Harvard and Cal Tech have joined the growing list of top colleges that are reinstating the standardized test requirement for the ACT or SAT. Brown, Dartmouth, and Yale have all reinstated this standardized testing requirement within the past several weeks. Both Harvard and Cal Tech will require the test starting with next year’s high school class of 2025.
As Hopi Hoekstra, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, explained to the Harvard Gazette, “Standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond. Indeed, when students have the option of not submitting their test scores, they may choose to withhold information that, when interpreted by the admissions committee in the context of the local norms of their school, could have potentially helped their application. In short, more information, especially such strongly predictive information, is valuable for identifying talent from across the socioeconomic range.”
We realize this could leave many high school juniors who had not been planning to take the ACT or SAT in a lurch. Please do not hesitate to call us at 1.800.809.0800 to discuss your particular situation. We are happy to help you determine if you would benefit from taking the ACT or SAT and, if so, recommend tutors or prep courses as may be appropriate.
