Test Optional Admissions Trends in 2024
An April 2024 Update:
As we head into the end of the school year, many juniors are taking the ACT or SAT– or wondering whether they should in this largely test-optional world. Sophomores looking ahead to fall testing and making plans for their test prep and testing schedule.
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 high school juniors. This was the first Ivy League school to return to requiring test scores since the pandemic pause, and it set off a round of changes that ricocheted around the country among highly selective colleges (Georgetown, MIT, Purdue) while the public schools in Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia returned quickly to requiring testing or never stopped requiring it in the first place.
Yale followed Dartmouth 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, followed by Brown and UT Austin. In the second week of April, both Cal Tech and Harvard also revoked their test optional policies, effective immediately.
Which Ivy League colleges are test optional?
This leaves only Columbia, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell as Ivy League colleges not requiring test scores for college admissions. The next news may come from the University of North Carolina, which is currently considering a plan to return to requiring test scores for certain students.
Why are some colleges starting to require test scores again?
Will other colleges and universities return to requiring test scores based on the data Dartmouth cited in making its decision? Several have affirmed their commitment to test optional or test blind, so I anticipate that we will remain in a largely test-optional world in the immediate future. For example:
Permanently test blind: University of California, California State
Permanently test optional: University of Chicago
Phasing out of test optional: Vanderbilt (through 2027), Johns Hopkins (through 2026), Stanford (through 2024-2025), and Northwestern (through 2024-2025)
Test optional, or test preferred?
If you are trying to understand whether you need to take college entrance exams, check the Common Data Set for the colleges on your list. A school like the University of Oregon had only 17% of last year’s enrolled first-year students submit test scores. Clemson, on the other hand, reported about 70% of that cohort submitting test scores. That differential is one indicator of how much or how little each school weighs test scores.
Pro-tip: If you are applying to a competitive major, think business or engineering, remember that some schools require test scores for a direct admission into that major. These include popular programs like the Kelley business school at Indiana University.
Should I prep for the ACT or SAT?
I can’t say in the abstract whether any one student should prep and test. In the middle of the pack, many students will do perfectly well in admissions without submitting test scores, and I often advise students to stop prepping or to skip testing, depending on circumstances. But for students who want to compete at the 50 most selective schools in the US or as an out-of-state student to schools that are extremely popular and selective— like Michigan, Wisconsin, and the University of Virginia— I almost always recommend prepping and testing, because having a strong test score will help a student.
Changes to the SAT
I have been following the development of the digital SAT since the College Board first started beta testing it in the US 18 months ago and using it internationally for all of 2023. You can see my fulsome update on the digital SAT here. I have been preparing US students for the test since fall of ‘23, and here are my takeaways.
My Positive/Neutral Thoughts on the Digital SAT:
There are no more long reading passages on the verbal half of the test, and this makes the test more accessible (easier!) for most students than the old SAT.
Students can use the calculator (built-in Desmos or their own) for the full math section.
The test is adaptive in two modules for verbal and two modules for math.
The pacing of t
he test is more generous overall, so students feel less rushed. In other words, being fast is no longer a strategic advantage, though students do still have to be on time.
My Concerns About the Digital SAT:
The College Board has only released six tests, and the math on these tests is pretty easy compared to the paper tests from as recent as December 2023. I am continuing to use the old math tests from the past few years as well as the released digital tests to ensure my students are well prepared. The ubiquitous feedback from the March SAT was the that math was much harder than anticipated, which confirmed my concern about the College Board’s practice tests.
The College Board has decoupled from Khan Academy, so although Khan has a Digital SAT section– and I am using it with my students– it is not tailored to individual students based on their past PSAT/SAT scores. In addition, the format of the questions on Khan does not mimic those on the digital PSAT, so this is an imperfect though useful resource.
I predict that to earn a very high score, students will need to get very few answers wrong: there are only 54 total verbal questions (compared to 96 previously) and 44 total math questions (compared to 58 previously). This is the conversion table that the College Board released for the current practice tests.
Reach out to me if you want my advice on whether, when, and how to prepare for the SAT or ACT.
How can Freshmen prepare for college?
I haven’t forgotten about you, Class of 2027! I know freshman year is a big step up academically– it has been in my household this year for my freshman– and I hope you have found your footing. If you need academic tutoring, we have a great team offering everything from coaching on writing a DBQ for World History to tutoring in math subjects ranging from Algebra to BC Calculus.
Schedule a free consultation to talk with Christina about finding the right tutor.
As you look ahead to sophomore year, you have the opportunity for more variety in your classes and to go deeper with your activities. Many freshman families seek me out for advice on course selection and summer plans. I am always happy to see you and help you plan ahead. My experience is that students who know more can do more in these early years, and that can make you more successful when it comes to applying to college a few years from now. My aim is never to make you into someone you aren’t; rather, I listen to your goals and interests and guide you on how to make the best use of your time and, I hope, feel a little less stressed all along the way.
If you missed my presentation, How to Prepare for College Admissions, you can still see the recording here for all my top tips for younger high schoolers:
