[NOTE: Information in this post is accurate as of the date of writing: 7/5/22. For the most up-to-date admissions information, please check the websites of the colleges you wish to apply to!]
The past two years have been….a lot. If you’re like many of my blog’s readers, you attended high school straight through a pandemic—and so your pre-college experience thus far has been anything but normal. So you’re probably wondering how long the suspended-reality version of high school, and the college process, will continue.
More specifically, those of you who just finished up your Sophomore year of high school and are now “rising Juniors” probably have (at least) one burning college prep question at the front of your mind right now:
Is the SAT or ACT Necessary for the Class of 2024?
Turns out this question has more complexity to it than might first meet the eye. But never fear: a test-prep pro whose job it is to think about this stuff is here to break down that complexity for you.
If you’re a rising Junior (class of 2024), you probably watched most of your Senior friends—and many of your Junior friends—experience the miracle of not having to take the SAT and ACT.
SO YOU MAY BE PRAYING THAT YOU, TOO, CAN JUST RUN AROUND, RATHER THAN OVER, THIS CLASSIC COLLEGE PREP HURDLE. I MEAN, LAST YEAR’S COLLEGE APPLICANTS GOT TO, RIGHT?
And hey, even before COVID turned everything topsy-turvy for almost two and a half years, weren’t more and more colleges beginning to accept applications without standardized test scores? Isn’t it true that fewer and fewer schools have required the SAT or ACT essay with each passing year, and that the College Board recently discontinued the SAT essay AND SAT II Subject Tests? Doesn’t that all mean that standardized tests are going the way of the dodo when it comes to college admissions?
Well, yes and no. As of this writing, YES, fairtest.org indicates that there are roughly 1,830+ accredited higher educational institutions in the United States that were Test Optional or Test Blind (aka “Test Free”)…for your Senior friends who just graduated (i.e. the Class of 2022).
However, ALSO as of this writing, almost 410 of these colleges were only extending that flexibility to the classes of 2021 and/or 2022 (and perhaps 2023) because of COVID-19 shutdowns over the past couple years and the wrench that virtual learning threw into those students’ education.
How Many Colleges Require Standardized Testing for Rising Juniors?
Since I’m in the business of saving time for busy high schoolers, I’ve gone ahead and done the grunt work of tallying up the college campuses that established different admissions policies during the pandemic (again, according to fairtest.org). I’ve also conveniently sorted these colleges for you below on the basis of what their policies mean for the classes of 2024 and 2025 as of the date of this writing (7/5/22):
74: number of colleges/universities that are temporarily still Test Optional for the class of 2024, but will likely NOT be for the class of 2025. This number includes the 21 campuses in the Penn State University system, the 7 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, and the 13 campuses in the University of Wisconsin system.
383: number of colleges and universities that were ONLY Test Optional for the classes of 2021 and/or 2022 (and possibly even 2023), but are NOT test optional for the class of 2024 and beyond.
25: number of college campuses that were Test Blind/Test Free for the classes of 2021 and/or 2022 (and possibly even 2023), but that will NOT be Test Blind for the class of 2024. This includes the 11 campuses of the City University of New York (CUNY) system.
So, approximately 408 schools total are returning to their pre-Covid testing requirements for the class of 2024, and another 74 will likely return to pre-pandemic requirements for the class of 2025.
Should I Take the SAT or ACT if I’m a Rising Junior?
What does this mean for YOU, a soon-to-be Junior who ALSO had to live through serious setbacks in your schooling these past two years? It means that unless we see a major reversal in our pandemic recovery that causes these colleges to change their minds, these ~410 institutions will still in all likelihood ask YOU to submit a test score when you apply.
Plus, there are hundreds and hundreds of colleges who did NOT become Test Optional or Test Blind during the pandemic—not even for the classes of 2021, 2022 and 2023. So these schools will also expect you to take the SAT or ACT and submit a score.
So, if ALL of the colleges on your (tentative) list are Test Optional or Test Blind/Test Free…AND you have an application so stellar that you don’t need a test score to strengthen it…AND financial aid and scholarships don’t matter to you…then MAYBE you can consider skipping the SAT and ACT. However, for most students, all of those stars do not align—and if you’re part of that majority, you need to plan for the likelihood that you will need to submit standardized test scores as part of your college application process.
Will the SAT and ACT be Canceled for the Class of 2024?
It’s a great question! Here’s the thing: since the College Board and ACT have figured out how to administer their tests in socially-distant and safe ways, and since the world has more or less reopened as the pandemic wanes, COVID is no longer the excuse it was for your older peers.
Yes, this might mean that there still won’t be as many spots in a testing center as there used to be pre-COVID, and that those spots might therefore fill up quickly, or even that a testing center may have to unexpectedly close at a moment’s notice (though this is happening less often now than it was a year or two ago…and it’s my prediction that the number of testing center closures will continue to decrease over time).
But if you plan ahead, then none of these unpleasant curveballs will faze you. You’ll be the person who DID nab the seat and who has multiple backup test dates if one of yours gets cancelled—because you’re starting the process on time instead of putting planning and studying off until the last minute.
SAT and ACT Status for the Class of 2024
The class of 2024 and beyond should operate under the assumption that you WILL have to take either the SAT or ACT for your college admissions.
Yes, as always, you will need to see which schools you wish to apply to, and check out their specific admissions processes and requirements when it’s time to apply (a year from now). There are several colleges and universities that have always been Test Optional, and a few will still be Test Optional or Test Blind/Test Free for your year due to the pandemic. But unless you’re absolutely, hands-down sure that—a YEAR from now—you will be applying ONLY to Test Blind/Test Free colleges, you need to take the SAT or ACT. Why? Because you will either be REQUIRED to submit a test score with your application, or you can at least BENEFIT from submitting an excellent SAT or ACT test score (because Test Optional schools still look at and consider the scores you give them).
And if this “decision” means you ultimately end up doing more work (prepping and taking a test that, A YEAR FROM NOW, you realize you didn’t need to take), well…frankly, so what? When did learning reading comprehension, proper grammar and editing skills, basic math, and data interpretation skills ever hurt anyone? NEVER, that’s when.
SO MY BEST ADVICE TO YOU AS YOU NAVIGATE STANDARDIZED TESTING, CLASS OF 2024, IS THIS: TAKE THE TEST.
You might end up being one of the few who ultimately won’t need to submit an SAT or ACT score in the end, but in all likelihood, your year is going to look pretty similar to pre-pandemic “normal.” So pick your test, pick your Testing Timeline, and funnel any fears and nervous energy into doing something that will actually get you into college—landing a fantastic SAT or ACT score!
And if you need help doing this in the most streamlined way possible—by which I mean raising your score the most possible points in the least possible time and with the smallest headache possible—consider working with me.
Or, if you’re more of a self-study type who doesn’t want to work with a private tutor, I have GREAT news for you: I just finished creating a whole suite of ebooks and online courses for each section of the SAT and ACT! Once you purchase a given course/ebook, it will be permanently available for you to binge (or read/watch) at your own pace—and at a fraction of the cost of working with me privately! Get the support you need for a single section of your test…or for all the sections of your test…here:
