With fewer students taking the ACT exam, many may miss out on scholarships

Alexandra Hardle, Aberdeen News
·2 min read

Although it's optional for admittance to South Dakota's six public universities, students applying for college might want to consider taking the ACT.

Scholarship money could be on the line.

More colleges are beginning to take a test-optional approach to admissions. About 80% of the roughly 2,300 four-year universities in the country are not requiring the SAT or ACT for high school students graduating in 2022, according to nonprofit organization FairTest.

South Dakota's public universities went test-optional in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic spread.

Now, fewer high school students seem to be taking the ACT. Only 40% of students at Central High School took the ACT in 2021, down from 73% in 2019, said Central Principal Jason Uttermark at a previous school board meeting.

Still, Uttermark said this week, all students are encouraged to take the exam. If they don't decide to go to college right away, they might still decide to go in the future. And they are likely to do not as well on the exam if they continue to wait after they have graduated from high school, he said.

Uttermark
Uttermark

Although the landscape of standardized testing is evolving, many scholarships still require an ACT score, and students might miss out on scholarship opportunities if they opt to not take the exam. Many students who decide to not take the ACT might make that decision because they don't think they will score high enough to qualify for scholarships, Uttermark said.

Some scholarships amounts vary depending on the final ACT score. The Northern State University WolfPACT scholarship, for example, requires an ACT score between 20 and 36, with students with higher scores getting more money. Students don't need to apply for the scholarship. It's automatically awarded.

South Dakota State University's Jackrabbit Guarantee program also gives out more money for higher scores. A 22 is the base level, and students don't even need to apply for it.

The South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship offers students up to $6,500 over four years if they attend an eligible university within the state. That scholarship requires a minimum ACT score of 24.

Scholarship opportunities discussed with students

Uttermark said Central's counselors are sure to discuss scholarship opportunities with students and the advantages of taking the ACT. He estimates that 75% to 80% of Central's college-bound students take it.

At Roncalli High School, all juniors are required to take the ACT, which the school pays for. Students can also opt to take the exam again their senior year. Cal Nygaard, a counselor at the school, said students' scores tend to go up if they take the exam more than once.

The score comes down to preparation, and taking the exam the first time will allow students to see where they stand and, in turn, make them more prepared if the take the test subsequently.

Editor's note: A detail about the WolfPACT scholarship has been corrected in this story.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: With fewer students taking ACT exam, many may miss out on scholarships