George Washington joins other schools, including Wesleyan, NYU, American, Wake Forest and Smith College, among the more than 850 private and public universities that don’t require all or many applicants to submit standardized test scores. The study also found that non-submitters are more likely to be first-generation college applicants, minorities, women, Pell Grant recipients and students with learning differences, suggesting that moves like GW’s could help break down barriers to access.
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According to the news release, instead of SAT/ACT scores, school coursework and grades will remain the most important factors in GWU’s holistic review process, “along with a student’s writing skills, recommendations, involvement in school and community, and personal qualities and character”.
Admissions officials say that university administrators were concerned that below-average test scores were discouraging some otherwise strong students not to apply to the university.
“I think possibly that taking the spotlight away from the SAT creates a more diverse mosaic of student achievement and student possibility”, Derek Thompson, senior editor at The Atlantic, said Tuesday on “CBS This Morning”. Like GW, numerous institutions going test-optional in the past two years are among the nation’s most competitive.
The new policy on the SAT and ACT admission tests allow those who believe their admission test scores truly reflect their potential to submit their scores if they wish, but will not be turned down if they don’t.
The task force recommended dropping required test scores as part of a bid for prospective students who would likely perform well despite low test scores that discourage them from applying in the first place.
This decision follows a university task force investigation of what makes a promising college student.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook prepares to take a picture with his iPhone while addressing graduates during George Washington University’s commencement exercises on the National Mall on May 17 in Washington. “Many independent studies and practical experiences have shown that test-optional admission enhances both academic excellence and diversity”. But when it comes to obstacles to attracting disadvantaged students, there’s an elephant in the room: the university’s staggering cost of attendance. “There’s a lot of research that says that Saturday. scores correlate very highly with socioeconomic backgrounds”.
