Some colleges dropping SAT requirement

It strikes fear into the hearts of many high school juniors and seniors nationwide, but a new study revealed a student's SAT score may not be as important in college admissions as was once thought.\nThe study, regarding the SAT-optional admissions policy of Bates College, has found very little correlation between applicants who provide their SAT scores and those who do not. Between the two groups, academic performance and graduation rates at the Maine college were virtually the same. Bates College has made providing SAT scores on applications optional since 1984, attracting a more diverse pool of applicants, according to the study.\nDirector of Admissions for IU Mary Ellen Anderson said SAT scores are not weighed very heavily when considering a student for admission. \n"Standardized tests are set as a requirement as one of the admissions criteria we use," she said. "While scores are required, they will be the least important. We focus mostly on academic coursework and grades from high school."\nAnderson said the admissions office also looks at grade trends in academic courses and what classes a student is planning to complete as a senior. \nHowever, SAT scores are used for advising, course placement, and for direct admission to the Kelley School of Business, some majors in the College of Arts and Sciences and most majors in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.\n"We have never and will never make a decision to admit or not admit a student strictly on standardized test scores," she said.\nAlthough Bates College has made giving SAT scores optional, Anderson said she doesn't see IU doing the same.\n"I've heard nothing of SAT scores being eliminated," she said, adding that to change IU's admissions requirements would take a vote from the faculty and the board of trustees.\nFreshman Cameron Wolfe said it would not make a difference to him whether or not a school looked at SAT scores when admitting students. \n"I've never really had a problem with tests, and I've always scored really well," he said, adding if someone hadn't scored well on the SATs, he or she might be more willing to apply to a school where SAT scores were not required.\nFreshman Jesse Burroughs said schools should look at more than the SAT score when admitting a student. \n"(Admission) should be based more on extracurricular stuff and what someone does with their life," Burroughs said. "I think it's worthless to base everything on a test score."\nThe SAT has recently undergone a change in format, as the test now features a written essay component and higher-level math questions, according to the SAT's Web site.\nAnderson said the new SAT format, along with the addition of an optional writing component on the ACT, will require some time to get used to.\n"Because this will be a very new and different process, there will be a lot of confusion and anxiety on everyone's part -- students, high schools, colleges and universities," she said. "It will take some time to work through the new format until everyone figures it out."\n-- Contact Weekend copy editor Laura Kruty at lkruty@indiana.edu.