SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS)- The State of the University of New York, or SUNY for short, announced on April 13 that the system would drop their ACT and SAT requirements for potential applicants.
More than 80% of colleges and universities across the country did not require ACT or SAT exam scores for fall 2023 admissions, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.
The SUNY Board of Trustees decided to drop their requirement for all of their undergraduate programs at its 64 schools across New York.
At SUNY Cortland, most students agree with the board dropping the requirement. They say the test does not show the true academic success of a student.
“I took the SAT, and inside, it was very stressful,” said one freshman named Riley. “I feel like honestly for students coming in, I feel like it is very beneficial for us not to have that stress and that long of a test … I know I get very stressed taking tests, and you might not perform as well, and it doesn’t show you as a true student”.
The New York Post reports that SUNY enrollment has declined 20% over the past decade. Schools are realizing that these long-form tests are not showing true academic merit.
Some students might also be given an advantage due to family wealth.
“I know some really smart kids who, like, got really bad scores, and they reality had to take it again, said another SUNY Cortland student who wanted to say anonymous. “You have to pay to take the test; I don’t really believe in that test, so dropping it, I think, is a really good thing.”
The world is moving into a new world of applying as extracurriculars might have more weight than the classic grades and test scores. On Point for College, when NCC News spoke to them exclusively, agreed with this sentiment.
“Just because you got a 1500 on your SATs, does that make you a better student, as opposed to somebody who got like a 1080, said Leigh Petryssyn, who works at On Point College, a company that prepares students for college and based in Syracuse.
“But that student that got a 1080 is a community activist and is involved in every single thing in school”, said Petryssyn. “It’s not one defining factor.”
The college admissions process has always been tricky, but it could become even more difficult with standardized testing going away.
