A new survey of accredited colleges and students shows that more than 800 admit all or many students without requiring SAT or ACT scores.
The survey was done by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest, which has kept tabs on the number of test-optional schools for years. FairTest Public Education Director Bob Schaeffer said that in the past few years 80 schools have joined the list, which includes schools that rank high on the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
Schools that have dropped SAT/ACT requirements say they do it because they don’t think a high-stakes test score is very revealing about a student’s abilities and find that high school grades are a more accurate reflection.
This year these schools have joined the list: Ithaca College, College of Saint Rose, University of Rochester (“Test Flexible” policy), Lees-McRae College and William Jewell College. You can see the entire list of test-optional schools here.
Incidentally, the next administration of the SAT is on Dec. 1; the ACT, Dec. 8.
Here are the national universities on the test-optional list, with their U.S. News ranking.
27. Wake Forest University (NC)
32. New York University (NY) “Test Flexible”
33. University of Rochester (NY) “Test Flexible”
46. Univ. of Texas – Austin (TX) “Top 10%”
65. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA)
77. American University (DC)
83. Clark University (MA)
97. Univ. of Colorado – Boulder (CO) “Top 10”
120. University of Arizona (AZ)
125. New School (NY)
134. DePaul University (IL)
139. Arizona State University (AZ)
139. George Mason University (VA)
139. Kansas State University (KS)
151. University of Mississippi (MS)
189. University of Nevada – Reno (NV)
Here are some of the National Liberal Arts Colleges on the list, with their U.S. News ranking, through No. 70.
4. Middlebury College (VT) “Test Flexible”
6. Bowdoin College (ME)
16. Hamilton College (NY) “Test Flexible”
18. Colby College (ME) “Test Flexible”
18. Smith College (MA)
22. Bates College (ME)
26. Bryn Mawr (PA) “Test Flexible”
28. Colorado College (CO) “Test Flexible”
32. College of the Holy Cross (MA)
32. Mount Holyoke College (MA)
36. Bard College (NY)
36. Sewanee — The University of the South (TN)
38. Trinity College (CT) “Test Flexible”
41. Connecticut College (CT)
41. Union College (NY)
43. Pitzer College (CA)
46. Dickinson College (PA)
46. Franklin and Marshall College (PA)
46. Gettysburg College (PA)
49. Denison University (OH)
49. Furman University (SC)
56. Lawrence University (WI)
56. St. Lawrence University (NY)
60. Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY)
60. Wheaton College (MA)
70. Lewis and Clark (OR)
70. Muhlenberg College (PA)
75. Agnes Scott College (GA)