SAT loses its edge
By Katie Gaab, contributing writer
Posted on October 2, 2006

The SATs can be a stressful part of applying to college. Today’s high schools stress these tests as one determinant of getting into colleges. However, many prestigious liberal arts colleges are beginning to re-examine that part of the application.

As a result, Bates College in Maine has seen an increasing application rate from minority, low-income and learning-disabled students, making their student population more heterogeneous. Eliminating the SATs altogether on applications, Sarah Lawrence College is even more satisfied with their decision.

Sarah Lawrence President Michele Meyers said: “This allows us to make a clear statement of what we value: a writing-centered curriculum and students who challenge themselves in their high school curriculum rather than those who test well on a Saturday morning or pay steep fees for coaching that ‘guarantees’ increases of up to 200 points.”

To further prove the point, Hamilton College in New York has found that those students who didn’t submit their SAT scores when applying had a slightly higher GPA than others.

Students agree with many of these colleges’ decisions.

“I know that some of my friends only looked at certain schools because their SATs were such and such,” said senior Adam Shore of Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Penn. “I think that should be stopped. SATs shouldn’t be the first determining factor if you can get into a school.”

There are complaints about the length of the SAT test, which now takes over three hours. In addition, students agree that the SAT scores determine where students apply.

Katie Kelly, another student from Upper Dublin High School, said the first thing a student asks about a college is what the average SAT score is for an accepted student.

“If they do not meet this average, they suddenly don’t think that the university is right for them,” she said. This, however, is exactly what these liberal arts colleges are trying to eliminate. Kelly also said SATs are “too stressful” and that they put more pressure on students.

“Frankly, they are a waste of time, intelligence-wise, because all a student has to do is memorize strategies of how to ‘beat’ the tricks the tests use,” Kelly said.

Despite this controversy, JMU has decided to keep the requirement of the SATs on its application. Both SAT and ACT scores are acceptable and are used to help determine the student’s future achievement. 

In accordance with most colleges, JMU takes the highest score from the math and verbal sections although they require all scores to be reported. For the 2005-’06 class, the average range for the SAT was between 1020 and 1240, and the average ACT scores were between 23 to 28. JMU states that SAT scores rank third in the order of acceptance criteria, after looking at a student’s academic level and experience in high school. As of now, there will be no change in JMU’s application process concerning the SATs.