Harvard Extends Test-Optional Admissions Policy for Four Years

Harvard has decided to extend the test-optional admission policy for four years, where the scores of exams like SAT and ACT are not required. 

The admission policy has been extended by Harvard University during the Covid-19 pandemic, which also resulted in eliminating the standardized test scores for admissions to the nation's top selective schools. Attributing the decision, Harvard announced that the pandemic has made it difficult for students to gain access to test centers. 

Since the decision has a significant symbolic value, Harvard believes that it can wade through thousands of applications and admit students without having to consider the test scores of standardized examinations and that the nation is a step ahead in terminating test scores from the admission process. Checkout: Harvard University 2022 Admission Details

According to the statement of William Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions and financial aid, students who will not submit their standardized test scores will not be benefitted in their application process. Further, he mentioned that students can submit any information/documents that would convey their achievements in secondary school. 

The test scores of standardized examinations have been considered for admissions of high school students since ages and it has also caused a bane. Some supporters say that they'd offer an unvarying way of evaluating students from different schools and different parts of the country. 

Read More: How to make your Harvard Application outstanding?

However, observers have argued that they are racially and culturally biased and do not reflect the true ability of many students, as it reflects their ability to pay for coaching. 

Harvard using test scores has also been part of a lawsuit, which was accused for discrimination against Asian American applicants by holding them to a higher standard than other aspiring students. As per the lawsuit, Asian Americans achieved higher scores than others on measures like standardized tests but were penalized based on a “personal” rating. 

Further, a federal court and an appeals court have validated Harvard’s admissions process, finding that it was not discriminatory and that the Supreme Court has not yet considered to hear the case. 

This is the second admission cycle where the students are seeking admission in Harvard without the use of standardized test scores. However, the new policy will be extended to the next four classes through the classes of 2027-2030, beyond the inevitable boundaries of the pandemic. 

Bob Schaeffer, Head of FairTest, an Anti-testing Group, said that Harvard’s prestige and outsize influence has made the decision more significant, which could be a harbinger of a future wherein the standardized tests may or may not be considered for college admissions. 

Further, it proves that test-optional admission is the new normal for college admissions. While the highly selective schools have illustrated that they can offer fair and accurate admissions without considering the test scores.

According to FairTest, the rate of schools that do not require test scores for admissions has increased from about 45% to nearly 80%. The organization has counted a total of 1,815 of the 2,330 schools for calculating the percentage. 

The most competitive colleges witnessed the flooding of students with a record number of applications for the class of 2025, that forced eight Ivy League schools to delay the date they declared for the final enrollment decision. The increase was attributed in part to the schools that announced the standardized test scores optional. 

Besides Harvard, other major institutions have gone even further. After years of debates, a final decision was announced by the University of California system in November, to eliminate the use of standardized testing. Read more: UC drops SAT and ACT requirements

The system, influential because of its huge size and prestigious campuses, including in Berkeley and Los Angeles, had been looking for substitute exams. However, it was later decided to evaluate students based on their high school grades. Earlier, in 2018, before the pandemic, the University of Chicago made the test scores optional, and reported the admission of a more diverse class without requiring the scores of standardized tests. 

A majority of schools that do not require test scores are known as “test-optional” rather than “test-blind,” which means that if students choose to submit a test score, the school will look into it. Also, these test scores are often used for offering scholarships. 

The announcement was made public when Harvard College notified it had admitted a total of 740 students out of 9,406 students to the class of 2026 who had applied under its early-action program. 

According to the Crimson, the student newspaper, the rate of 7.9% was the second-most-competitive early admissions rate in Harvard's history. However, the regular admissions in Harvard will take place in the spring. 

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