In the past few years, the role test scores play in college admissions has changed. Hundreds of schools went test-optional during the pandemic, and many kept that policy in place. But there's an important distinction families often miss: test-optional for admissions is not the same as test-optional for merit aid.
At many colleges, your SAT or ACT score still plays a direct role in how much scholarship money you're offered, even if submitting it wasn't required to get in.
How Test Scores Factor into Merit Aid
Colleges that award automatic merit scholarships typically use a combination of GPA and test scores to determine award amounts. The stronger both are, the larger the potential award.
At some schools, test scores are used as a tiebreaker between students in the same GPA band. At others, they function as an independent variable with their own thresholds. Moving up a score band can unlock a higher scholarship tier, sometimes by several thousand dollars per year.
The practical implication is straightforward: a stronger test score can meaningfully increase your merit aid at schools that factor them into their scholarship equation.
Test-Optional Does Not Mean Score-Neutral
This is where many families get tripped up. A school that doesn't require test scores for admission may still use submitted scores to determine merit aid eligibility. Choosing not to submit a score at a test-optional school isn't always a neutral decision. It may mean leaving money on the table.
Before deciding whether to submit scores, check each school's merit aid policy specifically. Some schools are explicit about this; others require a direct call to the financial aid office. The question to ask: does submitting a test score affect merit scholarship eligibility or award amounts?
If the answer is yes and your score is competitive for that school, submit it.
Many schools that don't require scores for admission still use submitted scores to determine scholarship amounts. Always check the merit aid policy separately from the admissions policy.
Where Your Score Matters Most
The score ranges that unlock the largest merit awards vary by school, but one pattern holds broadly: the more competitive your score relative to a school's typical admitted student, the more leverage it carries for merit aid.
This points to the importance of applying to schools where your scores are genuinely strong, not just adequate. A score that puts you in the middle of the pack at one school might put you near the top of the applicant pool at another, and schools compete hardest for students at the top.
Retaking the Test with Merit Aid in Mind
For students who have already taken the SAT or ACT and are considering a retake, merit aid is a legitimate reason to try again. Moving up meaningfully on a retake might not change your admissions outcome at most schools, but it could bump you into a higher scholarship bracket worth thousands of dollars per year.
If you're within striking distance of a higher scholarship tier at a school you're seriously considering, the cost and time of one more test sitting may be worth it. A score bump that changes nothing for admissions could be worth thousands in free money each year.
The Bottom Line
Test scores remain a real factor in merit aid even as their role in admissions evolves. For families focused on reducing the net cost of college, a stronger test score can translate directly into more scholarship money. The effort to improve your score, whether through prep or a retake, can pay off in free money for four years.
Unlocking scholarship dollars at the right school doesn't just change the cost of college. It can change which school you go to, what opportunities open up, and the trajectory of your life beyond graduation.
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