80% US universities drop SAT eligibility criteria for admissions; how will it impact Indian students?

While the Covid-19 pandemic was at its worst, many institutions changed their admissions policies to test-optional ones to accommodate applicants. Nevertheless, as the threat from the pandemic has subsided, this change in policy has now become the norm across the country.

SAT scores dropped by US universities for admissions

Reasons of universities pausing or ending the use of standardized admission tests and how it will impact Indians willing to study in US Universities. (Representative image)

Written by: Sakshi Saroha

5 min readNew Delhi IMar 27, 2023 08:40 AM IST First published on: Mar 24, 2023 at 04:43 PM IST

Eighty per cent of US bachelor-degree granting institutions will not require students seeking fall 2023 admission to submit either ACT or SAT standardised exam scores, a survey by National Centre for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest) USA reveals.

At least 1,835 US colleges and universities are currently adopting either ACT/SAT-optional or test score-free practices, according to an updated list released by the FairTest last November.

Ivy league universities including Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University have also opted for test-optional criteria for admissions to the undergraduate programme. With this, the students will now be evaluated on the basis of submitted interest letter, essays and interviews.

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Let’s understand why universities pausing or ending the use of standardised admission tests and how it will impact Indians willing to study in US universities.

What is SAT?

The College Entrance Examination Board, which started in 1900 with 12 presidents of top universities to administer college entrance exams and standardise the admissions process, tapped Princeton University psychology professor Carl C Brigham to devise an exam that a broader group of schools could use. Now known as the SAT, that test was first administered to high school students in 1926.

Why are universities dropping SAT as a criteria?

While the Covid-19 pandemic was at its worst, many institutions changed their admissions policies to test-optional ones to accommodate applicants. Nevertheless, as the threat from the pandemic has subsided, this change in policy has now become the norm across the country.

However, some academicians and experts argue that SATs were not the right way to assess a child’s intellectual capabilities as there have been instances where students with excellent academic records were not able to score well in SATs due to non-academic factors.

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FairTest Executive Director Harry Feder (in the organisation’s news release) said, “These schools recognise that standardised test scores do not measure academic ‘merit.’ What they do assess quite accurately is family wealth, but that should not be the criteria for getting into college.”

Announcing the decision to make SATs optional for admission, Columbia university informed that it has taken up this step to provide the possible opportunity and flexibility for students to represent themselves fully and showcase their academic talents, interests, and goals.

How will it help international students?

Of the over one million test takers across the world, Indian students make up a sizeable cohort, with about 25,000 of them taking the SAT every year. In the last decade, the number of Indian students annually picking the United States for higher education has more than doubled, with the country’s share in the total number of international students going up from 11.8 per cent to 21 per cent, according to the Open Doors Report 2022.

With this rising number, the decision to drop test-criteria will directly impact Indian students looking forward to study in the US.

Roomi Bajaj, founder of Crescent Education said that for international students, standardised test scores, like the SAT and ACT are quite valuable.

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“SAT scores are important for Indian students as US universities are not familiar with Indian education and grading system. Hence, these scores help students to showcase their capabilities. I would recommend Indian students to go for SATs even if it’s optional for a better chance to get admission to US colleges and universities,” Bajaj added.

However, Vaibhav Gupta, co-founder of the study abroad platform iSchoolConnect asserts that test-blind admissions have been a major reason why institutions in the US have witnessed an increase in international applicants over the previous two years.

“The decision by the US universities to drop SAT scores as a criterion for UG admissions can benefit international students. The SAT score waiver can break down barriers and open doors of opportunity for students who may have been overlooked or underestimated based on a single test score. It allows institutions to see the whole student, their unique talents, experiences, and potential, and to make more informed decisions about their admission and success in college.” Gupta said.

Shirin Chaudhary, a class 12 student in Delhi preparing for her selection to an Ivy League school is happy with the decision. “I want to study Psychology at Princeton and with SAT criteria dropped, an entire step has been swapped out from the admission process. Test-based admissions create unnecessary pressure of scoring high marks which remains quite similar to the Indian education system. This decision will open doors for creative and talented people,” Chaudhary said.