In the continuing cultural shift where an SAT or ACT score is no longer required as part of a college application, many families remain skeptical about just how “optional” is test optional admissions. Many believe that submitting an SAT or ACT score will be an “edge” in the race for a seemingly elusive acceptance letter,…
Starting in Spring 2024, the SAT will be given in digital format only. Thus, those in the Classes of 2025 and 2026 who intend to take the SAT will need to prepare accordingly. For the Class of 2025, current high school Sophomores, can either take the SAT on paper this Fall 2023 (the last dates…
Updated March 11, 2023 As of March 1, 2023, Columbia University admissions officers declared a permanent test-optional admissions policy for all first year applicants, starting with the Fall 2024 cycle. We have designed our application to afford the greatest possible opportunity and flexibility for students to represent themselves fully and showcase their academic talents, interests…
In the seeming neverending quest for college admissions, Juniors (and parents) fret over taking or not taking the SAT or ACT, wondering if the test score (or absence of) will be a strategic blunder, as in the reason for being denied admissions. However, with guidance, students and their families can reason a choice without reducing…
With continued, widespread test optional admissions policies, where students are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their college applications, inevitably, students, under the misconception that an acceptance letter is THE objective of college admissions, worry about unwittingly harming their admissions evaluation by either adding or excluding test scores from their…
Bucking the trend, on March 28, 2022, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) reinstated requirements for submitting an SAT or ACT score for the next Fall 2023 first year admissions cycle. In opposition to MIT though, every Ivy League college, plus Stanford and CalTech, have extended test-optional policies for at least another year. (Georgetown University is…
As of December 16, 2021, Harvard is the latest college to join the chorus of admissions officers extending test optional/test-blind/test-free admissions policies for at least the next Fall 2023 application cycle and often beyond. (Longstanding Harvard Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons announced extending test-optional admissions policies for the next four years…
Now that the October 2021 PSAT is done, “Should I take the SAT/ACT or not?” is the refrain of Class of 2023 high school juniors and their parents. And, understandably so. While the University of California (UC) system, Cornell University and Stanford University are clear that current Class of 2023 juniors will not need to…
For Fall 2022 admissions, nearly two-thirds of U.S. universities will again use test-optional, test-blind, or test-free admissions policies. Yet, for an entire generation of applicants (and their parents) for whom college admissions is synonymous with “take the SAT or ACT”, differentiating the policies can be helpful to continue strategizing for their individual college educational goals. …
The Fall 2021 PSAT is scheduled for either on October 13, 2021, October 16, 2021 or October 26, 2021, yet may be subject to restrictions or cancellation depending on public health conditions. Taking the PSAT, any high school students can practice for SAT’s or ACT’s, and, for Juniors particularly, taking the PSAT is also a…
Before COVID, submitting SAT or ACT scores were a must for every college applicant. During COVID though, test-optional policies were widely and quickly implemented to preserve as much access to college admissions as possible since many test centers (which are schools) closed, so SAT’s and ACT’s couldn’t be administered. While many laud the change in…
On May 14, 2021, University of California (UC) officials agreed to extend “test-free” admissions policies through Fall 2025, meaning SAT or ACT scores will not be required nor considered in either admissions or scholarship considerations for the next four application cycles. Current Class of 2022 high school juniors through current eighth graders will be affected…
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Becky Frankiewicz writing for the Harvard Business Review (HBR) tackled the topic of higher education and full employment leaving out, for now, the idea of a lasting peace of mind. Of course, although there may be a multi-decade correlation between a college degree and three or less careers in one’s lifetime, equaling…
Many high school juniors who will be applying to college for Fall 2022 admissions are desperate to understand whether major universities will require SAT or ACT scores as part of their applications. I would first caution parents and students to be patient and flexible when defining an SAT or ACT test-taking strategy given admissions policies…
As many U.S. universities have not yet announced any extended test-optional or test-blind policies for Fall 2022 admissions, meaning applicants are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores for admissions, many current high school juniors (in the Class of 2022) are in limbo about the necessity of taking the SAT or ACT. Yet, given…
