Apr 8, 2021, 4:21 PM
(From The Washington Post) New test-optional policies, fueled in part by the disruption of ACT and SAT testing plans last spring, are fueling a surge in private college and university applications. During the 2020-21 admissions cycle, Columbia Undergraduate Admissions received 60,551 applications, a 51% increase from last year. The Common Application, an online portal for hundreds of colleges, reported in February that it had processed nearly 6 million first-year applications for its returning member schools, up 11 percent from the year before.
How much the pandemic influences selective college admissions over the long term remains to be seen. But the test-optional movement, which predates the pandemic, is gaining steam nationwide, with some schools even going test-blind, meaning they don’t consider SAT or ACT scores at all.
Listen to the latest episode of the Net Assets podcast.
