Working for Admissions and being a tour guide at GW, one of my favorite things to talk about to prospective students and their parents is that GW is a test-optional school.

What does test-optional mean? It means that students are not required to submit their SAT or ACT scores to the University with their Common Application. The only time a student would have to submit their test scores is if they are applying to our prestigious BA/MD Medical Program. No one else has to submit them.

This went into effect last year starting with the Class of 2019. Naturally, it started the year after I was applying, but I'm here nonetheless, so no harm no foul.

GW was one of the first big, private institutions to implement this test-optional policy, and I applaud them for it every day.

This summer, I got the opportunity to work with the Admissions Directors to help prospective students apply to GW. I am not the one reviewing a student's application, so please don't slip me a $20 hoping that it will help your chances. I mean, unless you really want to.

So, why did GW go test-optional? It seems like a huge push-back against everything that we know about applying to colleges. People have been taking the SAT to apply for colleges since back before our parents went to school.

If you ask anyone who works in Admissions, or sit in on an info session, they will explain to you that with much research, the administrators at GW have found that SAT scores have no correlation to a student's aptitude or ability to succeed in college.

If you're like me and you're terrible at test-taking, this is God-sent. I remember taking the SAT and thinking the entire time, "How is this test going to prove that I am smart enough for college?" The answer: it doesn't.

The SAT is a test of how much money and time you are willing to spend on someone showing you the tricks of the questions.

For me, I hadn't taken geometry before I took the SAT, so I was at a huge disadvantage because more than half of the math questions were rooted in geometry, and that's just unfair.

This is not to say that GW will not accept your SAT or ACT scores if you send them in, but it does not put you at a disadvantage if you opt not to. This is progressive because it gives students the power over their application.

GW also had a holistic review process. This simply means that when the Admissions Directors look at a student's application, they do so by looking at all parts of their application equally.

This means that you GPA, you extracurriculars, your leadership qualities, your teacher recommendations, your progress throughout high school, and your essays all have equal weight in the decision process.

Again, this is extremely progressive because many students are so hyper-attentive to their GPA and if it is good enough, but that is not the only thing that the ADs look at.

I think this takes a lot of weight off of students regarding test-taking. A student might not be a great test-taker, but may be very involved and a leader in their community or the President of their club.

GW understands this and has adjusted their application process to accommodate this, and I think other schools should follow suit. This is the future of college applications and maybe even our whole educational system as we know it.