The winter months can be some of the most stressful for high school seniors as it is the time to apply to college. The feeling of anticipation while waiting for your acceptance letters in the mail, wondering how much of your fate hinges on your ACT or SAT score creates much of the stress. But how much do those scores really matter?

Many people have made the argument that standardized tests shouldn’t be a main factor in the college admissions process because it isn’t an accurate representation of how students will do in the future. A test score doesn’t say that the person is going to excel at life, but shows how well they can answer math problems or analyze a poem. I agree with those who have made this argument, standardized tests shouldn’t be the deciding factor on whether or not a student gets admitted. However, I am not saying that those test scores should be taken out of the equation all together, just make them less of an importance.

Other alternatives that schools have taken for the admissions process is looking at GPA, the type of classes the students took and what they were involved in. These are all good alternatives because they give the schools a chance to get a good feel for the student without relying solely on their test scores. There are around 880 colleges and universities that have submitting your ACT or SAT scores as optional, and that number is slowly increasing. Many schools are seeing the benefit of not requiring standardized test scores and giving the opportunity for higher education to more students.

Although many say that ACT or SAT scores should be optional, others believe that without them there is no way to judge how well the student will do at their college or university. The SAT and ACT try to measure the student’s skills and academic knowledge on what they have been taught in school so far, allowing everyone to be on an even field. Even though GPA does show how the student has done in their classes, it can be different for each school depending on how difficult or easy their classes and curriculum were. This is why many believe the standardized tests are the best way to gauge how successful a student can be at their school.

Whether or not you side with those who want standardized tests as optional or those who think they are the best way to determine the success of students, it is ultimately up to the college or university. A way to benefit both parties could be to find a happy medium: don’t eliminate the tests scores completely, but don’t use them as the sole component for admissions. Schools can use other resources that allow for those to better their education and to have the chance to achieve their goals.