The above link is a New York Times article Matt shared on the impact of the temporary removal of the SAT requirements on college admissions for the elite and lower tier schools. Removing these standardized tests give all students a fair chance to get into schools based on a truer picture of their ability. Many colleges may welcome the step as a way to have a more diversity among their applicants but reflecting on Jordan Weissmann’s article in Slate I am wondering if there will be a great difference in the diversity of the student body. In Harvard’s case, which is the focus in Weissmann’s article, how much less of the athletes, legacies and kids of donors (43% of which are white) are they willing to admit to achieve the diversity they seek? How will Harvard choose?
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Keshia,
Yes, exactly. More applications by students of color and by students with lower socioeconomic statuses will not necessarily translate into more of those students being admitted to schools that (at least temporarily) have suspended the standardized test requirement. It would be interesting to see the race and class demographics of applicants *rejected from* elite schools in this no-SAT year. That would really put in perspective the data about who does get admitted.
Matt
Agreed, there are so many threads to untangle at once—not only legacy and athletic admissions, not only school background or income level, but also subtle questions of how students see themselves, where they can imagine themselves fitting in, what places they see as being ‘for them’. I’ll look forward to talking this evening.