Should I Go Back to SAT Academy... Ivy League Schools in the US Expanding SAT Submission Requirement

SAT and ACT 'Required' for Dartmouth Admission
Changes in Elite Universities like MIT and Georgetown University

There is a growing movement to reinstate the mandatory submission of the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and the American College Testing (ACT) in the freshman admission process at prestigious universities in the United States.

Dartmouth College campus view.
Photo by Dartmouth College Official Instagram

On the 5th (local time), major foreign media reported that Dartmouth College, a member of the Ivy League, has decided to require SAT and ACT submissions for next year’s freshman admissions. The SAT and ACT are exams similar to South Korea’s College Scholastic Ability Test, taken by students seeking admission to universities in the U.S. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the number of universities not requiring SAT and ACT scores temporarily increased due to health and safety concerns. Many schools changed the submission of test scores to optional. Notably, prestigious private universities such as Harvard University and Dartmouth College selected freshmen based on personal statements and high school grades (equivalent to Korean school records) instead of test scores.

However, as SAT and other test scores were not reflected in admissions, concerns were raised that students from racial or economically disadvantaged backgrounds might have an unfair advantage in university admissions. This is believed to stem from the social consensus in the U.S. that achieving high test scores is more advantageous for students from high-income families.

In response, Dartmouth College conducted a survey of applicants last year and announced that the SAT or ACT is actually much more advantageous for students from low-income families. Although many low-income applicants did not submit test scores unless they were top-tier, the survey of rejected applicants revealed that hundreds of students would have been admitted if they had submitted even low scores.

Shion Bylok, President of Dartmouth College, stated, “(Dartmouth’s) educational goal is to train students from diverse backgrounds to become future leaders,” adding, “The decision to reinstate mandatory test score submission will help achieve this goal.” With Dartmouth College reflecting test scores in university admissions again, it is anticipated that other U.S. universities will also push to reinstate mandatory test score submissions. In fact, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Georgetown University are currently reviewing plans to require SAT score submissions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.