SAT gets less weight in Marymount’s admissions

By Andrew Niklason

Photos by Unsplash and Pixabay

Test scores of incoming students at Marymount University will hold less weight in the admissions process, as Marymount is among schools using a test-optional admissions policy.

Nicholas Munson, director of Communications at Marymount, said, “Marymount is committed to a holistic review of all applicants because we are about the education of the whole person…and we don’t want an SAT-restrictive policy to get in the way of someone trying to make themselves better and their community better.” Munson said all of a student’s extracurriculars, such as volunteer service and athletics, “might not get to see the light of day of an admissions review because you miss that [test] cut off.”

Many U.S. colleges are beginning to move away from requiring SAT scores for student admissions. According to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing (FairTest), more than 1,785 schools will not require students to submit scores from the SAT, a standardized test that has been used widely for college admissions. 

The College Board announced on Jan. 25 that the SAT would switch to a digital format. As a result, students will have fewer questions to answer in the span of two hours as opposed to three hours. Students also can use a calculator for the entire test. 

When asked about Marymount’s test-optional policy and the dwindling significance of the SAT, Sebastian Radovick, a junior at Marymount, said, “I like Marymount’s test-optional status. I am not a big fan of standardized tests and think they can put unnecessary stress on a student if they are applying to a school that requires them.” 

Radovick echoes Munson’s words, saying, “I also do not think the SAT and ACT are accurate measures of one’s intelligence… I do not feel that they should be the limiting factor for attending a college or not.” 

Regarding the SAT moving to a digital format, Nathaniel Carter, a senior at Trinity School at Meadow View, a high school in Northern Virginia, said he believes the change to the online design is “unfair to those who had to take it; in person.” Carter said he does not “think it is very relevant as far as an evaluation of a student,” and “if you have good grades, that shows more consistency and determination than one test.” 

Patty Whelpley, a college counselor at Carter’s school, said she believes that the SAT still plays a vital role in college admissions. “Colleges had a lot of serious concerns about the reliability of schools’ different methods of grading, rank, and caliber of courses,” Whelpley said. “Unfortunately, the SAT and ACT are the only way to ensure the student has a basic knowledge.” Whelpley said she still encourages students to submit their SAT scores to colleges.