My husband and I were on our usual morning walk when we both noticed our right shoelaces were untied.  Simultaneously, we stopped and re-tied our laces.  Not 10 seconds later, we both noticed that effort was unsuccessful. Our shoelaces were undone again.

Exasperated, I bent over to repeat my effort. As he did the same, my husband shared an idea he had learned on a TEDTalk that just a simple adjustment will achieve essentially the same outcome but with a higher degree of satisfaction. So, I tied my shoe in a slightly different way and, surprisingly, this actually worked to better secure my shoelaces. 

This was mind blowing for me. I have been tying my shoes for 50 years, and thought I did a fairly good job, but now, with new information, a slightly different perspective and practice, I would reap the benefits of a longer lasting and more efficient bow.

Why is this important?

When parents and students are stressing about what college admission is going to look like without test scores, think re-tying shoelaces. 

Colleges have been admitting students with test scores for a very long time, but some colleges have not used them in a very long time.  For example, Bowdoin College has been test-optional for 50 years. 

First and foremost, colleges are academic institutions and look for how well a student is prepared to succeed in college.  What classes did they take? Did they take full advantage of what was available to them? Admission officers want to admit, not deny students and they will look for reasons to keep a student at the table. 

Holistic Review means that colleges can take into consideration pretty much everything you offer them.  Letters of recommendation, your personal statement, supplemental essays or short answer responses, portfolios, interviews, your demonstrated interest.  In the past, this list included test scores - now it might not.  

So, the admission process will basically look the same, without the test scores. Students will still need to be prepared, have done well in high school and challenged themselves.  They need to have taken the time to research the schools they are applying to and know why they want to attend. This won’t change because you don’t have a test score to submit. Although things feel different in regards to college admissions, this is a simple adjustment that will achieve essentially the same outcome, just like tying my shoelaces in a new way.