Are soft skills even more important for students applying test-optional?

Absolutely. If you’re not submitting test scores, your application has to shine brighter in other areas—and soft skills can give it that glow. Admissions officers will look closely at essays, teacher recommendations, extracurriculars, and interviews to assess who you are beyond the numbers. Are you a self-starter? A team player? A problem solver? Soft skills fill in the blanks left by missing SAT or ACT scores. They paint a picture of how you’ll behave in a dorm, in a discussion, on a project team, or under pressure. So if you’re going test-optional, lean hard into the human side of your application.