In the past several years, universities and colleges have rescinded their requirements for students to complete SAT or ACT testing before submitting admissions applications. However, that rule has changed at many schools, including UT, MIT, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, USMT, USAFA, Georgetown, and more. The decline in testing requirements was a passing fad, and students will once again be obliged to prove their test-taking abilities as ACT and SAT testing returns.
The University of Texas at Austin released the following statement earlier this month:
“Our goals are to attract the best and brightest students and to make sure every student is successful once they are here. Standardized scores combined with high school GPA support this goal by improving early identification of students who demonstrated the greatest academic achievement, the most potential, and those who can most benefit from support through our student success programs,” said President Jay Hartzell. “Our experience during the test-optional period reinforced that standardized testing is a valuable tool for deciding who is admitted and making sure those students are placed in majors that are the best fit. Also, with an abundance of high school GPAs surrounding 4.0, especially among our auto-admits, an SAT or ACT score is a proven differentiator that is in each student’s and the University’s best interest.”
Now that the Ivy League universities, standard-setting private colleges, and top state schools are all returning to the model of requiring higher test scores for incoming students, we expect to see this rule reinstated at increasingly more colleges each year. Therefore, it is once again essential for all students to work diligently to secure competitive results. To do otherwise would limit the colleges and universities to which a student will be accepted, and declining to test at all will create a long list of colleges and universities to which s/he can no longer even apply.
If your sophomore, junior, or senior high school student plans to take the SAT or ACT, we strongly encourage you to enroll them in preparation courses like the complete suite of classes Total College Prep offers. Our prep classes are offered at our locations in McKinney, Prosper, North Plano, South Plano, Allen, Frisco, and Dallas.
Are you located elsewhere in Texas? Is your student immune compromised? Our virtual courses are designed to offer the complete Total College Prep experience to students who are unable to join us in person. Simply review our list of available courses here, then sign up for distance learning in your chosen classes.
Now that the trend of eliminating SAT and ACT testing requirements has begun to fade, the familiar methods for college prep are on the rise. Your student’s teachers, we as their tutors, and you as their parents are ideally suited to help guide them in creating a strong educational foundation to nurture their success! We look forward to joining your child’s learning team.