Top Tier Admissions

JUNE 4, 2024

In this ever-changing college admissions landscape, the role of standardized testing remains a hot topic (and source of confusion). Understanding how these tests fit into the broader admissions process can help demystify their purpose and highlight strategies you can use to enhance your applications.

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Admissions Village

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

Test scores and test-optional admissions, which have been in the spotlight for several years now, are getting renewed attention as of late. Many colleges have still not decided if they will become permanently test-optional for admissions. Perhaps not surprisingly, demand for SAT and ACT testing has been rising.

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Top Tier Admissions

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

The landscape of college admissions continues to shift as universities re-evaluate the role of standardized testing in the application process. In a major policy change, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) has announced that it will reinstate its standardized testing requirement for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle.

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AdmissionSight

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

Not everyone feels confident when it comes to taking tests. You’re not alone— around 40 to 60% of high school students experience test anxiety, a type of stress that makes it tough to focus and perform well during exams. As a high school student, you’re probably no stranger to big tests like AP exams, the PSAT, or the SAT and ACT.

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Testing Standardized Testing SAT Policies 52

Georgia Tech Admissions Blog

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

I gathered documents, tried, and failed to book an appointment, travelled to the DMV, drew a number, sat for three hours, turned in all my paperwork, took a mini drivers test and vision check, and finally posed for a new requisitely terrible picture. I often forget to mention testing in my presentations even though we require it here at Tech.

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Testing Admissions Standardized Testing Test Prep 80

AdmissionSight

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Cornell University is test-optional, but not for long. For Fall 2025 applicants, Cornell remains test-optional, giving students the choice to submit SAT or ACT scores. However, this policy will change for Fall 2026 admissions, when standardized test scores will once again be required.

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Top Tier Admissions

DECEMBER 23, 2024

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently highlighted the universitys automatic-admit policy, viewed as an affirmative action alternative but also a major factor in UT Austins increasing selectivity. 5 Things You Need to Know This Year UT Austin Shake-Up: Testing Required and a New Early Action Program What are the Southern Ivies?

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The Koppelman Group

MARCH 25, 2025

Brown is interesting because in 2023, they decided to form a committee to determine if they should make changes to Early Decision, testing policies, and legacy admissions. Scores Now that Brown has brought back testing for the Class of 2029, its more important than ever.

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College Kickstart

APRIL 19, 2020

In recent weeks we've seen several prominent institutions adopt test-optional admissions for the coming cycle to alleviate some of the anxiety brought on by COVID-19. Available immediately to all College Kickstart subscribers, it's a much easier way to navigate and capitalize on test-optional admissions in our current environment.

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Admissions Village

JUNE 19, 2024

High School Profile: A document supplied by high schools to colleges that summarizes the school’s grading system, course offerings, standardized test score ranges, and other important data. Holistic Review : An admissions approach where colleges consider a wide range of factors about a student, not just grades, rigor and test scores.

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Top Tier Admissions

APRIL 23, 2024

Cornell will reintroduce standardized testing requirements for undergraduate admissions starting in fall 2026, based on findings from a university Task Force on Standardized Testing in Admissions and pressure from peer institutions. Last year, 53% of enrolling students submitted test scores. Provost Michael I.

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BestColleges

AUGUST 27, 2024

Johns Hopkins University has reinstated standardized test requirements. Hopkins says test scores more accurately predict academic success and enable disadvantaged students to demonstrate their potential. The decision follows similar policy changes at Ivy League colleges. Some of those students scored 1500 or above.

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Spark Admissions

APRIL 11, 2023

According to Columbia, this move was prompted by a growing recognition of the flaws in standardized testing and the school’s desire to make the admissions process more equitable and accessible to a broader range of students. For decades, standardized tests have been central to the college admissions process.

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Spark Admissions

APRIL 11, 2023

According to Columbia, this move was prompted by a growing recognition of the flaws in standardized testing and the school’s desire to make the admissions process more equitable and accessible to a broader range of students. For decades, standardized tests have been central to the college admissions process.

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Top Tier Admissions

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

As of this morning, Yale is the second Ivy League school to require standardized test scores, following Dartmouth’s lead and citing research that test-optional policies adversely affect high-scoring low-income students. This new policy will begin with students applying to enter in the fall of 2025.

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Koodoos Learning

OCTOBER 9, 2022

The test-optional movement started almost 50 years ago at Bowdoin College, but in the past few years, more and more colleges have joined along. Recently, diversity concerns may have led to more colleges deciding to go test optional. that are now test-optional, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.”

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College Wise

JANUARY 29, 2025

As of January 2025, the landscape of standardized testing requirements in college admissions has changed. During the height of COVID-19, many schools released new policies to offer flexibility to students who may have experienced disruptions in taking the SAT or ACT exams.

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College Kickstart

APRIL 19, 2020

We’ve enhanced our test-optional recommendation engine to help you better handle the growing list of schools going test-blind for the 2020-21 admission cycle. Handling Test-Blind Admissions in College Kickstart. What is Test-Blind Admission? How are Test-Blind Schools Handled in College Kickstart?

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Peterson's Blog

JANUARY 7, 2025

Standardized test scores, like the SAT and ACT, determine academic readiness and skills for entering university. While it may be beneficial to take both tests, this blog will answer the question, “Do you need both ACT and SAT for college? While both are standardized tests, there are a few key differences between them.

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BestColleges

JULY 18, 2024

The math, reading, and English core test will be reduced from three hours to two hours to curb test-taking fatigue. Many colleges and universities went test-optional during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some have recently reinstated standardized testing requirements. The ACT Education Corp.,

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Ivy Coach

MARCH 23, 2023

The Ultimate List of Test-Optional Colleges The Covid-19 pandemic ushered in a new era in elite college admissions: test-optional admissions policies. With test cancelations and administrative closures due to … Read More Ivy Coach

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Top Tier Admissions

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

These were the first applicants to apply under Yales new test-flexible policy which requires at least one ACT, SAT, AP, or IB set of test scores. The Class of 2029 saw a 14% decrease in early applications, likely due to the implementation of the new testing policy. Looking to raise your standardized testing scores?

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Berkeley² Academy

MARCH 8, 2025

Changes to standardized testing requirements Some colleges that have maintained test-optional policies include Princeton, the University of Maryland, and Texas A&M. However, many of the most competitive schoolsincluding Caltech, Stanford, and Cornellhave reinstated testing requirements.

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Top Tier Admissions

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Transfer students may still take advantage of a test-optional policy. Applicants to the Class of 2029 will need to submit an SAT or ACT score although there are some exceptions for those unable to take these exams. SAT Tutoring Expert one-on-one guidance to boost your score. Interested in reading more about Brown?

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Spark Admissions

JANUARY 28, 2022

When the pandemic began, nearly all colleges and universities in the United States dropped their testing requirements when it became impossible for students in some areas of the country to find a test center and date reliably. Then, as the pandemic continued, many colleges extended their policies for another year or longer.

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Top Tier Admissions

DECEMBER 20, 2024

However, according to Yale Daily News , early applications to some selective schools, like Yale, saw a slight dip in the first test-flexible admissions cycle. Renewed Interest in Test Scores For the first time since 2021, more applicants submitted test scores than did not, despite widespread test-optional policies.

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Shemmassian Academic Consulting

JULY 9, 2023

This became especially true in 2020, given changes in test administration and colleges’ testing policies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, colleges continue to update their testing requirements, with some extending their test-optional periods and others opting for permanent changes.

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Inside Emory Admission

MARCH 29, 2023

>> Updated March, 2023 Emory University has extended its test optional policy for applicants who plan to enroll as first-year students in Fall 2024. In addition, transfer applicants for Fall 2024 can also take advantage of this test optional policy. WHO DOES THE POLICY APPLY TO?

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Top Tier Admissions

JANUARY 17, 2025

DUKE ACCEPTANCE RATE This year marked the universitys fifth test-optional admissions cycle. With application numbers rising, particularly at the Southern Ivies , strong test scores can help set you apart from other talented applicants. Duke University , a private institution in Durham, North Carolina, admitted a record-low 12.8%

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BestColleges

OCTOBER 12, 2023

More students in the class of 2023 took the ACT test from the previous year. ACT CEO Janet Godwin said not enough is being done to ensure graduates are ready for college and these problems require action and support at the policy level. These systemic problems require sustained action and support at the policy level.

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Top Tier Admissions

JANUARY 24, 2025

The number of early applications received fell by over 1,000, likely due to the announcement last year that Brown would once again require applicants to submit standardized test scores. This surge is likely on account of a brand new need-blind review policy for international students. Try Application Boot Camp.

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ACM College Consulting

MAY 3, 2024

Last summer, more than 1900 colleges were test optional, test-free or test-blind. Many others have stated they will not go back to requiring test scores yet, if ever, but there is still the potential for more colleges to return to requiring test scores. So, should students still take a test?

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Peterson's Blog

DECEMBER 23, 2024

CLEP and DSST are credit-by-exam tests, meaning that if you show your knowledge of the given subject, you can earn college credit by taking an exam if your university accepts CLEP or DSST for credit. Both exams are standardized tests that measure your knowledge of certain subjects by scoring satisfactorily on the exam.

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Solomon Admissions

DECEMBER 8, 2023

Did you know that there are over 1,830 colleges and universities that have switched to test-optional over the last few years? According to Forbes , many of these schools did so to help combat the effects of COVID, but as COVID cases have been on a drastic decline schools are standing by this policy for a multitude of reasons.

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Peterson's Blog

OCTOBER 23, 2024

Standardized tests, like the SAT and ACT, are used to determine academic readiness and skills for entering university. In this blog, we will cover the current data on scores year after year, factors associated with the changes, and how to best approach these standardized tests in light of recent data. compared to 19.5

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Admissions Village

APRIL 25, 2023

Part 3: This Process Is Opaque In the first part of this series, we discussed the role that the rise of test-optional (it is now optional to submit standardized test scores, SAT or ACT, at most colleges) has played in opening up the applicant pool to highly selective colleges. So, should you even be trying to test?

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Top Tier Admissions

JULY 22, 2024

As the school year approaches, it’s time to finalize your standardized test prep plan and mark your calendar with upcoming SAT and ACT test dates. Not sure which test is your forte? In an ideal world, we recommend beginning one-on-one test prep a few months ahead of your scheduled test date.

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