考试可选录取会影响我的机会吗？

Does Test Optional Admissions Hurt My Chances?

考试可选录取会影响我的机会吗？

Note: As of March 3, 2023, there are approximately 1700 colleges in America that do not require standardized test scores such as ACT or SAT. This week, Columbia University and William and Mary college extended their test optional policy indefinitely. Other colleges such as MIT and Georgetown, do require standardized test scores. Still others, such as Harvard, have temporarily extended their test optional policy and others are certain to follow. Avalon Admission will continue to provide you with regular updates.

注：截至2023年3月3日，美国大约有1700所大学不要求提交ACT或SAT等标考成绩。本周，哥伦比亚大学和威廉与玛丽学院无限期延长了其考试可选政策。其他院校，如麻省理工学院和乔治敦大学，是要求提交标考分数的。还有一些院校，比如哈佛大学，暂时延长了考试可选政策，还有一些院校肯定会效仿。Avalon Admission 将继续为您定期更新。

If you are submitting ACT or SAT scores to colleges, or SSAT or ISEE to private schools, does the movement toward test-optional admissions help you or hurt you? The answer is simple: for most students, it hurts their chances. But how can this be so? Won’t my excellent test scores make me stand out from those who are not submitting any scores? The answer to this question is: no. If all this seems counterintuitive to you, that is because colleges and private schools are changing, adapting to the new reality of our changing world. This is not to say that a high test score is bad; quite the contrary. High test scores are one measure of your academic ability that colleges and private schools appreciate as a relatively objective measure of academic intelligence. Notice that I use the word “relatively,” because everyone knows that test scores can be improved with the assistance of professional tutors, or in some cases classes. So, now that I have stirred up confusion in this salad bowl of admissions characteristics, let me do my best to unravel the mystery of college admission and private school admission for 2022 and beyond.

如果你打算向大学提交ACT或SAT成绩，或向私立学校提交SSAT或ISEE成绩，那采取考试可选录取这一趋势对你有利还是有弊？答案很简单：对大多数学生来说，这对他们的机会是有影响的。但为什么会是这样的呢？我出色的考试成绩不会让我从那些没有提交任何分数的人中脱颖而出吗？这个问题的答案是：不会。如果你觉得这一切都有些反常，那是因为大学和私立学校在不断变化，来适应我们不断变化的现实世界。这并不是说考试分数高就不好了；恰恰相反。高分是衡量你学术能力的一种指标，大学和私立院校认为这是一种相对客观的学术智力衡量指标。请注意，我使用“相对”这个词，因为每个人都知道，考试成绩通过专业老师的帮助，或有些情况下通过课程都可以提高。那么，既然我这样说会让大家对于学校到底看重哪些录取特质感到困惑，就让我尽我最大的努力来解开2022年及以后的大学和私立学校招生的谜团。

Of all the changes to college admission and private school admission in the last few years, perhaps the one that is most misunderstood is the movement toward test-optional admissions. Many colleges are now test optional—some permanently—while others are gravitating back to mandatory test submission. For applications that come in unaccompanied by test scores, colleges and private schools are doing their best to make up for this missing data by placing more value on other factors such as GPA, extracurricular activities, proven leadership skills, analysis of one’s use of free time, character, recommendations, and essays.

在过去几年大学和私立学校录取的所有变化中，被误解最深的也许是考试可选录取这一趋势。许多大学现在采取考试可选政策——有些是永久性的——有些则倾向于恢复强制提交考试成绩政策。对于不提交考试分数的申请，大学和私立学校正在尽最大努力通过侧重于其他因素，如GPA、课外活动、可靠的领导能力、分析学生对空闲时间的利用、性格、推荐信和文书，来弥补这一数据的缺失。

Despite having their critics, standardized tests do provide useful information. For one thing, they provide a balance against unequal grading policies that exist from school to school, state to state, and region to region. Certainly, a 4.0 GPA at one school may be far more significant than a 4.0 GPA at another. Without test scores as a validator, students with the more meaningful 4.0 GPA, e.g., from a school with much harder classes and grading criteria, lose their advantage to some degree. This can be counteracted if the college or private school admissions committees are familiar with the school from which the student is matriculating.

尽管有批评的人，但标准化考试确实提供了有用的信息。首先，标考让学校与学校、州与州以及地区之间存在的不平等的评分政策得以平衡。当然，一所学校的GPA 4.0可能比另一所学校的GPA 4.0要有意义得多。如果没有考试分数作为验证标准，所获GPA 4.0更有意义的学生，例如，其学校的课程较难且评分标准更严格，会在某种程度上失去他们的优势。如果大学或私立学校的招生委员会熟悉学生所在的学校则可以消除这种情况。

However, test scores, or more accurately lack of test scores, hurts high-achieving students even more by increasing the number of applications received by top colleges and private schools. Why? Because students who are unable to attain high test scores, and thus would have been unlikely to apply to highly competitive colleges or private schools under the old system, now can apply with a degree of impunity since their test scores won’t be considered. In other words, more students can apply to competitive schools simply because test scores are not required. Some of these students will be accepted which means that fewer spaces are available for students who are capable of earning high test scores.

然而，由于考试成绩的原因，或者更准确地说没有考试成绩，顶尖大学和私立学校收到的申请数量会增加，这对成绩优异的学生造成的影响更大。为什么？因为那些无法获得高分而因此在旧体制下不太可能申请竞争激烈的大学或私立学校的学生，现在申请对他们来说就是不费之惠，因为学校不会考虑他们的考试分数。换句话说，更多的学生可以申请有竞争力的学校，就是因为不需要提交考试分数。其中一些学生会被录取，这意味着留给有能力获得高分的学生的机会减少了。

There’s one more reason why test optional admission hurts those who are submitting test scores. It stands to reason that only students with high test scores will submit them. Students without high test scores will simply take advantage of the test optional opportunity and hope that their other attributes are good enough to be accepted. As a result, those who submit test scores find themselves competing against a more elite group of students. Stated another way, the test optional policy has created two separate pools of applicants: those submitting test scores and those not submitting test scores. Each will be competing for a smaller subset of seats.

考试可选录取会对那些提交考试分数的学生有影响，还有一个原因。只有考试成绩高的学生才会提交分数。没有高分的学生只要利用考试可选的机会，期待自己的其他特质足够优秀，可以被录取。因此，那些提交考试分数的学生是在与更精英的学生群体竞争。换句话说，考试可选政策将申请者分为两个集合：提交考试分数的和没有提交考试分数的。每一个集合的学生都要竞争比原来更少的学位。

I am not trying to disparage the test optional movement. Indeed, the reasons for going test optional are valid and important. I am merely commenting on the consequences. It is eerily similar to the arguments for and against affirmative action. The reasons are entirely valid as is the impact. But for those who are harmed by these policies, it may be hard to understand or accept the need.

我并不是说考试可选举措不好。事实上，有合理和重要的原因选择考试可选政策。我只是在评论其结果。这与平权行动的争论可怕地相似。其原因与其影响一样，都无可非议。但对于那些受到这些政策影响的人来说，他们可能很难理解或接受该政策的必要性。

I will conclude by stating that you can’t change the current situation regarding admissions; you can only counteract this new reality by making yourself a more attractive candidate. That means that every admission factor you present to colleges or private schools, other than test scores, must be stronger. You must work a little harder. You must present a stronger case to the admissions committees for your candidacy. That is something that takes significant time, significant effort, and a significant personal commitment.

最后，我要说的是，你无法改变目前的录取形势；你只能通过让自己成为一个更有吸引力的候选人来与这一现实抗争。这意味着，除了考试成绩外，你呈现给大学或私立学校的每一项录取因素都必须更有力。你必须再努力一点。你必须为你的候选人资格向招生委员会给出更充分的理由。这需要大量的时间、努力和强大的个人信念。

By Neil Chyten
Avalon Admission
March 3, 2023
作者：尼尔·才滕
Avalon Admission
2023年3月3日