Education
Yale to resume requiring standardized test scores for applicants
Last Updated on February 22, 2024 by Robert C. Hoopes
Yale University Resumes Standardized Test Score Requirement for Admissions
Yale University recently announced that it will once again require prospective students to submit standardized test scores when applying for admission. This decision comes nearly four years after the institution switched to a test-optional policy in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The move to reinstate standardized test requirements is based on research indicating that testing can help highlight academic strengths and add diversity to the classroom. Beginning in fall 2025, all first-year applicants to Yale will be required to submit standardized test scores, as well as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam scores.
In a similar change, Dartmouth College recently announced that it too will require standardized test scores starting with the undergraduate class of 2029. Yale acknowledged that reviewing applications without test scores could disadvantage students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, as without testing, a greater weight was placed on other parts of the application that may be biased towards students from well-resourced high schools.
Standardized test score requirements have long been criticized for favoring wealthy, white applicants and disadvantaging minority and low-income students. However, some prestigious universities, like MIT, have also announced the reinstatement of test-score requirements in 2022.
Meanwhile, Columbia University in New York City has decided not to require ACT or SAT scores permanently. The shift in standardized testing policies among universities reflects ongoing debate surrounding the role of test scores in the college admissions process.
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