By Alicia Simeone ( Westchester Magazine).
Applying to college is no simple task. Prospective students must finish high school classes, maintain a good GPA and class ranking, all while filling out college applications, writing essays, and preparing for the dreaded SAT or ACT. Sounds stressful, right?
Well, if SUNY Purchase College has anything to say, that’s all about to change. The college recently revamped their admissions policy to “test-optional” in terms of submitting SAT/ACT scores, meaning students applying to Purchase can choose to submit scores or to leave them out.
Over 950 other institutions of higher education in the United States have also seen the benefits of test-optional admissions, including Emerson, Dickinson, Skidmore, and Dominican College, who all recently switched its admission policy.
According to a statement made by Purchase, the new admissions strategy aligns with a commitment to wider access, mitigates the advantages of pre-test coaching that some applicants may have over others, and acts as a response to the growing concerns over the stress of the college admissions process. Studies have shown that high school GPA is the greatest predictor of college success following family income. Read more
