Alternative Applications Rewrite The Rules of College Admissions
Natalie Sportelli Forbes Staff
I'm associate editor for 30 Under 30 at Forbes
If job candidates can pitch their strengths to potential employers, why can't college applicants make a tailored case for their admittance? Some colleges are letting their applicants do just that. By lessening the weight of standardized test scores and offering alternatives to the traditional admissions process, colleges are increasingly allowing their applicants to decide how they want to present themselves to admissions officers. In so doing, they are reinventing the face of the application process and breaking out of the rut admissions offices have worn into the road to higher education.
Striking standardized test scores
A decade ago, colleges across the nation started deemphasizing SAT/ACT scores as a key to admission. In the past few years, top schools including Sarah Lawrence College, Wake Forest University and, as of this May, Wesleyan University have chosen to adopt a test-optional policy. The admission page on Wesleyan's website reads, "We believe that students should have the power to decide how best to present themselves to the admission committee and whether—or not—their standardized test results accurately reflect their academic ability and potential." Wesleyan's philosophy allows students to have a say in how they want admissions committees to assess their merit, and many other colleges are catching on.
Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania implemented a "test flexible" option in 2009; this year, the school became test-optional. "When we went test flexible it gave students the ability to send scores in areas they were strong in and the flexibility to let them put their best foot forward," says Peaches Valdes, director of admission at Bryn Mawr. This spring, based on national and institutional data that revealed that standardized testing does not necessarily predict students' success on campus, Bryn Mawr made the move to test-optional. "Students have always wanted to present the best representation of themselves," says Valdes. "That's the goal [of the admissions process], to make sure it is the best relationship between the college and students and that the student is bringing their true voice to their application."
Students in a testing room (Source: Wikipedia)
The uncommon app
Last year, Bard College, a small, liberal arts institution in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., started offering the Bard Entrance Examination, an online essay test that can take the place of submitting standardized test scores and a Common App. Students who sit down to take the exam choose from 21 questions (created by Bard professors) and write four essays of 2,500 words. If the applicant earns a B+ or higher composite grade on the essays, he or she will receive an offer of admission. Bard hasn't done away with the Common App. In fact, the vast majority of students still apply with it, but by offering the entrance exam, the college is attracting prospective students who want to be judged outside of typical admissions criteria.
This fall, 10 members of the incoming class of 2018 who were admitted through the entrance exam will arrive on campus. When the Common App underwent reconfiguration last year, Bard took the opportunity the revamp its own application process by introducing the essay exam option. "The faculty got excited about offering essay questions and a platform that would allow students to have all the materials to answer the questions and experience a real college essay exam," says Mary Backlund, vice president of student affairs and director of admission.
"Students who like to write and think they could better express themselves through their writing are those interested in opting for the Bard Entrance Exam," adds Backlund. "It's not a surprise that if a student doesn't feel like they are a standardized person, they would choose this option."
Reassessing assessment
Although standardized test scores were initially implemented to put students on a level playing field for aptitude assessment in the college admissions game, they have since become a divisive factor among applicants. Students with more money to spend on tutors and prep books have an advantage over others who cannot afford to pour money and resources into their preparation. This socioeconomic divide polarizes students, equally prepared for college, by their SAT/ACT scores and puts underprivileged applicants at a disadvantage when up against their privileged peers in the applicant pool. Consequently, the tests have been criticized for failing to serve as an indicator for success in college; a recent National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) study has confirmed that view.
Data from the NACAC study found that test-optional policies "help build broader access to higher education" and that "non-submitters are more likely to be first-generation-to-college students, minorities, Pell Grant recipients, women and students with learning differences." The study, "Defining Promise: Optional Standardized Testing Policies in American College and University Admissions," found that students who decided against submitting test scores had near-equivalent cumulative GPAs and graduation rates compared to those who submitted test scores. The study shows that students who choose to leave their scores out of their applications are just as prepared as those who report them and have the same success in school. As more colleges become test-optional and offer alternative applications, students may begin to see a ripple in the applicant pool that reflects an amended admissions process moving away from traditional success indicators and towards a curated student profile based on strengths over weaknesses.
Natalie Sportelli
I'm associate editor for Forbes' 30 Under 30 list and vertical. I also write about food, startups and entrepreneurs. I studied English Literature and History at Colgate ...