SJ high school senior weighs in on college admissions and standardized test scores

AS A HIGH school senior, I have been swamped with overwhelming information about college admissions — figuring out majors, what to write for my essays, what extracurriculars to report, and more has been a struggle. However, what makes the already confusing college admissions process even harder is the ongoing debate on whether standardized admissions tests should be considered by colleges in admissions decisions. 

Standardized testing and college admissions

The SAT and the ACT are the most common standardized admissions tests; according to US News, nearly 2.2 million students took the SAT, while 1.7 million students took the ACT. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many students could not access testing centers. In the light of this crisis, many colleges that previously required SAT or ACT scores for admission switched to a new policy called “test-optional,” where test results would be considered, but not required for applications. Some schools — most notably the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems — took a step further and decided to go “test-blind,” meaning that they do not consider test scores at all.