written by Geoff Barto Many schools have relaxed or reduced requirements for standardized tests to apply to college. But leading colleges still require them or consider them an important factor in admissions, and for good reason. It’s easy to look at transcripts, AP credits and extracurricular activities for students from top-tier high schools and identify their potential for success. But according to Dean of Yale Admissions, Jeremiah Quinlan, “A policy that results in increased emphasis on these elements, we found, has the effect of advantaging the advantaged.” That’s why Yale is now requiring standardized test… Continue Reading

By Geoffrey Barto During the pandemic, many universities stopped using the SAT for admissions or made it optional. At the time, a lot of people believed this would make admissions more equitable. However, Dartmouth, one of the first universities to reinstate the SAT, found just the opposite. Dartmouth did an in-depth study on the effects of optional standardized tests. They determined that the SAT and ACT scores were a strong predictor for academic success at Dartmouth, indicated by a linear relationship with first-year GPA. More importantly, their study indicated that this outcome was the same… Continue Reading