| It has been 30 years since I was a high | | | | applicant in all but the most selective |
| school senior, but I had to take the SATs | | | | schools, where admissions officers must split |
| just as 11th and 12th graders do now. I did | | | | fine hairs to make a decision-and that |
| okay, but not good enough to get into my two | | | | decision is likely to be based on something |
| first choice schools. Back then, I blamed the | | | | other than SATs. |
| SATs and called them unfair, but life went | | | | |
| on. I graduated happily in four years from | | | | Fairtest.org, a non-profit education advocacy |
| the school I chose. | | | | group, reported that 704 U.S. colleges and |
| | | | universities do not require the SAT for |
| I am no better qualified to evaluate the | | | | admissions purposes. However, the same |
| validity of the SAT today than I was in high | | | | organization reports that some schools still |
| school, but I know that the test is still a | | | | use the test results to evaluate applicants |
| fact of life. I also learned that students | | | | who do not meet their minimum criteria for |
| who performed at a high level in all | | | | class rank and grade point average; this |
| college-prep subjects usually scored high on | | | | includes flagship state universities such as |
| the SATs. That is a very small segment of a | | | | the University of Texas-Austin (except |
| high school graduating class; it is the | | | | engineering), the University of Iowa and the |
| people at the very top. Most of us had | | | | University of Oregon. In addition, some |
| difficulty with a subject or two. Sciences | | | | SAT-optional schools still use the SAT to |
| were my weak point in high school and I | | | | place students into freshman-level courses. |
| avoided them in college. | | | | It's wise to get specifics from the schools |
| | | | of interest to you before deciding to avoid |
| The people who did the best on these tests | | | | the test. |
| were well read, studied Latin and also | | | | |
| achieved excellence in math. I took four | | | | Who benefits from an SAT optional policy at a |
| years of math, through pre-calculus; I was | | | | competitive four-year college? The students |
| doing math problems every day at school, so I | | | | with good to excellent grades in college-prep |
| was adequately prepared for SAT math. | | | | subjects, who are also exceptional or |
| However, I was not the reader I am today, nor | | | | passionate, about an academic subject or a |
| did I have a large vocabulary, so my verbal | | | | creative pursuit. Such talents can be |
| scores were not so hot. When I got to | | | | demonstrated in the application packet, |
| college, I met someone who had scored over | | | | recommendations, a portfolio, or interviews, |
| 700 on the verbal portions of the test. "The | | | | but not on the SATs. |
| SAT vocabulary was easy," he said, "if you | | | | |
| knew Latin roots." He had three years of | | | | The SAT optional policy makes admissions more |
| Catholic school Latin under his belt, so his | | | | competitive, because it will attract larger |
| education gave him an advantage. I will not | | | | numbers of qualified applicants. Every |
| call that an unfair advantage; he still had | | | | competitive college wants their fair share of |
| to remember all those roots for the test. | | | | artists, performers, activists, scientists, |
| | | | and even athletes in their entering class; |
| I got a better understanding of reading | | | | some are willing to deemphasize standardized |
| comprehension, an important part of the SAT, | | | | tests to get them. While an SAT optional |
| when I took my GMATs for business school. My | | | | policy will lessen the likelihood an |
| Princeton Review tutor warned us | | | | applicant is rejected because of test scores, |
| non-scientists about the science essays on | | | | the applicant must be exceptional in some |
| the exam; she pointed to the "caffeine | | | | other way to compensate. |
| passage from hell," an essay on the chemical | | | | |
| composition of coffee, to make her point. If | | | | If you want to take a shot at an SAT optional |
| you had done poorly in chemistry, your eyes | | | | school, and you have to contend with SAT |
| would glaze over that essay and you were | | | | scores below the school's average, take the |
| likely to get the questions wrong. If you did | | | | time and attention to prepare an exceptional |
| well in the sciences, and understood the | | | | application that stands out from the crowd, |
| passage, you could get those questions right. | | | | and show that each school is your first |
| | | | choice. |
| What is my point? The best students, the ones | | | | |
| who do well in every subject, should have | | | | The line of applicants to SAT optional |
| little to fear from the SATs. They should | | | | selective schools and flagship universities |
| score well enough to get into an excellent | | | | will be getting longer every year. It will be |
| school. Especially if they are well read, do | | | | harder to stand out in a larger applicant |
| math every day and bone up on their Latin, if | | | | pool. |
| they have the chance. That will land an | | | | |