A new "score optional" policy is being offered for Washington College applicants of the 2008-2009 school year. It will allow them to request and be granted a review of their application without SAT or ACT scores.
The policy has been adopted on a pilot basis for one year.
Kevin Coveney, Vice President for Admissions, said the new policy is available to students with a high school grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale or who are within the top 10 percent of their class.
Coveney described standardized test scores as, "an admissions barrier for some first generation college bound students, some socioeconomically challenged students, and some students of color."
The score optional policy would remove this barrier for students who have displayed other excellent qualities in "post secondary studies" as described by Coveney.
History professor Janet Sorrentino, the Committee Chair on Admissions and Student Financial Aid, described the policy as a "comfort gesture."
According to Sorrentino, the policy should help highly qualified students who would be desirable candidates for admission feel more confident when applying to a college.
She added, "The students that are nervous about their SAT or ACT scores are often high achievers anyway."
It encourages the students not to be nervous about the SAT component of admissions, and instead gives them confidence to apply on the basis of their high school records without having to worry about SAT or ACT scores that do not reflect their true achievements.
Sorrentino noted that SAT and/or ACT scores would still be required of candidates applying for merit-based scholarships and those enrolling for institutional research and profile purposes.
The policy is also important in keeping up with the other 740 colleges and universities that have already adopted it. According to an article in USA Today, many schools that "changed to SAT/ACT optional policies this year logged record breaking numbers of applications."
If the policy had not been adopted, Washington College could chance losing competent and proficient applicants because of the admission requirements.
Coveney noted that of the colleges and universities adopting the score optional policy, seven of Washington College's top 10 overlap schools were included. He hopes the policy will be successful in encouraging a greater diversity of bright students to apply to Washington College.
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