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Syracuse University will not require SAT or ACT scores throughout the fall 2023 and spring 2024 admission periods, the university wrote in a press release Thursday.

In the release, SU said that students who are either unable to submit standardized test scores or choose not to will not be penalized. In the same vein, students who do not submit scores will still remain eligible for merit scholarships.

The university wrote that the decision comes from recognizing the pandemic’s impact on students applying for college and their families.

“Many students and their families are understandably concerned about the availability of and having safe access to testing sites,” said Maurice Harris, SU’s dean of admissions.

Harris said the university hopes the decision will alleviate stress for those applying to SU.

The policy was first introduced by the university in June 2020, and in a February 2021 press release the school waived standardized testing scores for the 2021-22 admissions cycle. Harris said in the 2021 release that the application process will place further emphasis on other criteria such as academic performance and extracurricular engagement under the policy.

“Standardized test scores have always been just one component of our holistic review process,” he said.

According to the the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, also known as FairTest, SU is one of over 1,815 colleges and universities to not require ACT or SAT scores for fall 2022. Included in the count are schools that will not look at scores even if they are submitted by applicants.

At least 1,400 institutions will continue one of these two policies for the fall 2023 admissions period, FairTest wrote.

SU freshman Alex Jenkin told The Daily Orange in October 2021 she was confident in her test scores, and submitted her scores to SU despite the school being test optional when she was applying.

“My score was right around the average for Syracuse,” Jenkin said. “I thought it would help me rather than hurt me … I wasn’t really stressed about that in particular.”
Claire Moore, a high school senior in Connecticut, told The D.O. in she would not be submitting test scores to all the schools to which she would apply. Moore said she appreciated test-optional policies.

“(The) SAT and ACT should not be weighed equally to the years of hard work that went into GPAs and extracurriculars,” Moore said.

Published on March 20, 2022 at 10:26 pm

Contact Kyle: kschouin@syr.edu | @Kyle_Chouinard