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Three more colleges -- Dominican University of California, Xavier University of Ohio and the University of New Haven -- have gone test optional.
Dominican said its policy would not apply to nursing, homeschooled or international students. For the others, “We believe that a student’s overall high school academic record is the best indicator of a student’s future college success,” said Vickie Alleman, vice president for enrollment and marketing.
Xavier made similar arguments. "Every application submitted to Xavier receives a holistic review. This means every piece of your application is reviewed and considered in order to make a decision. One single item does not determine your admissibility, and a test-optional policy allows students to demonstrate their abilities in other ways. Further, our research has shown that high school performance, especially in rigorous course work, is the best indicator of potential to succeed at Xavier," said a statement.
Athletes, homeschooled, nursing and some honors students may not use the test-optional policy at Xavier.
The University of New Haven, which has similar rules about who can't apply without an SAT or ACT score, explained its new policy in this statement: "The University of New Haven does not require students interested in most of our academic programs to submit SAT/ACT scores. As a student-first institution that deeply cares for education to be both personal and pragmatic, the University of New Haven strives to empower students to achieve excellence and success. By having a test-optional policy, we want students to determine if their SAT/ACT scores are an accurate representation of their academic ability. If they feel that their SAT/ACT scores are not, they will not be penalized during admission review if they do not submit test scores."
