Admissions.Blog

FEBRUARY 5, 2024

The change takes effect for students applying for Fall 2025 admission (those students who will begin their applications in Summer or Fall 2024). Dartmouth College Dartmouth College has announced that it will yet again require high school students to share either an SAT or ACT score as part of their application for admission.

ACT 105

ACT SAT Applications Financial Aid 105

Top Tier Admissions

APRIL 23, 2024

Most recently, Harvard reversed course in an April 11 announcement that it would require students applying for fall 2025 admission to submit either an SAT or ACT score. Brooks School of Public Policy and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations but encourages applicants to submit SAT and/or ACT scores.

Standardized Testing 52

Standardized Testing Testing Ivy League Policies 52

Spark Admissions

JANUARY 23, 2023

After the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult or impossible for many students to take the ACT and the SAT, the vast majority of American colleges and universities chose to institute temporary (or, in some cases, permanent) test-optional policies. With that in mind, please enjoy the list!

Testing 130

Testing GPA University University 130

Spark Admissions

JANUARY 23, 2023

After the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult or impossible for many students to take the ACT and the SAT, the vast majority of American colleges and universities chose to institute temporary (or, in some cases, permanent) test-optional policies. With that in mind, please enjoy the list!

Testing 130

Testing GPA University University 130

BestColleges

MARCH 5, 2024

Note Reference [2] Check Since the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that banned affirmative action at colleges and universities, at least six institutions have ended their legacy admissions policies. Check Dozens more schools ended their legacy policies prior to 2023, according to archived admissions data.

Admissions 98

Admissions Ivy League Policies Higher Education 98

BestColleges

MARCH 20, 2024

Some researchers have connected test-optional policies to diversity gains for colleges — specifically, higher rates of application and enrollment for students of underrepresented races and ethnicities. During the pandemic, all of the Ivy-Plus schools implemented an optional standardized test score submission policy.

SAT 94

SAT Standardized Testing Ivy League Test Prep 94

Top Tier Admissions

APRIL 3, 2023

This year’s acceptance rate matches the class of 2025 as the University’s lowest rate in history. According to a survey done by enrollment management firm Maguire Associates, these policies have also helped increase application numbers from low-income students and from students who belong to marginalized racial and ethnic groups.

Acceptance 88

Acceptance Ivy League Policies Standardized Testing 88

Top Tier Admissions

APRIL 6, 2023

More than 59,000 students applied to Penn this cycle, the largest first-year applicant pool in Penn’s history, and over 4,500 more applications than the Class of 2026 and over 3,000 more than the Class of 2025. In January, Penn Admissions announced the extension of the test-optional policy through the 2023-24 admissions cycle.

Acceptance 99

Acceptance Ivy League Early Decision Policies 99

Spark Admissions

JANUARY 28, 2022

Then, as the pandemic continued, many colleges extended their policies for another year or longer. Meanwhile, a few other Ivy League schools (including Cornell University and Stanford University) had already extended their test-optional policies through 2023. What Prompted this Change? Final Thoughts.

Ivy League 130

Ivy League Testing Admissions SAT 130

BestColleges

OCTOBER 4, 2023

Participation in the SAT rose by roughly 200,000 students from the class of 2022 to the class of 2023, although universities have increasingly embraced test-optional policies and moved away from requiring standardized test scores from incoming students. Harvard waived standardized testing for undergraduates through the class of 2030.

SAT 52

SAT Standardized Testing Policies Testing 52

BestColleges

AUGUST 25, 2023

Marchant said lawyers have recently been using generative AIs like ChatGPT to draft briefs and policies. "I I heard a recent story of a lawyer who basically was asked to draft a privacy policy for his client, and he asked ChatGPT to do it, and it was very good. We're trying to teach them to be 2025 lawyers," said Marchant.

Policies 98

Policies Transition Grants Out-of-State 98

BestColleges

MARCH 26, 2024

If all goes to plan, students will have access to not just undergraduate and graduate programs but also certificate and continuing education programs starting in fall 2025. The college plans to launch at all campuses in fall 2025 but must complete several shared governance steps and win approval from the board of trustees.

Ivy League 52

Ivy League Bachelor's Degree Associate's Degree University 52

Top Tier Admissions

APRIL 19, 2024

BROWN’S CHANGING ADMISSIONS POLICIES Brown University announced in early March that it would once again require students applying for fall 2025 admission to submit either a SAT or ACT score. Additionally, Brown reviews student veteran applications on a rolling basis but will conclude in April.

Acceptance 65

Acceptance Ivy League Early Decision Standardized Testing 65

Top Tier Admissions

APRIL 9, 2024

Since then, the UCs have implemented policies like Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC)—which guarantees admission to most UC campuses for California applicants with grades in the top 9% of their high school class—and a holistic review to boost enrollment of students traditionally under-represented in higher education.

Admissions 81

Admissions Transfer Out-of-State Financial Aid 81

Top Tier Admissions

APRIL 4, 2023

Quinlan attributed this shift to the University’s choice to adopt a test-optional policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which the admissions office has renewed for each of the intervening application cycles. for the class of 2025, 6.54 for the class of 2025, 6.54 percent for the class of 2026, 4.62 for the class of 2023.

Acceptance 93

Acceptance Waitlist Policies Admissions 93

BestColleges

MAY 9, 2024

The state has seen success in FAFSA completion due to early outreach efforts and a new universal FAFSA policy. First, the 2024-25 FAFSA is the first cycle where the state is enforcing a new "universal FAFSA" policy that makes submitting a FAFSA a graduation requirement for high school seniors.

Financial Aid 52

Financial Aid Grants Out-of-State Higher Education 52

DC College Counseling

JANUARY 12, 2024

January is always a good time to reflect on the trends and themes of the most recent application cycle and look ahead to what’s coming in the 2024-2025 admissions cycle. Throughout 2023, many people in college admissions questioned how these chatbots would impact the college admission essay and supplements and how institutions would respond.

Standardized Testing 59

Standardized Testing Semester Government Policies 59

Georgia Tech Admissions Blog

APRIL 15, 2024

Now, to be fair to the seniors, this has been a tumultuous and unprecedented year, particularly in light of the FUBAR FAFSA situation, the first cycle following a landmark SCOTUS case, and noise and variance in testing policies around the country.

Admissions 133

Admissions Waitlist Scholarships Policies 133

Top Tier Admissions

MARCH 1, 2024

However, with the release of new data for the Class of 2027 confirming a 3.91% acceptance rate coupled with similar acceptance rates since the Class of 2025, we can assume the Class of 2028 acceptance rate will be similar. Stanford’s test-optional policy extends to applicants applying for the Fall 2025 entry term.

Acceptance 52

Acceptance Ivy League University University 52

BestColleges

MAY 9, 2024

The proposal, included in the fiscal year 2025 budget, has yet to be approved. On May 6, Massachusetts senators announced MassEducate , a program that would give every state resident a tuition- and fee-free education at any state community college. If the $75.5 million program is approved, MassEducate will begin in fall 2024.

Community College 52

Community College Community College Tuition Financial Aid 52

BestColleges

MARCH 26, 2024

This policy change will impact about 350 families. Dartmouth said the new policy will benefit about 350 families of currently enrolled students. The gift will go toward financial aid and scholarships. The new threshold will apply to all qualifying incoming first-year students, sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Financial Aid 52

Financial Aid Ivy League Tuition Scholarships 52

Top Tier Admissions

JANUARY 26, 2024

of applicants were deferred to the regular decision round, continuing a pattern of decreasing deferral rates in recent years — 30% for the class of 2025, 25% for the class of 2026 and 19% for the class of 2027. 22 students, just 3% of those who applied, gained admission to Brown’s combined undergraduate and medical school program.

Acceptance 52

Acceptance Ivy League Early Decision University 52

BestColleges

MARCH 27, 2024

USF plans to open the college on all of its campuses in fall 2025 if everything goes as planned with governance and board of trustees approval. OpenAI's ChatGPT rocked higher education when it launched in 2022, forcing schools to adopt AI anti-plagiarism policies and create curricula to match the demand for AI literacy.

Ivy League 59

Ivy League Concentration Government Out-of-State 59

CTK College Coach

FEBRUARY 26, 2024

The big news last month was that Dartmouth announced it would require test scores for the Class of 2025 – that’s this year’s current juniors. Yale then followed with the announcement of a test flexible (but required) policy that allows students to choose among submitting SAT, ACT, AP scores, and/or IB scores.

Testing 52

Testing PSAT SAT Ivy League 52

BestColleges

DECEMBER 19, 2023

The requirements would be phased in, with no less than 40% of courses having costs listed by the beginning of 2025, 55% by 2026, 65% by 2027, and 75% by 2028. The requirements will go into effect July 1, 2024, and will apply to the 2024-2025 academic school year. However, the University of California system has the option to comply.

Higher Education 52

Higher Education Education Education Tuition 52

BestColleges

APRIL 15, 2024

A year later, the university announced it would extend the testing moratorium through fall 2025, when the class of 2030 would be applying. Caltech does not consider SAT or ACT testing, its website stated until its policy reversal. But now Harvard is essentially shaving off those last two years of test-optional admissions.

Standardized Testing 98

Standardized Testing Testing SAT Test Prep 98

Next Admit College Admissions Blog

APRIL 20, 2024

For the incoming Class of 2025, the 25th percentile ACT score was 35 , while the 75th percentile reached a perfect composite score of 36. While challenging, gaining admission to MIT with a below-average ACT score is possible, especially given MIT’s test-optional policy. This surpasses the national average of around 21.

ACT 52

ACT Standardized Testing SAT Transfer 52

BestColleges

APRIL 27, 2023

And among athletes recruited for the university's class of 2025, 83% were white. Students across the board who apply early — not just athletes — tend to come from wealthier families, notes a 2021 report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy. Among Harvard's class of 2022, 46.3% How much is "quite a bit"?

Early Decision 105

Early Decision Ivy League Scholarships Acceptance 105

Spark Admissions

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

Because the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult or impossible for many students to take the ACT and the SAT, the vast majority of American colleges and universities chose to institute temporary (or, in some cases, permanent) test-optional policies. Harvard University: Test-Optional for 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.

Testing 130

Testing GPA University University 130

Ivy Central

MAY 17, 2023

BU has announced that they will remain Test-Optional until at least the 2025/26 application round, allowing students to decide whether or not to submit standardised test scores during the admissions process. For those applying to the College of Fine Arts, there is the opportunity to provide a portfolio of work.

Early Decision 130

Early Decision University University Mentorship 130

BestColleges

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

The university will create a one-year graduate certificate program in dietary supplements in the fall of 2025 and one for medical cannabis in the fall of 2026. The university plans to create additional one-year graduate certificate programs for dietary supplements in the fall of 2025 and one for medical cannabis in the fall of 2026.

Bachelor's Degree 52

Bachelor's Degree Programs Waitlist Associate's Degree 52

BestColleges

JUNE 2, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a growing number of colleges move away from the SAT and ACT as a mandatory admissions requirement, with schools implementing test-optional policies. That move has also crept into statewide policies, with the University of California system in 2021 permanently eschewing standardized testing in admissions requirements.

ACT 52

ACT Testing Transition SAT 52

Berkeley² Academy

JULY 9, 2022

Most recently, MIT has switched from an optional test policy to a required test policy. According to the , statistics for the 2025 class, the majority of MIT admitted students received a Composite ACT score from 34-36, or a score of 750-800 on the Math and English Reading/Writing portions of the SATs.

SAT 52

SAT ACT Standardized Testing Policies 52

The Ivy Dean

MARCH 13, 2023

Moreover, the school introduced and has extended its test optional policy for first-year and transfer applicants for the next three admission cycles applying in the falls of 2023, 2024, and 2025. As such, applicants may submit an ACT or SAT score only if they wish to do so.

Ivy League 59

Ivy League University University Waitlist 59

BestColleges

JANUARY 5, 2024

The department will likely aim for the rule to go into effect in time for the 2025-26 academic year. Committee members will then vote on a final proposal in March, and if members approve the plan with unanimous consent, ED will move to finalize the plan by November. If approved, this may be a significant expansion of TRIO eligibility.

Financial Aid 98

Financial Aid Programs Government Higher Education 98

Top Tier Admissions

APRIL 12, 2024

HARVARD REVERSES COURSE ON TESTING REQUIREMENT Despite Harvard’s previous commitment to remaining test-optional through the Class of 2030, the college announced on April 11 it would require students applying for fall 2025 admission to submit either an SAT or ACT score.

Acceptance 68

Acceptance Ivy League Admissions Standardized Testing 68

Next Admit College Admissions Blog

MAY 4, 2024

For the admissions cycle spanning 2024–25, Northwestern University maintains a test-optional policy. This means that first-year or transfer candidates applying for fall 2025 entry are not required to submit ACT or SAT scores. Northwestern values quantitative aptitude alongside verbal proficiency, as demonstrated by these scores.

SAT 52

SAT Standardized Testing ACT Placement 52