Ivy League school joins growing list of colleges requiring SAT | College Connection
Dartmouth College announced this month that it will require standardized test scores (SAT or ACT) of all applicants.
The Ivy League institution is joining a growing number of prestigious schools that are turning away from the “test optional” policy adopted during COVID to keep their application numbers high.
Other colleges and universities, popular with New Jersey students, that require test scores include Georgetown University, Purdue University, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, University of Florida, Florida State, MIT, and the U.S. Military academies.
Even colleges that do not require the SAT for admission typically use it as a criterion for scholarship consideration and to allow students to test out of placement tests. Students without SAT scores are required, prior to the start of freshman year, to take placement tests at the college they will be attending. If they do not score high enough on any of these tests (typically required in English and Math), they are placed in “remedial” courses which require full tuition but award no college credits.
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In announcing its decision, Dartmouth referred to a study finding that test scores are a better indicator of how well students will likely perform in college than are high school grades, student essays, and teacher recommendations.
Its researchers also analyzed test scores of Dartmouth applicants who had not submitted SAT scores, as colleges can see them after the admissions process is completed. Dartmouth concluded that many students who were denied admission had made a strategic mistake and likely would have been admitted if they had submitted their test scores. Without standardized test scores, admissions officers often struggle to find evidence that a student is academically prepared to succeed in their challenging college environment.
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Colleges also realize that their original reason for adopting a test optional policy is no longer valid. Starting in March of 2020 and continuing for the rest of that year and beyond, many students were unable to take the SAT as the vast majority of test centers cancelled their administration of the test due to the COVID pandemic. This is no longer the case. Current students who are not submitting SAT scores either did not bother to prepare and take the test or did not perform well enough (in their eyes) to submit scores to colleges.
A recent N.Y. Times headline read, “A Top College Reinstates the SAT. Why other schools may follow Dartmouth’s lead.” Many other colleges are sure to react in the near future.
Susan Alaimo is the founder & director of Collegebound Review, offering PSAT/SAT® preparation & private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Dartmouth joins other schools requiring SAT
