Yale & Brown have followed Dartmouth; Goodbye test-optional
Last month (see email, re-pasted below) we sent out major news about Dartmouth's policy to go back to a test-mandatory admissions policy.
It was our prediction more Ivies would follow.
And just like that, we've got two more:
Yale's recent policy update
Brown's recent policy update
We fully expect the rest of the Ivies to follow suit shortly...and after that, likely the majority of Top-50 schools in the US
If you have a high schooler Class of 2025 or younger, this will have a significant influence on your college preparation (Note: If you are a current member in our 4-Year, Start-to-Finish, All Inclusive College Confidence Program, you don't have to worry - we've got you covered and will provide you with personalized insights into how your child can best plan for applications, given these new policies).
More insights below from our previous Dartmouth-specific email. If you haven't already, we strongly encourage you apply join our 100% free college confidence community, where we'll continue to post updates and insights as the college admissions landscape continues to change.
To your college planning success,
Jack Delehey
Founder, CollegeConsulting.us
P.S. - Do you have a highly motivated high schooler (min. 3.7 GPA)? We specialize in changing the lives of these exact types of students. If you'd like, you can learn more here.
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We've got MAJOR news on the college planning front:
Dartmouth College has released a statement (source), one that may have a serious ripple effect through college admissions:
"Informed by new research, Dartmouth will reactivate the standardized testing requirement for undergraduate admission beginning with applicants to the Class of 2029"
This is MAJOR. Typically, we see when one Ivy League school adjusts admissions policies (ex: moving to test optional in 2020), all others quickly follow suit.
And when the Ivies are in on a trend...typically the rest of the country's colleges follow them.
In the coming weeks, we'll release a full, detailed newsletter on just why this is so important for you, the parent, and what it means for high schoolers. But for now, here's the short, actionable takeaway:
If you have a high schooler class of 2024, this has no influence on you.
If you have a high schooler class of 2025, 2026, 2027 or younger...as of today, this will only influence your high schooler if they apply to Dartmouth...BUT there is a chance in the coming months many more colleges follow suit here. And you should be prepared for those changes, not shocked or blindsided by them.
How we guide our students...and how we'd encourage you to guide your high schoolers (Class of 2025 or younger), too:
Guide your high schooler the way we guide all our high schoolers - act as if standardized testing is mandatory...and then senior fall, you can re-assess (sadly, we are not mind readers - we can't call up every Ivy Admissions department and ask them their future testing policies - they won't tell us and likely still won't know).
Taking this approach keeps all options open, while also ensuring if your high schooler ends up with schools on their final list that are test mandatory again, they're covered.
If you want early insights about this trend, our beloved partners over at Tigerway already have a full synopsis. You can read it here.
More to come as this story develops.
