SAT-Optional Admissions Gain Ground - But How Much Do They Benefit Applicants?
Bennington College has just joined the ranks of selective schools that make standardized test scores an optional part of the application process. Bates, Bowdoin, Sarah Lawrence, Bard, and Hamilton are also among the four-year institutions that do not require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores.
"More Schools Make SATs an Optional Part of Admissions"
From All Star Essays - April 6, 2006
A growing list of colleges and universities are making standardized tests an optional part of the admissions process. It's a welcome development.
The recent scandal over mis-graded SATs underlined the fact that standardized tests are as prone to imperfection as any other process is. But even before that mishap, it was clear for some time that people are placing far too much importance on the SAT. It's ridiculous to hear of high school students spending hundreds of dollars on SAT tutors and prep courses, or of students re-taking the SAT multiple times to get the 'right' score.
Colleges and universities that make standardized test scores an optional part of their admissions process give applicants a valuable option. If a student has a good SAT or ACT score, they're free to report it. But if their score does not fairly reflect their academic abilities -- or if they simply don't want to take the test -- they can leave that part of the application blank without being penalized for it.
USA Today recently reported that a growing number of schools are introducing SAT-optional admissions. A number of schools that have done so recently saw a jump in their 2006 application volume. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a good part of that increase comes from applicants who were attracted specifically by the SAT-optional policy. (A full list of schools that do not require standardized test scores from applicants can be found at www.fairtest.org.)
Students should think carefully, however, before deciding to limit their applications to SAT-optional schools. They might be shortchanging themselves, in several ways:
- Only a limited number of selective schools have SAT-optional policies. Most of the institutions that do not require standardized test scores for admission are either community colleges or highly specialized institutions. You'll be limiting yourself to a small number of potential schools if you are not willing to provide a SAT or ACT score.
- Even SAT-optional schools may want a test score for scholarships or class placement. Bowdoin College has had a SAT-optional admissions policy for 30 years – but it still asks incoming students to take the test before they matriculate, since the scores are used for counseling and class placement. More importantly, many schools use SAT or ACT scores in deciding which students to give academic scholarships to.
- You'll have to take a standardized test if you want to go to graduate or professional school – so you may as well familiarize yourself with the process by taking the SAT or ACT.
Another factor to keep in mind is that if you don't submit SAT or ACT scores with your college applications, you're giving the admissions committee one less piece of information about you. That will be an even greater concern if your high school no longer reports class rankings, as a growing number of schools no longer do. The less information you give an admissions committee, the better that information needs to be. Make sure that your recommendation letters give a persuasive picture of your intellectual abilities and scholastic achievements. And make sure that your essays give a persuasive picture of your personality and interests, and make clear why you are especially well suited to be a student at your targeted school.
"More Schools Make SATs an Optional Part of Admissions"
From All Star Essays - April 6, 2006
A growing list of colleges and universities are making standardized tests an optional part of the admissions process. It's a welcome development.
The recent scandal over mis-graded SATs underlined the fact that standardized tests are as prone to imperfection as any other process is. But even before that mishap, it was clear for some time that people are placing far too much importance on the SAT. It's ridiculous to hear of high school students spending hundreds of dollars on SAT tutors and prep courses, or of students re-taking the SAT multiple times to get the 'right' score.
Colleges and universities that make standardized test scores an optional part of their admissions process give applicants a valuable option. If a student has a good SAT or ACT score, they're free to report it. But if their score does not fairly reflect their academic abilities -- or if they simply don't want to take the test -- they can leave that part of the application blank without being penalized for it.
USA Today recently reported that a growing number of schools are introducing SAT-optional admissions. A number of schools that have done so recently saw a jump in their 2006 application volume. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a good part of that increase comes from applicants who were attracted specifically by the SAT-optional policy. (A full list of schools that do not require standardized test scores from applicants can be found at www.fairtest.org.)
Students should think carefully, however, before deciding to limit their applications to SAT-optional schools. They might be shortchanging themselves, in several ways:
- Only a limited number of selective schools have SAT-optional policies. Most of the institutions that do not require standardized test scores for admission are either community colleges or highly specialized institutions. You'll be limiting yourself to a small number of potential schools if you are not willing to provide a SAT or ACT score.
- Even SAT-optional schools may want a test score for scholarships or class placement. Bowdoin College has had a SAT-optional admissions policy for 30 years – but it still asks incoming students to take the test before they matriculate, since the scores are used for counseling and class placement. More importantly, many schools use SAT or ACT scores in deciding which students to give academic scholarships to.
- You'll have to take a standardized test if you want to go to graduate or professional school – so you may as well familiarize yourself with the process by taking the SAT or ACT.
Another factor to keep in mind is that if you don't submit SAT or ACT scores with your college applications, you're giving the admissions committee one less piece of information about you. That will be an even greater concern if your high school no longer reports class rankings, as a growing number of schools no longer do. The less information you give an admissions committee, the better that information needs to be. Make sure that your recommendation letters give a persuasive picture of your intellectual abilities and scholastic achievements. And make sure that your essays give a persuasive picture of your personality and interests, and make clear why you are especially well suited to be a student at your targeted school.
posted by AllStarEssays at 8:41 AM
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