In Fall 2022 and Fall 2023, UC will switch over to being a test blind school for California students. This is especially true for socioeconomically disadvantaged students who are applying to schools in the UC and CSU systems. Clearly, COVID is the accelerant for the test-blind movement, but test optional had been gaining momentum over the last few years. Other schools that are test blind include: Northern Illinois University; The University of California system of schools (but they will develop their own standardized admissions test in the future) As you can see, schools have different approaches to SAT scores and how much they weigh into your application (if … However, because of the pandemic, most colleges have opted for a test-optional policy due to the cancellation of testing dates starting in March. Impact of the recent ruling prohibiting UC schools from considering SAT and ACT scores in this year's application process. The UC application sounds like a riddle. After a whirlwind year of protests, a pandemic, court battles, and UC policy changes, it seems like they just might pull it off. The judge agreed and ruled that all University of California schools must suspend usage of SAT and ACT scores. UC Becomes Test-Blind for California Students for 2022 and 2023. UC-approved honors courses and advanced courses . “I haven’t been able to find a testing center since.”. Elimination of SAT and ACT requirements by 2025. 2. campuses, including Berkeley, Santa Cruz and Irvine, decided … The test-blind policy makes admission officers’ jobs that much harder. Despite the rise in test-blind policies, there are far more colleges with test-optional ones, allowing applicants to submit scores, or not. The rules may be unfamiliar, but the game is the same: tell admissions something they don’t know – … The UC will take a test-blind approach and will not use the SAT or ACT as a factor in admissions for high school students applying in the fall 2021 cycle, according to the UC … It’s worth looking at the UC announcement as it’s instructive about what test optional or test blind really means. Admissions officers are, at the end of the day, human. In Fall 2022 and Fall 2023, UC will switch over to being a test blind school for California students. Some UC schools decided to be test optional for admissions this year, some test blind before the court case. The most notable test-blind school is Caltech, which has adopted this policy for Fall 2020 and 2021 applicants. The scores won't play a role in the admissions process as of 2021. Some students, such as junior Ryan Lopez have decided that taking the SAT or ACT would be impractical. Test-blind colleges completely ignore exam scores when assessing a student's application, placing more emphasis on the person's high school GPA, … Starting in 2023, all campuses were to become "test-blind" for admissions purposes, meaning those tests would not be used even as an option, according to UC. The plaintiffs — which include the Dolores Huerta Foundation, Little Manila Rising, and College Access Plan, among others — argued that it’s been much harder for disabled students to get seats for the SAT than normally-abled students due to the coronavirus pandemic. Editorials. The decision came about after a judge sided with attorneys representing disabled students. (It is expected to remain test optional for out-of-state and international students.) Far more colleges are test optional, which means they consider the test scores of students who submit them. 6. In some cases, this policy applies only to U.S. applicants, but some colleges use need-blind admissions for international students as well. Not recommended for any area. Now, all campuses are test-blind. Although some private schools don’t like to see you’ve taken the ACT/SAT a bajillion times, to the UCs it matters less how many times you’ve taken the tests; they’re looking for your best score from one sitting. Test-Optional vs. Test-Blind Test optional means that you can still submit your scores (and you should if you can) and universities will take them into consideration. By Ron Aich, Lynbrook High School - CAOctober 12, 2020. The change is reportedly due to the unfair advantage that normally-abled students have over disabled students in getting test spots during the pandemic. In the Fall of 2023 and 2024, UC schools will be “test blind”. 2. The University of California's governing Board of Regents is scheduled to vote Thursday on a plan to ignore SAT and ACT scores from in-state applicants. Maybe the student was an excellent swimmer. Quality of senior-year program of study . If you’re applying to one or more of the UC schools, you want to make sure you get the application right. The UC system (University of California) is probably the most well-known race-blind colleges system since they have had the policy since 1996. We receive anywhere from 100 to 200 submissions per day and only about 10 percent are selected for publication. UC will now keep tests optional for an additional year through 2022. The University of California system can no longer use ACT and SAT tests as a determinant for admissions, a superior court judge has ruled, handing a victory to students with disabilities. The UC system (University of California) is probably the most well-known race-blind colleges system since they have had the policy since 1996. 3. Like I mentioned above, the UC system will de-emphasize low test scores if the applicant has great extracurriculars and grades to help the student. Like I mentioned above, the UC system will de-emphasize low test scores if the applicant has great extracurriculars and grades to help the student. Joining UC Berkeley and UCLA as newly test blind are such selective schools as Caltech and Reed College. Here is what I discuss in this episode: 0:01:12 Shift to test-optional admissions 0:03:54 Shift to test-blind admissions 0:05:00 Unintended consequences 0:06:30 Will applications double to 400,000? Although affirmative action and test-optional admissions certainly do not make a perfect system, the UC system needed a buffer period to phase out the tests in order so as to respect the time and energy of the applicants preparing to take these tests. UC schools have gone test blind, or will not consider ACT or SAT scores, for college admissions. Completely reinvent the admissions process by jettisoning standardized testing forever. This list was last updated (November 23, 2020). The change is reportedly due to the unfair advantage that normally-abled students have over disabled students in getting test spots during the pandemic. When Loyola University New Orleans announced in May that it was going test blind in admissions, only two other colleges had that status: Hampshire College went test blind in 2014, and Northern Illinois University changed its policy earlier this year. take the best scores from different sections on different days); all scores have to be from one ACT or SAT sitting. The list goes on. Within this quagmire of unpredictability that students face when submitting an application, their standardized test score is one of the only things that can help admissions officers make an objective decision. 4. UC will be test-optional for the graduating senior classes of 2021 and 2022 and test-blind for the graduating senior classes of 2023 and 2024. If there is a new test by 2025, all California students will submit scores from that new test. Even if the SAT doesn’t currently favor lower-class, disabled students, the UC Regents board unanimously voted to endorse ACA-5, a bill that would reinstate affirmative action in UCs for the first time since 1996. Dickinson College. La Salle Catholic Preparatory High School, The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, University of Chicago Laboratory High School. Test blind (test scores will not be considered for admissions) for students applying in 2023 and 2024. A judge barred the UC system's "test optional" policy, stating the current pandemic made it difficult for students with disabilities to access the tests. Without the SAT, admissions officers have no way to objectively compare students to each other. 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