University makes SAT, ACT optional
Conference to 'rethink' admissions
College admissions officers and leading experts in the social sciences will discuss the college admissions process during a national symposium on campus April 15 and 16.
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Symposium schedule »
April 8, 2009
On the value of standardized admissions tests
Wake Forest psychologists Mike Furr and Cecelia Solano respond to the critiques of standardized testing that have been discussed as Wake Forest makes the decision to go test-optional. They write "Wake Forest University has initiated a timely investigation of the college admissions process. The University has decided to explore alternative patterns of admission tools to determine which methods are most efficient and fair in identifying students we wish to have at Wake Forest …. This has motivated us who teach and publish in the area of standardized psychological testing to respond." Read more [PDF] »
September 25, 2008
Inside the post-SAT admissions process
An article in "Inside Higher Education" looks at the practical effects of Wake Forest's decision to no longer require the SAT for undergraduate admissions: "There's more to dropping the SAT than just dropping the SAT. The university is revamping its admissions process generally, putting much more emphasis on personal interviews and adding staff for what will be a more intense review of candidates." Read more »
September 24, 2008
Professor offers more data on SAT decision
Associate Professor of Sociology Joseph Soares, an expert on the role of the SAT in the college admissions process, offers a detailed look into the historical and more recent data on the validity of the SAT as a predictor of academic success in college. Read more »
September 21, 2008
College panel calls for less focus on SATs
A commission convened by some of the country's most influential college admissions officials is recommending that colleges and universities move away from their reliance on SAT and ACT scores and shift toward admissions exams more closely tied to the high school curriculum and achievement, the New York Times reported. Read more »
September 2008
Blazing a trail
By becoming America's first highly selective national university to make college entrance exam scores optional for admission, Wake Forest is betting on a high school track record over a one-time test outcome, banking on building a more balanced student body, and bucking a trend — again — for the sake of Pro Humanitate. Read more »
July 24, 2008
The Right Thing to Do
Director of Undergraduate Admissions Martha Blevins Allman ('82, MBA '92) offers an inside look at the reasoning behind Wake Forest's decision to make test scores optional. "After months of discussion and study and reflection we decided it was time to stand up on the side of fairness. We decided that it was time for Wake Forest to take yet another of its historical 'bold moves.' " Read more »
July 24, 2008
SATs can't test for mental toughness
Wake Forest joins other prestigious schools in discovering that overemphasis on the value of the SAT and the other standard bearer, ACT, has held back diversity on several levels, including economic and ethnic. From Scripps Howard News Service. Read more »
July 9, 2008
SAT decision 'worthy goal'
An editorial in The New York Times commends Wake Forest for eliminating the SAT as a requirement for undergraduate admission. "By going test-optional, Wake Forest and Smith hope to broaden their applicant pools and increase access for groups that are underrepresented at selective schools. Those are worthy goals." Read more »
June 29, 2008
Better measure than the SAT
In a column published in The Washington Post, President Nathan Hatch writes about Wake Forest's decision to drop standardized test scores as an entrance requirement. Read more »
June 25, 2008
In the News: Wake Forest and the SAT
Numerous newspapers and magazines around the country have reported on Wake Forest's decision to no longer require the SAT or ACT for undergraduate admission since the new policy was announced in May. Read more »
May 27, 2008
University to make SAT, ACT optional
Wake Forest is making college entrance examinations, such as the SAT and ACT, optional for admission, becoming the first top 30 national university to adopt such a policy. A prospective student's classroom performance, writing ability, extracurricular activities and evidence of character and talent will remain the most important criteria for admission. Full story »
Professor: New policy a 'bold step'
"Wake Forest has taken the bold step of becoming the first national university to select its students with criteria that move us beyond the pitfalls of standardized tests," writes Wake Forest Associate Professor of Sociology Joseph Soares, who is also the author of The Power of Privilege: Yale and America's Elite Colleges. "Wake Forest is committed to looking at the whole student, beyond test scores, and our new policy empowers us to do that."
Provost's letter to faculty and staff
"As we were considering (this policy), several points influenced us," Provost Jill Tiefenthaler writes in a letter to faculty and staff. "Some have implications far beyond Wake Forest, and reach across all of higher education in the US. Others are specifically about who we are at Wake Forest."
List of schools not requiring the SAT or ACT
From FairTest.org
For additional information about Undergraduate Admissions visit www.wfu.edu/admissions
