Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the university can still consider SAT/ACT scores for students who submit then, doesn’t that put students who don’t submit at a disadvantage?

Let’s say you have two applicants who are equally qualified....but one submits a stellar SAT score, and one submits no score at all. Wouldn’t they be more likely
to admit the student with the strong test score?

Wondering if this change is more of a talking point than an actual change. Unless the process is “SAT blind”, I don’t see how it wouldn’t still be an advantage to submit test scores.

Thoughts?

Your instincts are correct. In the recent past, a number of schools have adopted this policy as a way 1) to increase diversity without explicitly abandoning their admissions requirements in re quality/rigor. Nearly anyone can get an impressive high GPA these days, owing to widespread rampant grade inflation. So a test-optional school can admit otherwise weak standardized test-takers without compromising the average GPA (or test scores) of admitted/enrolled students.

The second reason schools have adopted this optional test score policy is that they know the kids with good test scores will furnish them, and the applicants with mediocre or poor scores won't. Thus, the school will be able to report higher average test scores.

Lookie here, Ma. My USNWR ranking just went up! It's like magic!

I don't think this will affect the UC schools that much. It may, at the margins, enhance enrollment of favored minority groups -- the UC schools have been looking for a way around the law for years now, in order to discriminate in favor of favored groups -- but you have to believe that the least favored of all groups, Asian Americans, will continue to submit their test scores. They'd be crazy not to do so.

Anonymous wrote:If the university can still consider SAT/ACT scores for students who submit then, doesn’t that put students who don’t submit at a disadvantage?

Let’s say you have two applicants who are equally qualified....but one submits a stellar SAT score, and one submits no score at all. Wouldn’t they be more likely
to admit the student with the strong test score?

Wondering if this change is more of a talking point than an actual change. Unless the process is “SAT blind”, I don’t see how it wouldn’t still be an advantage to submit test scores.

Thoughts?

Anonymous wrote:If the university can still consider SAT/ACT scores for students who submit then, doesn’t that put students who don’t submit at a disadvantage?

Let’s say you have two applicants who are equally qualified....but one submits a stellar SAT score, and one submits no score at all. Wouldn’t they be more likely
to admit the student with the strong test score?

Wondering if this change is more of a talking point than an actual change. Unless the process is “SAT blind”, I don’t see how it wouldn’t still be an advantage to submit test scores.

Thoughts?

Anonymous wrote:Schools can still consider scores for admission, correct? Or does dropping the requirement mean schools won't look at them at all?

Anonymous wrote:How will merit awards work without SAT/ACT scores?

Students applying for fall 2021 are not precluded from taking standardized tests (SAT or ACT) and sending scores if they are able. Doing so can support their statewide UC eligibility, application for certain scholarships, and help them fulfill some University graduation requirements. Campuses will adjust their internal processes accordingly to ensure that no student is harmed in admissions selection should they not submit a test score. This modification to the test requirement is not intended as an admissions policy shift but is rather a temporary accommodation driven by the current extraordinary circumstances.