores they show subject mastery and it can really enhance the academic rigor but again it won't replace the SAT or the ACT requirements. And lastly, uh score reporting policies vary. So really again there's across the board with all these schools. Some schools they practice superc scoring which means it's combining the best scores from different dates while others don't. Some require um official score reports by a certain deadline others accept self-reporting of those scores uh first. Right? So there's a lot of variability in here but these are kind of the key insights with respect to test required. Okay, test required. So, if we're talking taking taking a look at test required strategies, um, a couple of things you should consider, and I know this is about test optional, but I did want to make sure that I didn't leave out test required. First of all, you want to plan early for testing and retakes. So, if you're taking your first SAT or ACT, you know, you should be a little later by the spring of your junior year that's that that you you take those. you know, you can uh allow for even sooner than that or earlier than that, you know, even, you know, the the the the summer before your junior year or the beginning of your junior year, which really allows you time to retake, right? So, um and really again, you want to use the official practice test to to simulate conditions and really identify weak areas uh early on. Okay. Also, you want to make sure that you prioritize score range research. So what I mean by that is uh is you want to make sure that you are looking and and researching the schools and finding out what is the what is their range. Okay? And making sure that your range is within the you know again if it's the middle 50% or higher you know you want to apply to schools where your score is at least in the top half of that range. Now ideally you want to be above the 75th percentile to really have a competitive edge within the range. Okay. So that's really really important that you prioritize uh researching your score range uh especially for those who are text test required. Um use your score strategically. So if your score is well above a school's average, highlight it prominently in your um in your an application. If your score is just slightly below, then you know again how you offset that is doing really well in your essays, your recommendations, of course your activities, right? your extracurricular activities to really add depth. Um, what you want to do as well, and this is what we always say, you know, with course rigor, you want to pair your scores with the course rigor. So, if you have a high SAT, ACT score along with strong grades in rigor courses like API IB classes, that is, you know, a secret sauce right there. That's the great combination because then it really does support one another that you are a strong academic student. Okay. Um because if you have high scores but the problem is you have um if you have high scores you know and and high grades but your rigor is low that might can be may raise concerns that you're coasting meaning that you're getting good grades in the regular classes but still it's not you're not taking on the difficulty of um you know college level classes. Okay. One thing is don't rely solely based on the scores. you know, even if it's a test required uh school, uh the admissions still remain holistic. So, it is still what we always preach, you know, the um your academics of course you have to do well, but particularly your extracurricular activities, your leadership, um your essays, your recommendations, all of these are differentiators. Okay? So, that is huge. And um you want to make sure that your essays of course show depth uh which you know all of you have seen my trainings on that. Okay. um prep smart not just hard. So what we mean is that you know take advantage of all the free tools that are out there you know Khan Academy uh the ACT academy uh time mock exams um analytics to you know prep for your fish uh uh efficient uh efficiently you know think about a targeted prep course or a tutor you know we offer also um SAT prep courses right uh cohorts uh if you're part of our program and then lastly make sure that you confirm the policy nuances. So, you want to make sure that you go to that school and you check, you know, um and double check the school's policies on uh their, you know, SAT, ACT requirements, okay? Are the scores required for scholarships, honors programs, or specific majors? Okay? Because some schools, like for example, UT Austin, they may require additional scores um for placement or merit aid. Okay? So let's talk about the effective scores when we're talking about test optional. Okay, when we say test optional uh so when the school is saying that you can submit or not submit what happens there so when scores when is it that the scores when they help you when you actually are submitting your scores how does that help? Here is the most important principle and I know I've said this so many times. Submit your scores if you are at or above the school's middle 50% range. Okay. So um you can use different uh data points for example like uh CDS data or websites the common data set big future or niche. Okay, which actually uh they normally post okay uh these types of um uh of the ranges. Okay, so if we ## When to submit... and when it hurts [20:12] take a look at those ranges, for example, USC's middle 50% SAT is 1440 and 15 between 15 1440 to 1540. So you want to submit your score if you're 1450 or higher because again that's in the middle, right? Sorry, the upper middle. Okay. University of Oregon's middle 50% SAT 1170 between between 1170 and 1370. So submit it if you have 1250 or higher. Okay. Another thing is AP scores can also help. So it's good if um always we talk about privates for private schools. You know fours and fives in the core or intended major subjects um can really help. Okay. But the key thing is if you want to be again as I mentioned in or above the middle 50% ideally 75% percentile. Okay. So that is really really key. So you can use that as a as a as a you know gauge. All right. And I see some hearts. So thank you so much. I know it's good to always have numbers right. Okay. So when does the scores hurt you? Okay. Well, what if your scores fall below the middle 50% range? Okay, that's when they actually do hurt you for submission. Okay, so submitting, you know, a a 1,200 to a school where most students submit 1,400 or higher, that may raise questions. Okay. Um, now the key thing here is they won't reject you just for that. But the the unfortunate thing is it becomes a weak point that they can weigh you against other uh students. Now again the the the academics the act the activities the essays those have higher merit but when because things are so competitive now you know these the the factors of let's say these SAT scores and ACT scores can make a difference because the it's so narrow with respect to all the students and comparing you against other students. So, this goes along the time the same lines of same for a uh APs. If you get a two or a three, let's say in AP calculus, it's probably best not to report it. Um because you're allowed to pick which scores to send. So, you make sure you want to do that. Um you know, Coach Tony has always said um because he's he was at the UC's as a reader, he said, you know, uh report all the scores, right? But, um nonUC's, you want to only do the fours and the fives, okay? the fours and the fives. Um, and you can see here so scores distract from strengths and grades, essays or rigor. So that's the reason why you just don't want to bring that entrance into the brain of the reader. Okay, now when we talked about holistic uh review, okay, holistic review without test scores. So this is the thing. If you don't submit the scores, then what do you do? Well, first of all, um, schools focus more, and again, I know we've talked about GPA, I I should have put a a strike through this. It's really more about, and we say GPA, it's more about the grades and the course rigor. Okay? Did you truly challenge yourself? And that's the important thing. Did you truly challenge yourself? Did you go above and beyond what was offered to you at the school and you took extra things, which would be, for example, rigor of classes, okay? like honors classes, AP courses, dual enrollment or so. Okay, what did you do with respect to extracurriculars and leadership? And really the key thing here, remember we talked about is that extracurriculars you want to have, you know, if you're going UC's or CSUs, uh, 20 25 plus hours or more per week. A top 20 is, you know, 25 to 30 per week. IV leagues is 30 to 35 plus hours, uh, more or more per week total. Okay, so that's really really important and that you show leadership and that you're showing growth, okay, and development. Another thing is your letters of recommendation, okay, and your essays, of course. Now, letters of recommendations are so important because that really does convey if the school asks for it, it really does convey um another aspect of who you are, okay? It can be almost act as another essay because um they give additional information about you. And then of course the essays uh so important I can't you know the personal insight questions your common app essays very very very very key. Another thing is contextual data. So what we talk about is your school profile your family background. This is actually stated in the UC's. Okay. The UC when they're talking about their um their acceptance criteria um or their overlays in which you know your family background um can can make a difference if for example uh contextually let's say you had to help student your your family um with uh taking care of of your of your your the kids or so. Um these are contextual context data that really can help you. Okay. Uh so for example uh score silent. Okay so some of these schools um at test optional schools admissions officers often create what they call a score silent file meaning they review you as if scores don't exist and that makes every other piece of your application more important. Okay. So again remember test optional you know versus submitting and not submitting if you don't then they will look at you uh with respect to a score silent file. Okay. Now, what is the unspoken rule of test optional? Well, here's what many families don't realize. Test optional policies are not always as optional as they sound because um so you got to figure this out. So, for example, a highly selective school, let's say like Georgetown or MIT, they say their test optional, but almost all people who are um almost all of the admits submit scores. And I know that's like disheartening for some people like, "Oh my gosh, well, how do I know?" But again, it's one of those things where, as I mentioned, that scores can make a difference. Um, large public institutions like UT Austin or University of Illinois um um or Bana Champagne, which is again my alma mater, even test optional scores are used for merit aid and major placement. And so that's another uh consideration when we're talking about the unspoken rule of test optional. Okay, some majors like engineering and business still expect scores even if they're optional. And the reason why is because these are highly impacted majors. And so what they're doing is is they're trying to take as many criteria as they can to assess the students. And one of those things are if you have a strong SAT, ACT, that's good. Okay? And so often, you know, uh strong math scores even unofficial uh even unofficially um again can really turn the tide um you know if you have it right. Um so when we take a look at test scores, you know, they can affect scholarships um honors college eligibility even when you know they're not required for admissions. So you want to make sure you you check the school's fine print. Okay? And if you take a look at there are some hidden pressures, you know, institutional priorities, for example, like rankings, yield protection. So when we're talking about yield protection, they're talking about, you know, which students are really, if you if they accept them, are they which students are really going to actually accept the acceptance. Okay? And so the the students that we they you know are are high with respect to the, you know, test scores, they more have have usually have an inclination of that. Okay. All right. So, what are some ## What to do if you don't submit scores [28:09] strategies if you don't submit? Okay. What are some strategies if you don't submit? So, first of all, um, academically, okay, of course, as I mentioned, and we kind of went through this, you want to emphasize your rigor, your APs, dual enrollment or honors riggers in your transcript. So, you want to make sure again you're just you're maximizing the amount of rigor courses you take. And I know I've kind of mentioned this before, but these are still again strategies that still hold tried and true uh and that we always um preach, right? Essays, you know, this is this is uh I can't say it is probably the most important factor. Use them to show intellectual curiosity, writing strength, but also just to show who you are. Okay? Use them so that your writing becomes your voice and it really shows them who you are. your activities. You know, again, you can build this profile, this narrative that really shows involvement, especially in those things that you are passionate about, right? And and I've talked about this and if you haven't heard about this, you know, being a spiky student versus a rounded student. Really, really important. If you don't know what I mean, go and look at the archives in our our uh YouTube channel. you'll see uh one about activities and and and listen to the to to my training about activities and what's important about activities and then of course letters of wreck. If the school is asking for it, you know, ask the teachers who know you, know you the best, uh know your learning style, know your strengths, make sure that they really speak to that in their in their act in their letters of recommendation really. And then really thinking creatively. Um sometimes if schools allow you, you are able to submit, you know, uh additional materials, particularly if you are a creative individual, let's say in the arts, they'll ask you for writing samples or they might ask you for um you know, examples of your of your of your work. Okay? So that could be thinking creatively if they allow you to do that. ## Tools to research score ranges [30:15] Okay? So if they allow you to do that. Okay. um some tools um for um score for for your scores. If you for example how to find uh the score ranges and I mentioned this before uh the common data set. So um you know if you Google the common data set um uh if you Google and you put the the school name so for example Google um Harvard common data set um and then if you check section C9 okay for the test scores you will see the ranges um and the and the particular scores that have been received for that year. So again the college name and then type in comma data set and you'll find it. Another thing is like say big future um by um the college board okay they give score ranges and test policy um summaries. Another thing is um a fairest.org. Okay they list test optional colleges and all of their fine print. Okay all of their fine print. Another thing you guys probably have heard of this is navian or score. A lot of the high schools use this. um they have a lot of these amazing scatteragramgrams of past students and their scores and outcomes. So, it's great to see what those past scores are for the those schools. Okay, so that's a great way to see where um your score lies and you know and if you're uh above 50% or below. Okay, ## Quick case studies [31:43] so if we take a look if we take a look at um some examples. So for example, student A, he has a 3.9 GPA. And again, remember as I mentioned, um we don't like to dwell on GPA too much, but just this is for purposes of you guys can see quick case studies. 3.9 GPA, 1270 SAT, okay? And he's applying to Boston University. Well, if the middle 50% uh if you look at this, a range is 1340 to 1500. Well, definitely it's below the range. you do not want to submit to Boston University although and it is a test optional so you don't want to submit your score there okay so that's very important even though you have a 39 GPA now student B here has a 37 GPA has a 1500 SAT but is applying to UC Berkeley well again UC Berkeley is test blind as we talked about the UC's are test blind so you don't want to submit it because it's going to be irrelevant because they are told all the readers are told they cannot consider 1500. Even if you put it in there, you will most likely make them mad because you're not following instructions. But if we talk about student C, 4.2 GPA, okay, they don't have any scores and they're applying to Wake Forest. Well, then how you're going to really uh you know show uh that you should be a student there. You're going to use as I mentioned the essays, your transcript uh to show showcase rigor uh your extracurricular activities or so. Okay. So, those are the different types of uh quick case studies uh when we're talking about you know when and when not to submit. Okay. All right. So what are the key takeaways? What are the key takeaways um that we would consider with respect to test optional? Okay. So first of all, uh as I mentioned, research each school's middles 50% and test optional language. It's very very important. Read the fine print. Okay? If you're above it, submit it. If you're below it, consider holding back. Okay? So that's just the kind of the you know submit if you're solidly within the range um or within or above that range right okay um another thing is decide by school not ## Final takeaways [34:09] one because remember you got decide by school not one sizefits-all so you might submit to some of the schools and some you might not okay depending upon um the you know the circumstances of that school so you want to make sure that you again do your research with respect to your SAT scores and really find out are you within that range and it does it make sense does it really improve your ability to to be successful and be accepted you know um so again if you don't if you're not submitting craft a stronger file uh through essays uh if you have a resume and you can you can submit it great and your coursework if you don't submit um another thing and we talk about this Okay. Um, remember you can consider taking the test again, okay, if your score is borderline. Um, and I would recommend you do that, but remember we always say is you don't want to necessarily take the the tests or SAT or ACT more than twice. Um what you want to do is to make sure is that you are um doing the best that you can the first time you take the test and then secondarily if you find that you don't have the score you want then you take a secondary test. I can see a third test um depending upon you know the school that you're looking or especially if you're going to Ivy Leagues but we always say is don't play the the the numbers game in which because typically students do not raise their scores more than 100 points uh we say is you know after uh three or four intense studying weeks um they could raise their score about 100 points. the the highest we always see on average is about 200 points but again it really drops off after that and as you get higher in the ranges so for example you know you you have a lot of opportunity to go from a 1,200 to 1300 but going from you know 1400 to 1500 that makes it harder it's just it just the the the numbers show that way okay so remember I want to after all of this after talking about this there is no shame in going test optional Okay, there are many, many, many, many students who get into schools without their scores. I literally saw a lot of students this year in our program or 2025 that made it into private schools and they did not submit their score because their score wasn't, you know, it didn't make give them any advantage. But again, when in doubt, make your decision with data. Okay, that's the key thing. And as we always said, the middle 50% range, if you're above it, most likely if you're 75%, then you're very, very competitive. Okay? You're very, very competitive. So, with that, um, if there's any questions before I say that, um, if you are not part of our program, and again, I always, you know, we we love what we do. You can see that we're very passionate about what we do. Um, if you want if you found this interesting and you want to talk to us about um your your student, you can always book a free 15-minute assessment with our college admissions counselors. Um, and just go ahead and type in the word book, B um to uh B for um and then uh 949-7750865 and we will have one of our admissions counselors give you a call and set up a call. Okay. again B O K 949-7750865. So with that said, I am going to now uh first of all um did you find that information useful? If you could please give me a heart. I'd love to see if that information Okay, great. Okay. Oh, there there are sometimes I've never had a training where they where I had no hearts. So that's a good thing. I'm so I'm glad that you guys saw that. Okay. So let's go ahead and um I'm going to go through questions. Look like some people have questions here. Wow. Okay. Should we also report if AP score is three, especially in the hard APs? Again, um as I mentioned before, if you don't have a uh so for private schools, fours and fives, fours and fives, not threes. Okay. But um for the UC's, report all the scores. Doesn't matter what score you got in the APs, report all the scores for UC's. Okay. Another question is, so if you don't have a high SAT score for the school you're applying to, is it better to not submit than to submit? Correct. Okay. So again, let's be specific. If you are 50% um or higher in the range of the school, okay? And that's why you have to do you have to do a uh your research, then submit. If you are if you're below that then it doesn't um it doesn't do you well or it won't really do you well if you submit your score. Okay. Uh question is I heard they also look for year-over-year improvement in grades. So while submitting grades where and how do you submit yearon-year grade progress? Okay. So the question was is that they look for year-over-year? Absolutely they look for year-over-year improvement. So, what happens here is in your application, you are going to put uh it's, you know, you're going to self-report your your your classes and your grades from freshman year to senior year. And that also includes because if you have if you've taken, let's say, classes in community college, you're going to also put additional schools that you attended and then put those grades in there. So, they definitely look at your um grades and year-to-year over improvement. And remember we always say is you want the the grade trend to go upwards, right? From freshman year to sophomore year. A's and B's are good grades. More A's are better than B's. Okay? So you want that trend to be going up. You don't want it to be going up and then it kind of slopes down. Uh because typically again your junior and senior year, uh they're expecting that you're taking the hardest courses and hopefully you're getting the best grades because you've had two years under your belt. You know what the process is. You know what you've been doing. uh you're familiar with how school is. Uh and on top of that because you are more mature uh then again you are it's one of those things where you make sure that you can um uh uh provide and show a trend upwards. Okay. And you will see so the the year-over-year improvement uh they will see that self-reported on your application for freshman, sophomore, and junior year. And then when you get accepted uh then of course you submit your final transcript. Okay. And then that final transcript of course will say so that's the reason why we always say first of all don't lie and make sure that you fully submit uh uh your your classes and it that the the classes accurately okay accurately are the same on your transcript and your self-reported application. Okay. Uh let's see in one webinar I heard not to show score where not required. So for test optional is it okay to proactively show in one I heard not to show score where not required. So for test optional yes it is okay to show as I mentioned that was the whole thing here. It's okay to show your SAT score if you are above 50% of the range. Okay so that's really really important. Um that's the whole gist of my uh so especially if you're 75% then you're very very competitive and the one thing with test optional and the SAT as I mentioned is SATs can definitely offset lower grades. Okay. So if you have um lower grades um in your classes and if you have a high SAT that that that can give you a little bit of boost to kind of equalize. Okay. Um, how do I Okay, grades are on transcript, but as coach mentioned, what if I want to show grade of only certain subjects? How do I No, no, no. So, when I say uh only show grade, it's not that it's the scores uh that you can show only on certain subjects because you can't do you can't hide that on your transcript. So, your high school transcript will have every single class you're taking. your let's say you went to community college, your community college is going to show every class that you've taken in their grades. There's no way to selectively leave that out. But for scores, your SAT scores, you have the right to submit whatever SAT score that you want to that school. Okay? I would always recommend do not do not choose the option when you're taking the SAT to submit scores right away. Only do it when it's asked for. Okay? There's normally option where for the SAT you can submit four free scores. Don't do that. Okay. What you want to do is you only want to do because you don't know what the score is and if unfortunately if you if you take the SAT and you had a bad day and then it automatic reports to the school. The school school the school has your SAT score. So you don't want to take that option. Okay. Is it safe to research now or should we wait until closer to the lines in case of policy changes? Oh no. It's always good to research now. I would never say you want to research now because those ranges are not going to change dramatically. Okay, those ranges are pretty solid. So, you know, I um it that the ranges will change, you know, over years of time, but not over one year. Okay. How can we find out if particular college is test optional um or test blind? So, again, as I mentioned, if you saw that there, you can do that. um by the tools here. So for example um fairest.org um this is the test optional policy checker. Okay. So you can go to fairest.org put in the school and they will tell you exactly what um schools are test optional. Okay. Uh there are very few schools that are test blind. Again the most prominent one is UC uh the UC's. If scores are above even 75 percentile, is it recommended to submit an opt test optional score? Yes, absolutely 100%. If you have scores that are above 75 percentile uh you know above the 75 percentile in the range, submit it. Okay, it will not hurt you. Will it hurt the chances based on the college assumption that students might be overqualified? Who is whoa? No. No. Submit it if absolutely submit it. Okay. um overqualified who is unlikely to join though that's no I would say is um when you're talking about uh schools that again normally you know you're think we're thinking about schools that are above and beyond uh that are very very competitive you want to submit it okay so for year-over-year it should be showing all subject some fell some from from B to A but others approve yes that's correct so showing year-over-year they will definitely look at that And that's that is something that you can't you can't avoid. There's no way to avoid it because they're going to ask for your final transcript. Do you think that test scores are inflated right now for test optional schools? Do you think that test scores are inflated right now for test optional schools? I So, I'm going to try to interpret what you mean by that. Um, if you say inflated, do you mean that the schools are reporting inflated scores, which again, frankly, I don't think that they do that because that's actually they can't do that. Um, they have because they are governed to make sure that they're putting out their, you know, accurate scores. So um now mind you again the schools a lot of times what I actually see is where the scores are possibly maybe a little bit under inflated just because um they don't want to discourage okay uh students but um the scores that I've seen and and what I've heard and and attending national conferences with these schools is that there is there is not an overinflation of the schools. um not just higher than they would be if everyone submitted. So again, I don't believe that that is the case. Okay. Uh okay. So let me see if there's anything in the questions Q&A section here. Okay. So middle 50% example 25% to 75% or middle 50 like 50 is average and you should be at yes. So if you look at the range whatever is in the middle okay whatever's in the middle of that range and then you go higher okay so that's what that means should you submit AP of three depends if you're at the UC's again as I mentioned uh go ahead and submit it if you're in private schools uh only fours and fives if test optional okay let me read these here so if test optional uh will getting school recognition award college award and rule award where you need to be top 10% will that help sorry I'm I'm if test optional will get school recognition award and rule award where you need to be top 10% PSAT will that help I'm a little bit confused I don't know what the question is asking here but if you're asking about the PSAT first of all um the PSAT is different but SAT of course as you know the PSAT is like a prepper but The key thing with the PSAT is you uh the the key PSAT is that you're the students that take it in October, all juniors or most of the juniors take it in October. And what that allows is for um the uh National Merit Scholar organization to be able to determine if they're a National Merit Scholar. And with that, National Merit Scholar is quite a recognized um scholarship program. And uh you know normally again there's a certain percentage um that you have to be above for national merit scholar. Uh typically it's between the range of 1490 to 1520. 1520 is the highest score for uh PSATs. Um and then you go into rounds of interviews and applications or so. Um okay. When a school says they are test optional, don't they accept more students with test scores those without? So again, um it doesn't mean again there's not there is um not um and I you know I've seen this uh they haven't really necessarily reported uh those students that have submitted and the reason why is because that would sway uh students in in not applying because maybe they're accepting more. But again remember the written they said the unwritten rule or the is that you know a lot of times you'll see is that those students who have submitted significant test scores normally will uh have a better chance do you think the ranges okay so then the same question do you think the ranges are inflated okay all right with that said um thank you so much for um all the amazing questions you guys are incredible uh I'm So extremely happy um with the questions and the interaction. Thank you so much for joining me um on this particular day uh for training. I hope that you got a lot out of it. Again, if you um want to uh you know get a free assessment uh then please go ahead and go ahead and um put in B uh in um and text it to us at 949775865. have a wonderful evening. I'm so glad that you were with me. I know that you can choose to um spend time with your family, your friends, or do some uh uh other interesting things, but you spend time with me. So, thank you so much for doing so. I greatly greatly appreciate it. And uh again, I'm here every Tuesday at six o'clock. So, please join me for for my next training. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful evening and we'll talk to you later. Take it easy. Bye-bye.