SATs Now Optional for UConn Applicants, Will It Be Easier for UConn Football Applicants? | The Boneyard

SATs Now Optional for UConn Applicants, Will It Be Easier for UConn Football Applicants?

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Students applying to UConn will have the option of whether to submit SAT and/or ACT scores with their applications and the school said the decision will not impact the decision on whether they are admitted, WVIT reported. That could make it easier for high school or community college football players who do not excel as test takers. Many academically prominent colleges do not focus that much on academics on their football applicants. They look at the overall records and their athletic skill. Maybe it's time for UConn to do the same.

 
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Students applying to UConn will have the option of whether to submit SAT and/or ACT scores with their applications and the school said the decision will not impact the decision on whether they are admitted, WVIT reported. That could make it easier for high school or community college football players who do not excel as test takers. Many academically prominent colleges do not focus that much on academics on their football applicants. They look at the overall records and their athletic skill. Maybe it's time for UConn to do the same.

Sad day.
 

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It’s a good day imo. I had horrible Standardized test scores and excelled at UConn. One test shouldn’t be such a major factor.
Sad day because HS grades are a less accurate predictor of future success due to rampant grade inflation.

Degrees are about to loose even more prestige. Oh well - sucks for the younger crowd.
 
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Sad day because HS grades are a less accurate predictor of future success due to rampant grade inflation.

Degrees are about to loose even more prestige. Oh well - sucks for the younger crowd.
This isn’t true, according to the many top-flight colleges that have gone test-optional.
 

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This isn’t true, according to the many top-flight colleges that have gone test-optional.
This is a diminution that will take a decade or two to play out. And if a school is making the SAT/ACT optional for say just 3% of it seats the the entire announcement is pretty much lip service to the anti-testing crowd and not meaningful. If they are truly opening up large swaths then erosion is inevitable - especially in hard sciences, pre med and pre law. There are many reasons the American high Ed system became the dominate system in the world and one of those reasons is the integrity of the entrance requirements at the top schools. Continue to water it down and prestige will eventually decline with it. That’s true for the entire US system as well.
 
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Way back in the day, standardized tests were used nationally for selecting a candidate for a college slot and were also used to select for jobs and promotional opportunities.

Since it has become clear that some groups of people were consistently at a disadvantage competing on a test score alone, there has been a steady erosion of the use of tests as a "separator".
 

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Way back in the day, standardized tests were used nationally for selecting a candidate for a college slot and were also used to select for jobs and promotional opportunities.

Since it has become clear that some groups of people were consistently at a disadvantage competing on a test score alone, there has been a steady erosion of the use of tests as a "separator".
To be clear, I am not saying standardized test should be the sole factor, but everyone must take it and the results should be a major component of the overall candidacy.

Schools can always slot a limited number of seats to those that didn’t test well - but had displayed other worthy qualities.
 
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This is a diminution that will take a decade or two to play out. And if a school is making the SAT/ACT optional for say just 3% of it seats the the entire announcement is pretty much lip service to the anti-testing crowd and not meaningful. If they are truly opening up large swaths then erosion is inevitable - especially in hard sciences, pre med and pre law. There are many reasons the American high Ed system became the dominate system in the world and one of those reasons is the integrity of the entrance requirements at the top schools. Continue to water it down and prestige will eventually decline with it. That’s true for the entire US system as well.
Wake Forest has been test optional since 2008. They are very happy with it.
 

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"Before Wake Forest made its admission process test-optional for freshmen entering in 2009, about 18% of the students were non-white. The following year, the number jumped to 23% and it now stands at 30%."

Opened a door.

"A study released by admissions experts who said their research shows that dropping requirements that applicants submit SAT or ACT scores can help colleges achieve key goals. The study found that institutions going test-optional tended to see increases in applications, a more diverse pool of applicants and greater diversity in enrolled students."
 

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Opened a door.

Well yeah- that’s the whole point. More like tearing the door off. If there is no door at the school the desirability will erode over time.
 
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Not sure about the answer to your question, but Wake was one of the first highly selective schools to do it and their was been enough data for them to do a study of the efficacy.


From the article:
One of the first large universities to go test optional was Wake Forest University, which adopted the policy in 2008. With a decade of experience, it had much more information than does GW at this point (History Geek note: George Washington went test-optional in 2016). Wake Forest supplied this summary data on its experience:

About 30 percent of students don't submit scores.
Since the university went test optional, undergraduate applications have increased from 9,050 in 2008 to 14,006 last year.

Underrepresented minority applicants are more likely than others to opt not to submit scores.

Diversity has gone up in the years of test-optional admissions. The last class admitted with tests required had 18 percent of its students from underrepresented minority groups. By last year, that figure was up to 29 percent.

No differences have been found in academic performance (grades) of students on the basis of whether they submitted scores.

In the last class for which data are available, the graduation rate -- 87 percent -- was identical for those who submitted scores and those who did not.

In the last class for which data are available, freshman retention (returning for second year) was marginally higher for those who did not submit scores than for those who did (94 percent versus 93 percent).
 
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How many seats go the optional kids?
If you think these "optional" kids arent going to cut it, then there should be no impact on the prestige of your degree because they wont earn one... unless you are saying they are going to graduate whixh means UCONN course work is easier than HS which definitely would affect the prestige of your degree.

I, for one, welcome a more diverse set of students who might learn/test differently than others. Everyone could probably learn a thing or two from them. Not everyone excels in the same way but to supress their ability to grow because of a standardized test is ridiculous. Intelligence and drive arent found in the SAT. I did well on SAT but wasnt a driven student at UConn so I got by and graduated.

Long story short, i did alot more damage to the prestige of your degree than some smart kid who didnt take them SAT.
 

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The most honest interview maybe in world history was in SI of then U of Illinois stud Dick Butkus. Anyone too young too know him, google. Great pro LB. The interviewer said that there was a story that he never went to class and stayed in his room watching cartoons all day. Butkus replied to the effect that if they had him there to go to class, he’d go to class, but they have me here to play football so I watch cartoons.
 
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Open the doors here they come. This is part of the recent recruiting success.
 

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If you think these "optional" kids arent going to cut it, then there should be no impact on the prestige of your degree because they wont earn one... unless you are saying they are going to graduate whixh means UCONN course work is easier than HS which definitely would affect the prestige of your degree.

I, for one, welcome a more diverse set of students who might learn/test differently than others. Everyone could probably learn a thing or two from them. Not everyone excels in the same way but to supress their ability to grow because of a standardized test is ridiculous. Intelligence and drive arent found in the SAT. I did well on SAT but wasnt a driven student at UConn so I got by and graduated.

Long story short, i did alot more damage to the prestige of your degree than some smart kid who didnt take them SAT.
You are actually conversing with someone that didn't excel with the SAT and frankly ended up a school down a full notch from where I wanted to be. Having to attend what was really the best of my second tier options provided some extra motivation once on campus (I didn't attend UConn).

Universities can still build a diverse student body while requiring SAT scores. In order measure things you need a baseline. Universities should try to build a class that reflects society and that means a lower bar for some demographics, but it still should be measured. If they are going to waive SATs they should honest and announce how many seats are made available under this provision; 2%? 5%?
 

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