Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Princeton finally changing, he only Test Optional schools left in the T10/ivy group:

Northwestern
Columbia
Duke

Makes those three look pretty desperate for apps.

I predict Duke and NU change to required next. Columbia has too many other issues that risk matriculation of true ivy quality kids; they will wait until 2029 or later and will exempt GS applicants

I know NU won't right now. They have pressure for revenue sports recruiting and are now getting basketball players they would have NEVER gotten before. One was announced last week and its a GIANT coup.

Duke is quite happy as well given their carolinas commitment. Scores are signficantly lower there and they don't want to bring down the averages.
I'd assume Vanderbilt is VERY happy with their football team right now.

Schools with real sports shouldn't have to have scores for recruited athletes. Winning teams transform and complete a college experience.

Schools used to let in athletes with lower scores in the old days before test optional. I don’t see why this would change now. They just don’t want to drop academic standards for the entire college just so athletes can apply without test scores.

Agree, but assume it would negatively impact the USNWR ranking for some of the true Div 1 teams mentioned. Don’t think they want to do that voluntarily?

It’s not a problem for Princeton. They aren’t ever making a bowl game. The SEC and Big10 revenue share opportunities are huge for schools like Vanderbilt and Northwestern! It’s why all those west coast teams joined Big10 last year.

With today’s funding gaps, these schools need to get more money from athletics - not less.

This is true for a very small subset of schools. But it seems to me that a lot of the naive comments here don’t understand the underlying economics of how a university is run. An elite school sure, but one with competitive programming in revenue sports doesn’t care that you want them to “only” use test scores. They want their athletes.

Agree with pp re Northwestern. I’m an alum. The news last week was shocking re Jayden. To get the basketball team Collin’s is putting together, definitely means no - not low - test scores. I’m also ok with that.

———-

Four-star recruit Jayden Hodge will commit to Northwestern, Hodge announced Monday afternoon on Instagram. The Belgium native will enter campus next fall as the highest-ranked NU men’s basketball recruit in the modern era, according to 247 Sports’ composite ranking.

“It was definitely a hard decision,” Hodge told The Daily. “But I felt confident and thought about it for a while, and I’m happy that I’ve made this decision.”

Hodge attracted significant buzz among recruiters because of his unique two-way playmaking abilities. In 2024, he led Belgium to a seventh-place finish in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket championship, averaging 15.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Beyond his offensive firepower, Hodge was a defensive pest, averaging 1.7 steals per game and just under one block per game.

Following a recruiting cycle with three of NU’s highest recruits in program history — Tre Singleton, Jake West and Tyler Kropp — coach Chris Collins is showing no signs of slowing down.

When Hodge visited campus in June, he received a tour from longtime friend and South Florida transfer Jayden Reid, a former roommate and teammate of Hodge’s older brother, Matthew. Hodge said he was struck by the beautiful campus and the academic rigor. More than anything, he said he felt truly wanted by Collins and the entire program.“

So I get that athletes can contribute to the school community and I am fine with the fact that some people who contribute to the school greatly can slip in with lower credentials than average. However, for schools that care to have any academic prestige, there is also the rest of the university population which also needs to function. Such places will want to attract serious students, and attract faculty who want to teach advanced students. If some schools continue to ignore scholastic requirements for entry, they are not going to maintain their status in the long term, no matter how good their sports teams are. Things may have been different in previous years when there was less grade inflation and no ChatGPT to artificially inflate non-test credentials. But in today’s landscape you kind of need something else to help you pick out the brightest minds. Schools can ignore student achievement in the short run, but in the long run the reputation for lack of rigor will catch up with them.

Anonymous wrote:Only shit schools and shit students defend test optional at this point.

If you are applying test optional to any selective school, the immediate and correct inference should be that you don’t belong there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Princeton finally changing, he only Test Optional schools left in the T10/ivy group:

Northwestern
Columbia
Duke

Makes those three look pretty desperate for apps.

I predict Duke and NU change to required next. Columbia has too many other issues that risk matriculation of true ivy quality kids; they will wait until 2029 or later and will exempt GS applicants

I know NU won't right now. They have pressure for revenue sports recruiting and are now getting basketball players they would have NEVER gotten before. One was announced last week and its a GIANT coup.

Duke is quite happy as well given their carolinas commitment. Scores are signficantly lower there and they don't want to bring down the averages.
I'd assume Vanderbilt is VERY happy with their football team right now.

Schools with real sports shouldn't have to have scores for recruited athletes. Winning teams transform and complete a college experience.

Schools used to let in athletes with lower scores in the old days before test optional. I don’t see why this would change now. They just don’t want to drop academic standards for the entire college just so athletes can apply without test scores.

Agree, but assume it would negatively impact the USNWR ranking for some of the true Div 1 teams mentioned. Don’t think they want to do that voluntarily?

It’s not a problem for Princeton. They aren’t ever making a bowl game. The SEC and Big10 revenue share opportunities are huge for schools like Vanderbilt and Northwestern! It’s why all those west coast teams joined Big10 last year.

With today’s funding gaps, these schools need to get more money from athletics - not less.

This is true for a very small subset of schools. But it seems to me that a lot of the naive comments here don’t understand the underlying economics of how a university is run. An elite school sure, but one with competitive programming in revenue sports doesn’t care that you want them to “only” use test scores. They want their athletes.

Agree with pp re Northwestern. I’m an alum. The news last week was shocking re Jayden. To get the basketball team Collin’s is putting together, definitely means no - not low - test scores. I’m also ok with that.

———-

Four-star recruit Jayden Hodge will commit to Northwestern, Hodge announced Monday afternoon on Instagram. The Belgium native will enter campus next fall as the highest-ranked NU men’s basketball recruit in the modern era, according to 247 Sports’ composite ranking.

“It was definitely a hard decision,” Hodge told The Daily. “But I felt confident and thought about it for a while, and I’m happy that I’ve made this decision.”

Hodge attracted significant buzz among recruiters because of his unique two-way playmaking abilities. In 2024, he led Belgium to a seventh-place finish in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket championship, averaging 15.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Beyond his offensive firepower, Hodge was a defensive pest, averaging 1.7 steals per game and just under one block per game.

Following a recruiting cycle with three of NU’s highest recruits in program history — Tre Singleton, Jake West and Tyler Kropp — coach Chris Collins is showing no signs of slowing down.

When Hodge visited campus in June, he received a tour from longtime friend and South Florida transfer Jayden Reid, a former roommate and teammate of Hodge’s older brother, Matthew. Hodge said he was struck by the beautiful campus and the academic rigor. More than anything, he said he felt truly wanted by Collins and the entire program.“

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Princeton finally changing, he only Test Optional schools left in the T10/ivy group:

Northwestern
Columbia
Duke

Makes those three look pretty desperate for apps.

I predict Duke and NU change to required next. Columbia has too many other issues that risk matriculation of true ivy quality kids; they will wait until 2029 or later and will exempt GS applicants

I know NU won't right now. They have pressure for revenue sports recruiting and are now getting basketball players they would have NEVER gotten before. One was announced last week and its a GIANT coup.

Duke is quite happy as well given their carolinas commitment. Scores are signficantly lower there and they don't want to bring down the averages.
I'd assume Vanderbilt is VERY happy with their football team right now.

Schools with real sports shouldn't have to have scores for recruited athletes. Winning teams transform and complete a college experience.

Agree re Northwestern.

That's why the discussions by the bored tiger moms on here are so lame. They don't understand how revenue sports drive $$$ for BIG10, SEC or ACC. Not sure why (maybe they themselves didn't go to college in the US) - but a competitive sports program is a huge draw - especially today for socially extroverted kids who want a work hard, play hard atmosphere. Better than the Ivies (Princeton's problems with suicide), where the library is the social outlet.

Let schools do what they want. I'm quite okay if some schools come out and say they'll stay TO because it helps with athletic recruiting, and they want to invest in a true collegiate experience.

You make it sound like TR somehow makes it difficult to recruit, or there's no true collegiate experience in TR schools.

Np:

What top 25 schools that are test required have competitive power conference athletics?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Princeton finally changing, he only Test Optional schools left in the T10/ivy group:

Northwestern
Columbia
Duke

Makes those three look pretty desperate for apps.

I predict Duke and NU change to required next. Columbia has too many other issues that risk matriculation of true ivy quality kids; they will wait until 2029 or later and will exempt GS applicants

I know NU won't right now. They have pressure for revenue sports recruiting and are now getting basketball players they would have NEVER gotten before. One was announced last week and its a GIANT coup.

Duke is quite happy as well given their carolinas commitment. Scores are signficantly lower there and they don't want to bring down the averages.
I'd assume Vanderbilt is VERY happy with their football team right now.

Schools with real sports shouldn't have to have scores for recruited athletes. Winning teams transform and complete a college experience.

Schools used to let in athletes with lower scores in the old days before test optional. I don’t see why this would change now. They just don’t want to drop academic standards for the entire college just so athletes can apply without test scores.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think LACs need to lose athletic recruiting.

It makes no sense. It’s not mission-aligned as they say at work.

LACs need sports recruiting to maintain gender parity. Team sports are a primary way for these schools to entice boys to semi-rural, nerdy environments.

Anonymous wrote:I think LACs need to lose athletic recruiting.

It makes no sense. It’s not mission-aligned as they say at work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Except for a few top names, they will all move in this direction.

Our school CCs have been telling us this is where the wind was blowing for awhile. University leaders and faculty and board want this. Individual AOs were happy with TO because it made their judgment more important and gave them a lot of pride in the art of their job of picking and shaping a class. AOs liked the individual discretion, but other senior admin did not.

Chicago, Columbia, and Vandy will stick to TO.

You don’t know that.

Chicago will never return to required testing. They were among the first non-LACs to go TO, long before Covid. And they need full-pay desperately.

All Ivies returning to requiring tests is very good news for Chicago. More wealthy private school kids will take the ED1 route knowing their test scores aren't good enough for Ivy.

Anonymous wrote:Awesome! Poor, poor David Coleman only makes $1.8 million in salary as president of the College Board. We need to help his fledging organization by making the smartest students in the country take exams that are beneath them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Princeton finally changing, he only Test Optional schools left in the T10/ivy group:

Northwestern
Columbia
Duke

Makes those three look pretty desperate for apps.

I predict Duke and NU change to required next. Columbia has too many other issues that risk matriculation of true ivy quality kids; they will wait until 2029 or later and will exempt GS applicants

I know NU won't right now. They have pressure for revenue sports recruiting and are now getting basketball players they would have NEVER gotten before. One was announced last week and its a GIANT coup.

Duke is quite happy as well given their carolinas commitment. Scores are signficantly lower there and they don't want to bring down the averages.
I'd assume Vanderbilt is VERY happy with their football team right now.

Schools with real sports shouldn't have to have scores for recruited athletes. Winning teams transform and complete a college experience.

Schools used to let in athletes with lower scores in the old days before test optional. I don’t see why this would change now. They just don’t want to drop academic standards for the entire college just so athletes can apply without test scores.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Princeton finally changing, he only Test Optional schools left in the T10/ivy group:

Northwestern
Columbia
Duke

Makes those three look pretty desperate for apps.

I predict Duke and NU change to required next. Columbia has too many other issues that risk matriculation of true ivy quality kids; they will wait until 2029 or later and will exempt GS applicants

I know NU won't right now. They have pressure for revenue sports recruiting and are now getting basketball players they would have NEVER gotten before. One was announced last week and its a GIANT coup.

Duke is quite happy as well given their carolinas commitment. Scores are signficantly lower there and they don't want to bring down the averages.
I'd assume Vanderbilt is VERY happy with their football team right now.

Schools with real sports shouldn't have to have scores for recruited athletes. Winning teams transform and complete a college experience.

Schools used to let in athletes with lower scores in the old days before test optional. I don’t see why this would change now. They just don’t want to drop academic standards for the entire college just so athletes can apply without test scores.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With Princeton finally changing, he only Test Optional schools left in the T10/ivy group:

Northwestern
Columbia
Duke

Makes those three look pretty desperate for apps.

I predict Duke and NU change to required next. Columbia has too many other issues that risk matriculation of true ivy quality kids; they will wait until 2029 or later and will exempt GS applicants

I know NU won't right now. They have pressure for revenue sports recruiting and are now getting basketball players they would have NEVER gotten before. One was announced last week and its a GIANT coup.

Duke is quite happy as well given their carolinas commitment. Scores are signficantly lower there and they don't want to bring down the averages.
I'd assume Vanderbilt is VERY happy with their football team right now.

Schools with real sports shouldn't have to have scores for recruited athletes. Winning teams transform and complete a college experience.