Various prestigious universities have brought back the requirement for standardized testing, including Georgetown University, Purdue University, Brown University, and the University of Texas at Austin. This marks a shift from the interim test-optional procedures that were implemented in response to the COVID-19 complications, which granted applicants the choice to submit their SAT or ACT scores or not.
In order to accommodate students who were experiencing testing difficulties, many colleges instituted test-optional admissions in the fall of 2020, during the height of the pandemic. Intended as a temporary fix, test-optional implementations extended into subsequent application cycles at many institutions across the country. However, beginning in 2022, universities including MIT and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville led the initiative to reimpose exam requirements.
In a recent article published in the “U.S. News and World Report,” Brown University’s dean of undergraduate admissions Logan Powell contended that the test-optional policy “inadvertently created confusion and miscalculation” among both admissions committees and applicants. According to the article, Powell maintained that it was problematic to evaluate applicants in a fair and consistent manner since there were no benchmarks for standardized testing.
The reintroduction of test score requirements has mixed perceptions. Alumna Ava Seymour ’23 said that there was an increased expectation to achieve higher test scores during her admissions process. “It felt like there was more pressure to stand out in other areas if you decided to go test-optional,” Seymour remarked.
Some students, on the contrary, felt they benefit tremendously from the test-optional policies a majority of schools have established. “I have the freedom to decide whether or not I submit my test scores to each individual school [with the exception of institutions that require test scores,” senior Mackenzie Cohen explained.
Parents have also observed the changes in the admissions landscape. With many students opting out of submitting their scores during the test-optional phase, the average test scores reported by the universities rose, as primarily those confident in their scores chose to submit them. This shift has placed additional pressure on students to either perform well on standardized tests or distinguish themselves through other means.
It is unclear how returning to standardized testing standards would affect students’ stress levels and college admissions in the long run. While colleges are adjusting to these changes in an effort to improve transparency and equity in the admissions process, prospective students now face additional difficulties in creating strong applications in a more competitive setting.
