George Washington University is ditching the SATs – Jul. 28, 2015

Now, there are signs that colleges and universities are increasingly realizing that students’ scores on tests like the SAT and ACT shouldn’t be one of the primary considerations for determining who gets accepted into schools.

“It is our goal to create an approach that aligns with our admissions philosophy of holistic review, supports the university strategic plan on access, reflects the most current data analysis regarding the use of testing in admission, and is clear and easy to communicate and understand by prospective students, families and school counselors”, the school said.

They found high school performance, particularly a student’s GPA, to be a sufficient indicator of future academic success at the higher level. But making test scores optional has gained some traction in recent years, and George Washington has just become one of the most prominent universities to join hundreds of others that have gone that way.

“The thing that would happen when you stop forcing people to submit their test scores, the only people that will submit their test scores will be proud of their scores”.

Students who previously sent their scores to GW but who now wish to have them removed from their application should email the Office of Admissions at [email protected] It is important to include the name used when registering for the test and date of birth in the email request. The university said in a statement that it came to the decision based on the findings of its Task Force on Access and Success.

The Washington, D.C., school’s new policy will go into effect on August. 1 and applies to both freshman applicants and transfer students.

While all that sounds good, George Washington University did state that there would be exceptions to this admission tests policy.

As the Washington Post notes, there are reasons to think this could work well for universities.

More than 125 private colleges and universities featured in U.S. News and World Report rankings now have test-optional admission policies, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.

The university made the announcement on its website on Monday. He once compared marketing a university to selling vodka, describing how packaging – nicer facilities, fancy room and board, higher tuition – can draw in wealthier, more competitive students. “There’s a lot of research that says that Saturday. scores correlate very highly with socioeconomic backgrounds”.