Recently, the University of California system announced that undergraduate admissions will no longer consider SAT and ACT scores!
As the largest public university system in the United States, UC comprises 10 campuses including UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, and others, many of which are among the world's top-ranked universities.
According to The New York Times, after a two-year lawsuit by minority and disabled student advocacy groups, the University of California reached a settlement with the plaintiffs last week, announcing that from fall 2021 to spring 2025, none of the 10 UC schools will consider SAT or ACT scores in undergraduate admissions or scholarship decisions.
Detailed Policy on Dropping Standardized Tests at UC
Under the newly signed settlement, from fall 2021 to spring 2025, UC universities will no longer consider applicants' SAT/ACT scores in admissions and scholarship evaluations. Even if students choose to submit their scores, they will not be provided to admissions readers.
The university stated in its FAQ section that SAT/ACT scores will have no impact on admission decisions or scholarship awards, and this applies equally to out-of-state students.
For applicants who still submit scores, the standardized test results will only be used for course placement after enrollment. For example, after receiving an offer, a student may submit their essay score from the standardized test, which the university uses to determine if the student meets UC's writing requirement.
As such, standardized test scores will formally fade from UC admissions, serving only as a reference for some course placements after enrollment.
Why Is UC Dropping Standardized Test Requirements?
Last year, amid the pandemic and considering factors like test center closures and inconvenience for applicants, the UC system adopted a test-optional policy.
At that time, the University of California Board of Regents unanimously voted to adopt a measure that would allow in-state students to apply to UC without standardized test scores for the next two years. It also planned to phase out the use of SAT/ACT scores for all applicants over five years.
UC originally planned a step-by-step approach to gradually phase out SAT/ACT from admissions and intended to develop its own entrance exam by 2025.
Now, UC's early announcement to officially drop SAT/ACT in admissions is a major shake-up for the study-abroad community.
A key driver behind this was pressure from grassroots organizations. In 2019, student groups, civil rights advocacy organizations, and the Compton Unified School District (a district with predominantly African American and Hispanic students) sued the University of California. They argued that the admissions exams were unfair and that UC's practice of making admissions decisions based on standardized test scores illegally discriminated against low-income, minority, and disabled students, putting them at a disadvantage.
Opponents of standardized tests believe that children from wealthy families can easily achieve high scores by paying for expensive private tutoring and test preparation, while children from low-income families cannot access equivalent educational resources or achieve ideal scores due to economic reasons.
The two-year legal battle between these civil rights groups and the University of California finally ended with a settlement last Friday. Opponents of standardized tests called the settlement "historic" and believe it will bring greater access to higher education for more California students.
Additionally, in January this year, the College Board, which administers the SAT, announced the cancellation of SAT Subject Tests and the optional essay, further weakening the reliance on standardized test scores in college admissions.
According to FairTest data, for the fall 2021 admissions cycle, more than half of the nation's four-year universities—approximately 1,240 institutions—announced they would suspend the use of ACT/SAT scores. Top universities including Brown, Caltech, CMU, Columbia, UVA, and Yale adopted test-optional policies. Among them, many indicated they would continue the test-optional policy for the next couple of years.
Overall, the trend is clear that SAT/ACT scores will no longer be emphasized in college admissions. However, whether this move will achieve educational equity and eliminate the wealth gap in admissions remains an open question.
The College Board believes that the root cause of educational inequality in the U.S. is the education system itself, not the tests. Although the CB supports universities adopting test-optional policies during the pandemic, it still maintains that the SAT is one of the most accessible ways for applicants to stand out, and therefore it is necessary to preserve students' right to submit scores.
The CB's argument is not without merit. After all, if admissions no longer consider standardized tests, they will inevitably have to increase emphasis on other factors, potentially introducing more uncertainty. Moreover, for Asian American applicants, who typically score high on standardized tests, eliminating test scores may not be a positive signal.
So what impact does this policy have on international students?
What Does It Mean for International Students?
At its core, UC is dropping SAT/ACT to admit more local African American and Hispanic students from lower-income families, which correspondingly requires awarding more scholarships.
One of the university's largest funding sources is international student tuition. The more local low-income students the university admits, the more international students it needs to fill the funding gap. UC is expected to make its own adjustments to balance international admissions numbers. The hardest-hit group is actually local Asian American students.
Overall, dropping standardized test scores appears to "reduce the burden" on the surface but may actually lead to even fiercer competition. For international applicants, improving their competitiveness in all aspects is the key.
1. Universities will place greater emphasis on applicants' overall strengths
Once SAT/ACT scores are no longer considered in UC admissions, other factors will inevitably become more important. These include high school GPA, language proficiency scores such as TOEFL, AP/IB/A-Level results, and the applicant's holistic profile.
Future applications may require more meaningful and impactful extracurricular activities and competition awards, which undoubtedly raises the bar for average applicants.
2. Competition for UC System admissions will remain fierce
The popularity of UC applications is well known. Last year during the early action period, the UC application system was overwhelmed, forcing the university to extend the application deadline.
For the fall 2021 admissions cycle, the number of freshman applicants to the UC system hit a record high, increasing by 16.1% compared to the same period the previous year. UCLA, UCB, UCSB, UCSD, and UCI each received over 100,000 applications!
Among them, UCLA received nearly 140,000 applications, a 28% increase, making it once again the most popular target university in the U.S.
Amid the pandemic, UC's application numbers rose instead of falling, likely because families weighed risks and returns and preferred cost-effective public elite universities. This was also related to last year's test-optional policy.
It is easy to foresee that after UC officially announces the elimination of SAT/ACT, it will likely see another wave of application surges. Competition for UC universities will only intensify in the coming years.
Currently, only the UC system has formally dropped the standardized test requirement; other U.S. universities still largely maintain a test-optional admissions approach.
Having standardized test scores remains advantageous for applicants, especially international students. For example, nearly half of Boston College's early decision admits this year submitted standardized scores, with an average SAT of 1443 and ACT of 33, showing that high standardized test scores still carry weight.
It is advisable to prepare for both standardized tests and extracurricular activities, diligently complete all application materials, and maintain a steady approach to successfully apply to your dream school.
