Episode 6: Test Optional, Test Blind, or Test Required? When Do You Submit?
Podcast Description:
Test optional, test blind, test required… and now the CLT? The rules around college testing seem to change every semester, and families are exhausted before their student even takes a practice test. In Episode 6, Lisa and Josh cut through the chaos and tackle one of the top three questions they hear from families: "Should I submit my scores?"
They break down what each testing policy actually means, explain how the Classic Learning Test (CLT) fits in, and why it matters… especially for Florida families. They walk through the recent University of California faculty debate that shows just how fast this landscape moves. Then they give you a real, usable framework for deciding whether your score helps your application: how to read a school's median score, why your intended major can change the answer, and the merit-scholarship trap that catches families off guard.
The bottom line: a test score isn't a verdict on how smart you are. It's one piece of information in a much bigger application- and whether it helps depends entirely on context.
📖 Read the companion article: Test Optional, Test Blind, Test Required: What Families Need to Know
🎙️ Also available on: Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | iHeart
Testing is only one piece of the college list. Start here:
▸ How to Build a College List That Actually Makes Sense — https://decisiondrop.com/blog/how-to-build-a-college-list-that-actually-makes-sense
▸ Scholarships Made Simple — https://decisiondrop.com/blog/scholarshipsmadesimple
▸ Florida families — https://decisiondrop.com/florida
▸ Texas families — https://decisiondrop.com/texas
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Chapters
0:00 Intro & World Cup Talk
2:18 Today's Topic: Standardized Testing
4:08 The Vocabulary: Test Required, Test Blind, Test Optional
5:29 The CLT & What It Means for Florida Families
7:14 Breaking News: The UC Testing Debate
9:09 The Numbers: What Median Scores Actually Mean
11:10 Should You Submit? The Decision Framework
13:53 When Your Major Changes the Answer
14:50 Merit Scholarships & Testing Policies
15:41 Hot Take or Hard Truth
18:12 Drop the Mic: Final Takeaways
20:05 Next Week: Extracurriculars
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New to the show? Two great starting points:
▸ Ep. 3: Building Your College List — https://decisiondrop.com/dropinpodcast/ep3-building-your-college-list
▸ Ep. 4: How to Write a College Essay — https://decisiondrop.com/dropinpodcast/ep4-how-to-write-a-college-essay
#CollegeAdmissions #TestOptional #SAT #ACT #CLT #CollegeApplications #CollegeCounseling #HighSchoolJuniors #HighSchoolSeniors
Read the full transcript
Josh: Every week we drop the noise.
Lisa: Drop the stress.
Josh: And drop some knowledge.
Lisa: Welcome to the Drop In, the College Admissions podcast by Decision Drop. If you'd like to learn more about our services or have Josh and I guide your family through this process personally, please head over to decisiondrop.com and check us out.
Josh: I'm Josh.
Lisa: I'm Lisa. Let's go.
Josh: All right, Lisa, episode six — they let us back in the studio. And our topic today has more plot twists than an episode of Severance.
Lisa: They did. You mean maybe more plot twists than the World Cup — which, by the way, if anyone was keeping score, Spain won, which means my bracket won, and me and the House of Clays, we are very happy.
Josh: Yes, Spain did win. Congratulations to them. It was a fantastic World Cup. Fans of Argentina probably don't agree, but as someone who's a newbie to cheering for soccer, I thought it was really exciting.
Lisa: I love it. Phil and I both love soccer — football, as we call it in our house. We're huge fans, even going to see LAFC in DC next month to see my favorite player, Son. So we're very excited. Welcome to the dark side, Josh.
Josh: And since we're recording this — accountability time — I'm pledging to become a much more consistent watcher of soccer. Here in Houston we have the Dynamo and the Dash in the NWSL, so I'm going to watch those matches. And I'm looking for an EPL team to root for, so if anyone has suggestions, let me know.
Lisa: We are Tottenham fans at our house. It's rough being a Tottenham fan. But we are tried and true.
Josh: Yeah, well, maybe I might join them — but I keep getting them confused with the San Antonio Spurs, so that one's going to take some work.
Josh: All right, Lisa, today we're setting aside the World Cup. Today we're talking about standardized testing — the ACT, the SAT, test optional, test blind, test required, and the acronym nobody saw coming a couple of years ago: the CLT.
Lisa: This is a great time to talk about it. I keep seeing it in my algorithms — everything's popping up about testing. We're getting text messages hourly from students asking about test prep tutors and what they should do. It truly feels like the rules change every semester — sometimes every fifteen minutes. One college is test optional, another is test blind, another went back to requiring tests this year. Families are exhausted before their kids even take a practice test.
Josh: Exactly, and that's why we're doing this episode. "Should I submit my score?" is easily one of the top three questions we hear from families. And our honest answer is —
Lisa: It depends. Which is probably my third favorite phrase after "show, don't tell" and "bananas." It depends.
Josh: And while it's your favorite set of words, it's also the most annoying answer we can give a family in this process.
Lisa: It really is. And listen, y'all, we know it is, and we hate it too.
Josh: Today we're going to get to the heart of that question — should I submit my test score, what it actually depends on, and give you a real framework for deciding whether your score helps your application.
Lisa: No guessing, no relying on what worked for your neighbor's kid three years ago. Let's get into it.
Josh: Let's start with the vocabulary, because at least half the confusion out there is that families don't really know what these words mean.
Lisa: Let's start with test required — that's a simple one. The school wants the score, you send it. Period. No score, no complete application.
Josh: And test blind is the opposite extreme. The school won't look at your score even if you send it — it literally doesn't exist to them. The University of California system has been test blind since about 2021, so they don't currently consider SAT or ACT scores in admissions decisions at all.
Lisa: And in the middle you have test optional, which sounds simple — send it if you want, don't if you don't — but that's where it gets complicated, and where "it depends" really earns its annoying reputation.
Josh: Because test optional doesn't mean test blind. A test optional school is still allowed to look at your score if you send it. It's optional to submit — it's not optional for them to consider it once it's in front of them.
Lisa: So the decision to send or not send is where it truly matters.
Josh: And here's a plot twist for our Florida families specifically. Since 2023, every public university in Florida accepts the Classic Learning Test — the CLT — as a valid alternative to the SAT or ACT.
Lisa: Which still throws parents off in family conversations. When parents hear "CLT" for the first time, they probably think we're inventing an acronym on the spot. It doesn't sound like a real test.
Josh: I thought that was the acronym for the Charlotte airport.
Lisa: My husband Phil says that all the time. Dad joke. But yeah — it's real.
Josh: The CLT is real and it's been gaining traction nationally. Florida was the first state university system to formally accept it system-wide. So if you're a Florida student and the SAT or ACT format genuinely doesn't work for you, the CLT is a legitimate third option — and it counts toward Bright Futures eligibility as well.
Lisa: A fun fact about Florida: they were the only system-wide public schools to not go test optional during COVID. So whether you're in Florida applying in-state, or out of state applying to Florida schools — if you're applying to a Florida public university, you'll have to send your test scores.
Lisa: Let's talk about the story, because there was a big one that broke last week, and it's a good example of how fast the college world moves.
Josh: Let's talk about the University of California system. UC has been test blind — what it now calls "test free" — since around 2023. But recently a group of UC faculty, mostly STEM professors, has been pushing the Board of Regents to bring back SAT and ACT math scores, because they're seeing serious preparation gaps once students arrive on campus.
Lisa: That's the most interesting part, Josh, because these are the people standing in front of the students. They're saying, we need more information about whether students are academically prepared before they get here. The UC Regents essentially said, we hear you, but we're not going to change the entire system because one group came in hot. And to be clear — Josh and I are not saying the answer is automatically to bring testing back. That's a different episode entirely.
Josh: And the UC testing landscape could look very different by the time a current freshman or sophomore is applying. This is a "watch this space" situation, and a perfect example of why families can't Google a testing policy once during freshman year and assume they've got it.
Lisa: You have to check this every year. Not just once, not based on when your oldest applied, not based on what your cousin's neighbor heard at a soccer tournament. Every single year.
Josh: All right, let's get to what everyone wants to know — the numbers. Deciding whether to submit begins with understanding what a competitive score actually looks like at each college.
Lisa: One thing to clarify first: the numbers we're about to share are the median SAT scores for admitted students. Not the maximum, not a guarantee. Just the midpoint — half of admitted students scored above it, half below. Think of it as useful context, not a magic admissions line.
Josh: Let's run through a few. I'll start with Rice University, right in my backyard — the median SAT for admitted students is around 1550.
Lisa: Northwestern, around 1540.
Josh: Notre Dame, 1520.
Lisa: NYU, also around 1520.
Josh: And we can round it out with UVA, around 1480.
Lisa: And two of our favorite Southern flagships — University of Florida, around 1400, and UT Austin, right around 1390.
Josh: Look at that range — from about 1390 up to 1550. That's a real spread, which is exactly why "a good SAT score" is a meaningless phrase without context. Good compared to what?
Lisa: Rule number one, the simplest version of the advice: if your score is at or above the college median — SAT, ACT, or CLT — submitting it usually makes sense. That score gives the admissions office another reason to feel confident about your preparation.
Josh: And if your score is meaningfully below the school's range — especially well below the 25th percentile — you'll probably want to leave it out at a test optional college. Not ten points below, not slightly under the median. We're talking clearly outside the typical range for admitted students.
Lisa: And then the gray zone — what happens when your score is right on the edge? Just below the median, but not dramatically below the range?
Josh: This is where context really matters. A score slightly below the median may still strengthen an application, especially when the rest of the academic record is strong — course rigor, solid grades, thoughtful essays, meaningful involvement. The score doesn't have to be the star to be useful.
Lisa: We've both worked with students who were twenty or thirty points below a college median and still submitted — because the rest of the application already showed a student who was curious, capable, and ready to thrive. The score wasn't the headline; it was one supporting detail in a much larger story.
Josh: This is also where the intended major can matter, which families sometimes don't think about. A university's testing policy doesn't always apply equally to every program within it. Certain majors — engineering, business, nursing — might have different expectations. A student could be test optional for one program but strongly encouraged or even required to submit for another at the same university.
Lisa: Which means you can't Google "is University X test optional," read the first sentence, and call the research done. Check the policy for that exact school, program, and major. Three things — school, program, major — every time.
Josh: And one more layer before we wrap this segment. Some colleges are test optional for admission but still require or consider scores for certain merit scholarships. So choosing not to submit could affect more than the admissions decision.
Lisa: Because apparently one testing policy isn't enough. The scholarship policy could be hiding in a completely different corner of the website, so do your research.
Josh: Even at test optional schools, check the merit aid policy separately from the admissions policy. They're not always the same, even at the same school.
Josh: Hot take or hard truth. My hot take: test optional doesn't mean the SAT and ACT stopped mattering. They may matter even more strategically now, because deciding whether to submit has become part of the application process itself. Too many students hear "optional" and assume "irrelevant." It isn't — and that assumption can quietly cost students admission opportunities and scholarship money.
Lisa: Good one. Mine's about the CLT — no shocker, since I'm in Florida. We work with students who are genuinely strong test takers, but the SAT and ACT format just doesn't show it — maybe the pacing, maybe the question style. For students applying in Florida especially, or to the growing number of colleges that accept the CLT, it's at least worth exploring. Don't assume the SAT or ACT is your only path. Find out whether the CLT better reflects the way you think.
Josh: Great point — families often default to the test everyone in their area is taking without questioning whether it's right for their student.
Lisa: It happens all the time. A student says, "I'm only going to take the SAT." Why? "That's just what we talk about in school." Colleges now take whichever one benefits your student most. This is your journey, not somebody else's — choose the test that gives you the best chance to show what you can do.
Lisa: Drop the mic. Here's what I want every family to take away: a test score is not a verdict on how smart you are. It's not your identity. It's one piece of information in a much bigger application. Whether it helps depends entirely on context — the college, the middle 50%, the major, sometimes even the scholarship pool. Stop asking "is this a good score?" Good for where? The better question is: is this score likely to help me at this specific college, for this specific program, in this specific cycle?
Josh: My takeaway: do your homework before you decide whether to submit. Don't guess, and don't base it on what your older sibling did three years ago or what worked for the neighbor's kid. Look at the current policy, the actual score ranges, the specific college and program — because these policies change year to year, college to college, and sometimes program to program at the same school.
Lisa: So if anyone's keeping score, the answer is still: it depends. We warned you.
Josh: But now at least you know what it depends on. See what I did there?
Lisa: Joshua. Circle back. Good job.
Josh: Next week we shift gears again — we're talking extracurriculars, and specifically why depth matters so much more than a long list of clubs you joined senior year to pad your resume.
Lisa: Colleges can spot a resume built in six months from a mile away. We'll explain what makes an activity list feel meaningful, why consistency matters, and what students should focus on instead of collecting club memberships like merit badges.
Josh: Don't miss it.
Lisa: Remember, we're Decision Drop — making your college journey collaborative, simple, and most importantly, yours. If you want help figuring out a testing plan or what actually makes sense for your student, Josh and I can guide your family personally. Head over to decisiondrop.com and check us out.
Josh: Thanks for dropping in, and we'll see y'all next week.
Lisa: Bye.
