FLEX Staff Writer 2010-01-01

NYU has eliminated the SAT as a requirement for undergraduate admission effective for the incoming class of 2010. Per NYU’s admissions requirements, “All freshman applicants will continue to submit standardized test scores. However, whereas in the past applicants were required to submit scores for the SAT Reasoning Test or the American College Test (ACT) and two Subject Tests (SAT II), applicants will now have several additional choices to consider as they determine the standardized test scores they choose to provide.”

“NYU is the highest profile member in an ever-growing list of colleges who are eliminating the SAT as a requirement for admission”

NYU is the highest profile member in an ever-growing list of colleges who are eliminating the SAT as a requirement for admission. Per NYU admissions officials, the decision was made to “provide applicants with more flexibility to demonstrate their talents and mastery of subject matter.” Wake Forest University (2009 U.S. News & World Report Ranked #28) – which ranks above the likes of NYU (#32), Boston College (#34) and UC San Diego (#35) – is the highest ranking college which no longer requires the SAT.

The news of NYU’s decision reignited a long-standing debate over the merits and failures of the most popular standardized test for undergraduate college admissions. In the late-1990’s, the University of California (UC) system considered a major change of its requirements for admission, which included eliminating the SAT as a requirement because critics of the SAT claimed that it is a culturally and/or socioeconomically biased exam. Critics also stressed that there is no direct correlation between success on the SAT and success in college. Though the UC system decided not to eliminate the SAT as a requirement, it led CollegeBoard, maker of the SAT, SAT Subject Tests and AP exams, to overhaul the SAT into its current form. But the biggest news about colleges and the SAT may have yet to come.

At a recent National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) conference hosted in Seattle, WA, Mr. William R. Fitzsimmons, the dean of undergraduate admissions at Harvard University, led a team of college admissions officials in a review and evaluation of standardized tests, particularly the SAT and ACT, and the value they add in evaluating students for admission at their respective colleges. Strong arguments were made for and against the tests. At the end of the conference, many admissions officials left with the idea of making them optional for admissions.

“Bay Area students who attend top high schools like Leland, Lynbrook, Mission San Jose, Gunn, Saratoga, Monta Vista, and others, should plan to continue taking these various exams”

The impact of these policy changes will be unnerving for many students in the Bay Area because they will wonder whether or not to take these exams. According to Mr. Augustus Hsu of FLEX College Prep, the Bay Area’s leading educational service provider for college-bound students, “The changes that we see in the college admissions landscape are designed to eliminate advantages of the privileged. For instance, when the UC’s eliminated the SAT Subject Test requirements, it was not to make it easier on students as a whole; rather, it was to provide more access to groups that are underrepresented on college campuses.”

So, what are students to do? In the words of Mr. Hsu, “Bay Area students who attend top high schools like Leland, Lynbrook, Mission San Jose, Gunn, Saratoga, Monta Vista, and others, should plan to continue taking these various exams. That is FLEX’s position and also the strong recommendation of Mr. Miguel Hernandez, Assistant Deputy Director of Admissions at UC Berkeley. Doing the minimum will not improve a student’s profile for college admissions. However, students must look at their scores in the context of their application profile as a whole, and not focus exclusively on a number or a score. For instance, when families ask me ‘What SAT Subject Test scores do I need to get into UCLA?’ they demonstrate a lack of understanding of the holistic nature of the college admissions process.”

At the conclusion of the NACAC conference, Mr. Fitzsimmons asked the colleges in attendance to seriously consider the benefit of the SAT and other standardized tests in the admissions process. He concluded by saying of Harvard’s position on the subject, “[Harvard] might eventually make such tests optional too”, leaving us to wonder “Is Harvard next?”