Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Some selective liberal arts colleges have been test optional for a few years. How has it worked? Does anybody who knows care to share?
I haven't seen data quoted, but it's hard to imagine that a test-optional highly selective LAC's process is scalable to the level of the UC system. Inherently more subjectivity involved.
Anonymous wrote:Some selective liberal arts colleges have been test optional for a few years. How has it worked? Does anybody who knows care to share?
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?
Maybe use the PSAT scores?
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:But back to a key question from a prior post. Does anyone actually KNOW how test-optional colleges have been operating, or whether the UC system is going to operate differently? Is there any data out there?
By the way, Harvard actually lost its lawsuit after depositions were taken, although the case is on appeal. The people who sued emphasized the zero-sum theory of college admissions. If you act affirmatively in favor of one group, the argument goes, you are implicitly acting against other groups. Favoring athletes discriminates against non-athletes. Favoring legacies discriminates against non-legacies. Favoring underrepresented minorities discriminates against Caucasians and Asians. That's the argument.
In my opinion, and Harvard's, that kind of favoritism is not the same as "discrimination" toward any particular group, especially in the context of affirmative action. It's just a recognition that diversity within the school is good for the school and for society. Also, there are populations that tend to do well once admitted, and also do well after graduation, even though they don't do all as well on standardized tests. For this reason, many people are suspicious of standardized tests even though they do not discriminate in the traditional sense, in that the graders at the College Board don't know the race of any particular test taker. But the system as a whole can seem discriminatory, especially if the tests are accurate predictors for many students but not students from all groups.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:And what will happen, practically speaking, is that good testers will take the tests and submit scores anyway.
If the tests are actually offered at some point again this year.
Plenty of juniors already have SAT scores, although may not have the chance to get it higher via retests. Our HS offered an SAT prep class in the Fall that was nearly all juniors and they all, including my DS, took it in December. Glad we got that done early!
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Vassar and Pomona are also going test-optional next year, as are Tufts, BU and Davidson. Seems like the SAT’s days may be numbered.
You might be correct, but none of these are ivy league schools.
And to you that’s all that matters. Got it.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Vassar and Pomona are also going test-optional next year, as are Tufts, BU and Davidson. Seems like the SAT’s days may be numbered.
You might be correct, but none of these are ivy league schools.
Anonymous wrote:Vassar and Pomona are also going test-optional next year, as are Tufts, BU and Davidson. Seems like the SAT’s days may be numbered.
Anonymous wrote:GPAs are relatively meaningless, owing to grade inflation.
So, if schools drop standardized testing as a req't for admission, the who process becomes entirely subjective.
The schools will love this. What could go wrong?
Especially if you're Asian....