AUSTIN (KXAN) — A growing number of colleges across the country are changing their admissions applications, abandoning requirements for SAT and ACT scores.

Last year, the University of Texas at Austin suspended these test score requirements for its incoming class of students.

This fall, Texas State won’t require SAT and ACT scores for applicants ranked in the top 75% of their high school class.

All of these new requirements have plenty of parents and students wondering whether they should take these tests.

Despite these new standards, a recent report from The Wall Street Journal indicates more students are submitting their scores for the optional SAT and ACT in an attempt to stand out.

Lake Travis High lead college counselor Lisa Colley said students who submit these scores are also eligible for some scholarships and merit-based aid.

“The application process is so competitive and so difficult that anything they can submit could help,” she said.

During the peak of the pandemic, most schools weren’t offering the SAT or ACT on campus, forcing colleges across the country to go test-optional.

According to research from the National Test Prep Association, this actually increased the number of applicants at universities nationwide.

NTPA outreach director David Blobaum believes this may have inflated their admissions standards.

“The number of kids who applied went up, while the number who got in stayed exactly the same,” he said. “So it created the mirage for colleges that they were more selective, because they were rejecting more students.”

Tons of tests are being offered all around the Austin area this fall.

For a full list of SAT and ACT testing sites near you, you can click here.