Test-optional admission in most colleges
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, most of the colleges in the USA went test-optional last year. Several colleges have decided to continue with the decision for the upcoming session also.
Furthermore, there are additional changes apart from the two major changes of discontinuing the SAT subject test and SAT optional essay.
The most important change is that the SAT is starting online. Students outside the US can still take the test.
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams instead of SAT Subject Test
About 200,000 Indian students were studying in the United States in the year 2019. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the estimated enrollment decreased significantly.
The pandemic has changed the way US colleges process enrollment for international students. For admissions in 2021, the universities waived the SAT completely and concentrated on student’s past academic history and extracurricular activities.
“There are changes apart from the two major changes of discontinuing the SAT subject test and SAT optional essay. The most important change is that the SAT is starting online. Students outside the US can still take the test”
The SAT subject tests were redundant for students studying in International boards such as the IB and A levels as the syllabus is almost the same. As for the CBSE, ICSE and HSC boards, AP exams are more thorough and accurately demonstrate the student’s true potential. The AP curriculum is different from state-level board exams. Thus requires extensive preparations and better planning.
Education Experts and counsellors opined that this test-optional situation perpetrates like a waiver of some sort, however, the truth is, it is more complicated and needs careful evaluation. When a school proclaims that it is ‘test-optional’, this means that examination scores are not required to complete the application.
Purpose of going test-optional
Colleges were moving test-optional to further ease out the admission process, this helps the institution’s rankings too as an increased number of applicants results in a lower admittance rate. Only students with high standardized scores would report the scores, increasing the average test score for the schools.
More options with SAT
Taking the SAT will keep more options open. Going in without standardized test scores, the academic performance and profile of the student will come under greater scrutiny. To compete effectively the applicant’s profile needs to be stronger and balanced. SAT scores showcase reasoning proficiency, therefore most merit scholarships are based on test scores.
SAT India test
Noteworthy, 53 SAT Test centres spread across 30 cities are there in India. This year SAT India test is scheduled to be held on 13th March. Some of the test centres have been set up in the cities mentioned below:
Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi NCR, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Pune, Trivandrum, Vijayawada.
The test is 3 hours long for a total score of 1600 points.