Harvard going test optional thru 2026 at least

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good. Anyways, the SAT is culturally biased. And with super scoring, what's the point?

The dumbs always cry “culturally biased” when they score in 8th percentile.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. Anyways, the SAT is culturally biased. And with super scoring, what's the point?

It is? My, fancy that. Try telling all the non-whites and immigrant heritage students who somehow manage to beat the native white Americans on the SATs.....

We all know in reality white and Asian and South Asian applicants to Harvard are still going to be expected to submit scores while the desirable protected categories will get more leeway without scores. It's more of the different standards for different people admissions game and makes it easier for Harvard to rig it to achieve their desired social engineering.

Harvard is Harvard. The school will choose from the best of the best - SAT or not.

If by “best” you mean “most likely to increase Harvards endowment in the future” then I agree.

[Anonymous]

none of your kids are getting in, so try not to care so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:none of your kids are getting in, so try not to care so much.

Lol. Very true. Of course what Harvard does has outsized influence on what other schools do going forward. I really think there an opportunity for a top college to break ranks and just choose the best qualified kids they can get, with no thought to legacy, sports, diversity etc. That college/university would be a powerhouse in a decade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of your kids are getting in, so try not to care so much.

Lol. Very true. Of course what Harvard does has outsized influence on what other schools do going forward. I really think there an opportunity for a top college to break ranks and just choose the best qualified kids they can get, with no thought to legacy, sports, diversity etc. That college/university would be a powerhouse in a decade.

It would be interesting to see. The cynicism on this board about the process and Harvard’s motives is striking. This is affecting Harvard’s “brand” and the perception of their graduates. It has evolved from “children of the elite” to “cream of the academic crop” to “social engineering experiment and children of big donors.” They think they have an endless supply of prestige, but they don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of your kids are getting in, so try not to care so much.

Lol. Very true. Of course what Harvard does has outsized influence on what other schools do going forward. I really think there an opportunity for a top college to break ranks and just choose the best qualified kids they can get, with no thought to legacy, sports, diversity etc. That college/university would be a powerhouse in a decade.

It would be interesting to see. The cynicism on this board about the process and Harvard’s motives is striking. This is affecting Harvard’s “brand” and the perception of their graduates. It has evolved from “children of the elite” to “cream of the academic crop” to “social engineering experiment and children of big donors.” They think they have an endless supply of prestige, but they don’t.

Harvard has never been truly cream of the academic crop like MIT/Caltech. That is an illusion that people have bought into. More like a combination of academic, athletes, and elites, which can overlap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of your kids are getting in, so try not to care so much.

Lol. Very true. Of course what Harvard does has outsized influence on what other schools do going forward. I really think there an opportunity for a top college to break ranks and just choose the best qualified kids they can get, with no thought to legacy, sports, diversity etc. That college/university would be a powerhouse in a decade.

Isn't U Chicago doing this?

[Anonymous]

Harvard is Harvard. The school will choose from the best of the best - SAT or not.

Perception becomes a feedback loop that changes reality. If middle America perceives that Harvard isn’t academically based anymore, the smartest midwestern and southern kids stop applying. The coastal elites don’t have a monopoly on intelligence and work ethic.

Test optional seems like a bad plan. How can I trust a Harvard degree anymore? What signal does it show besides alignment with current coastal elite values?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Harvard is Harvard. The school will choose from the best of the best - SAT or not.

Perception becomes a feedback loop that changes reality. If middle America perceives that Harvard isn’t academically based anymore, the smartest midwestern and southern kids stop applying. The coastal elites don’t have a monopoly on intelligence and work ethic.

Test optional seems like a bad plan. How can I trust a Harvard degree anymore? What signal does it show besides alignment with current coastal elite values?

Eh, the offspring of Midwesterners I know are still applying....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Harvard is Harvard. The school will choose from the best of the best - SAT or not.

Perception becomes a feedback loop that changes reality. If middle America perceives that Harvard isn’t academically based anymore, the smartest midwestern and southern kids stop applying. The coastal elites don’t have a monopoly on intelligence and work ethic.

Test optional seems like a bad plan. How can I trust a Harvard degree anymore? What signal does it show besides alignment with current coastal elite values?

Eh, the offspring of Midwesterners I know are still applying....

I now live outside of DC, and the Ivy League is perceived very differently here. The perception is that most of these schools have jumped the shark.

[Anonymous]

I went to a no name school outside the NE and got into good schools because I did well on standardized tests like AP and SAT. This is a shame.

However Harvard had never been meritocratic. The advantage given to legacies is through the roof. Evidence: https://mobile.twitter.com/michelletandler/status/1471894673346244611

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of your kids are getting in, so try not to care so much.

Lol. Very true. Of course what Harvard does has outsized influence on what other schools do going forward. I really think there an opportunity for a top college to break ranks and just choose the best qualified kids they can get, with no thought to legacy, sports, diversity etc. That college/university would be a powerhouse in a decade.

And boring as F@$! No one wants to go to a school of robots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Harvard is Harvard. The school will choose from the best of the best - SAT or not.

Perception becomes a feedback loop that changes reality. If middle America perceives that Harvard isn’t academically based anymore, the smartest midwestern and southern kids stop applying. The coastal elites don’t have a monopoly on intelligence and work ethic.

Test optional seems like a bad plan. How can I trust a Harvard degree anymore? What signal does it show besides alignment with current coastal elite values?

Eh, the offspring of Midwesterners I know are still applying....

I now live outside of DC, and the Ivy League is perceived very differently here. The perception is that most of these schools have jumped the shark.

As if anyone cares what fly over states think. Oh no they think Harvard jumped the shark! What will Harvard ever do!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids I know from the DMV who were admitted to Harvard (3) all took took the SAT and all had scores >1550. These rules don't apply to this area.

I think this is true but it also makes the test weigh less, imo, compared to other factors. Or, another way of looking, makes it more competitive because test optional applicants who might not have gotten in with scores will now get a slot. I personally think the kids most hurt are the 1400-1490/33-34 kids as those scores are better than almost everyone who takes the test but now at the bottom 25% of almost all top 50 universities. I think those scores used to be a bump and now they could potentially hurt you.

As is always stated, tests are no longer necessary or sufficient.

It does not make the test weigh less. Don't kid yourself.

Surely it does. Test scores used to be sufficient and predictive. Not any more.

Test scores were never sufficient-high school grades have always been the number one predictor of success in college. Tests are still able to help with that prediction, though, and their being unrequired will not mean they won't be considered or that assumptions won't be made about those who don't submit them.