Curtis WestbayThe University of California system announced last week that it will permanently suspend the use of SAT scores in applications
What does this mean for our students? In the short-term, it means nothing. Many other colleges are still operating on a test-optional policy, meaning that SAT scores are still an important inclusion in their applications.
You might be thinking, if a great number of colleges become test-optional, couldn't my child avoid the SAT altogether? We don't recommend sitting out the SAT. At worst, a student doesn't get a score they consider strong enough to include in the application. They still have a score in this case, meaning they can still apply to schools that insist on SAT scores as a component of their applications. Otherwise, those schools would be off the table for our students. This year, amidst COVID, these schools are in the minority, but who's to say that they won't revert to their normal policies as soon as next year?
Why do I feel that colleges will likely revert to the policies they used prior to COVID? Colleges have spent years and years maintaining these policies, using the data to keep their institutions running with the right number of students. Colleges have to accept the right number of students to remain neither under-enrolled nor overenrolled. No college wants unused dorm beds. Too few students lead to budgetary constraints, maybe even faculty layoffs. On the other hand, no college wants the bad optics of makeshift dorm rooms pictured on social media, an indication that they expected fewer students to enroll. Anticipating yield while remaining maximally selective is a tightrope walk for selective universities, and a seismic shift in admission policy may lead to unforeseen challenges. I expect college admission offices to hew toward the trusted practices they've crafted over the years.
What does test-blind admission mean for students in their applications now?
Right now, many colleges won't consider SAT scores in the upcoming application cycle. For our students, this means that application readers will look to other parts of the application to determine a student's college readiness. In particular, students might benefit from increased attention on AP scores, as applications lack a crucial piece of information that they've relied upon in the past. In terms of preparation, however, nothing much has changed. Application review still includes the GPA, so students need to work hard in their classes. It still includes activity lists, so students need to work hard to be active and intellectual inside and outside the classroom. It still includes essays, so students need to be diligent when it comes to drafting essays in Grade 12.
UC schools have made this subtraction from the application, but they haven't made any counterbalancing addition. Whenever the SAT isn't considered by a school, I wouldn't be surprised to see another supplemental essay or two to provide readers with more material upon which to base their decisions. Who knows? Maybe colleges will find ways to produce their own proprietary entrance examinations (like Oxford and Cambridge already have). The SAT is becoming less valuable as a predictive measure for colleges because of the oversaturated test prep market that has formed around it. A student's score used to be more accurate in showing their qualitative and quantitative reasoning skill. Now, a high score may indicate little more than access to extensive SAT tutoring. With most applicants having ready access to technology, I wouldn't be surprised to see colleges— at least large and well funded ones— produce their own entrance examinations that don't have the score inflation problems of the SAT.
What might lead to a sharp rise in test-blind admission policies?
Time will tell whether the UC decision will ripple throughout the college admission landscape. California sends more students to study out of state than any other American state (which makes sense, given that California's population is the largest). Jon Boeckenstedt, a Vice President of Enrollment Management at Oregon State University, had this to say:
What this means: Fewer students testing in California. Neighboring and western test-optional-friendly states like Oregon, Washington, and Arizona will likely see fewer tests as well. This will probably mean fewer test dates, or fewer test centers. Maybe reductions in school day SATs as well.In short, taking the test could end up being more trouble than it's worth. This will send some ripples through private colleges in California too. They'll have to compete for students, but more important, they'll have to convince students that yes, Berkeley can make a good admissions decision without the SAT, but we need it.
And then there are those colleges that enroll a lot of students from California. They'll have to make the same argument, and they'll be adding an extra step in the admission process. Some will be able to get away with it, of course, if they choose to do so. Others might find it risky.
In other words, if test-blind works for California, it might have to work for neighboring states that rely on Californian students to fill out enrollment numbers. If the UC system leads the way in dispensing with the SAT as a key component of the college application, others may follow, if only to keep getting applications from California seniors who otherwise wouldn't apply.
So... what do we do now?
Nothing. Well, okay, not nothing. Our market is the most competitive college admission market in the world. Students from southern China need to prepare for the college application in the same ways they have in the past— yes, including taking the SAT. In the years to come, things might change. But for now, all we know is that an SAT score is still accepted by many, insisted upon by a few, and beneficial to possible admission at many American colleges.