College Board, the maker and administrator of the SAT exam, announced in January that they will no longer offer SAT subject tests or the test version with an essay. With our college bound consulting in San Diego, your private college counselor can discuss scenarios that might impact you if you’ve already registered:
- Students currently registered for an upcoming Subject Test in the U.S. will automatically have their registration canceled and fees refunded.
- Students who are currently registered for, or plan to register for, an upcoming Subject Test outside the U.S. can still test through the June 2021 administration.
- Students who no longer want to take Subject Tests can contact Customer Service to cancel and receive a refund.
- The essay option will not be available after the June 2021 administration. (You’ll still want to work with your college essay consultant for help with application essays and class essays your freshman year.)
Virtual exam in development
A virtual exam is coming, but you won’t be able to take it from home. For decades, students have taken paper exams for the SAT. Following a year of consideration, College Board announced that they are developing a virtual exam that can be proctored at an approved testing center. One of the best parts of college bound consulting is that your private college counselor will be able to review the test format and run practice tests and subject area drills with you. On-location testing maintains the integrity of the test and prevents some test takers from unfairly using resources for help during the test.
Zachary Goldberg, the head of media relations for College Board explained the reasoning to Forbes, “We are investing in a more flexible SAT—a streamlined, digitally-delivered exam that meets the evolving needs of students and higher education.” Goldberg also said that more information about the digital test will be available this spring, so stay tuned for updates.
Test-optional and test-blind schools
The pandemic might finally be in decline due to the vaccine rollout. College bound consulting has never been more important. Your private college counselor can discuss several highly-respected schools that are still planning to keep their test-optional policies. Test-optional schools will still consider your test scores if you include them with your application, but they are not required. Here are some of the schools that have officially announced test-optional policies for fall 2021 admissions.
- Auburn University (2021 only)
- Cornell University (2021 only)
- Columbia University (2021 only)
- Dartmouth College (2021+)
- Harvard University (2021 only)
- Humboldt State University (2021 only)
- John Hopkins University (2021 only)
- Middlebury College (2021-2023)
- Northeastern University (2021-2022)
- Occidental College (2021 only)
- Pennsylvania State University (2021 only)
- Pomona College (2021 only)
- Princeton University (2021 only)
- Rutgers University (2021 only)
- San Diego State University (2021 only)
- Scripps College (all applicants 2021+)
- Stanford University (2021 only)
- Texas A&M University (all applicants 2021+)
- Texas Tech University (2021 only)
- Tulane University (2021 only)
- University of California all campuses (Test Optional until 2022, Test Blind 2022+)
- The University of Pennsylvania (2021 only)
- Virginia Tech (2021 only)
- Yale University (2021 only)
Test-blind schools
Schools that have announced test-blind policies will not look at your SAT scores, even if you include them with your application. All of the following schools are test-blind for the 2021 admissions cycle:
- California State University (all campuses, fall 2021-fall 2022 admissions only)
- California Institute of Technology (CalTech, fall 2021-fall 2022 admissions only)
- Hampshire College (Massachusetts, all applicants 2021+)
- Dickinson College (Pennsylvania, all applicants 2021+)
- Northern Illinois University (fall 2021-fall 2022 admissions only)
- New England University (Maine, all applicants 2021+)
- University of California all campuses (Test Optional until 2022, Test Blind 2022+)
For test-optional schools, your private college counselor can provide information to help you make the right decision about whether or not to include your exam scores with your application. While excellent scores are great for your application, some scores might not help your chances of admission. It’s best to consult a personal college counselor to avoid a costly mistake. Reach out to us at Hawk Educational Solutions and get your own personal college counselor today!
Find more information here: