By: Jesse Boxenhorn

The continuous spread of Covid-19 is leaving current high school juniors wondering what is going to happen with their college admissions process. Due to this pandemic, ACTs and SATs have been cancelled leaving students with fewer chances to obtain the scores they need to get into their dream schools. This leaves many colleges with a decision to make: should go test optional for the 2020-2021 admissions class to give prospective students a fair shot at acceptance? 

Several colleges, including Tulane University, Boston University, Northeastern University, and several of the California schools, have already responded by going test optional. It is very possible that other schools will soon follow suit. This pandemic brought up the concerns that many people already had about how SATs and ACTs are not legitimate measures of academic success. It has been a recent discussion that ACTs and SATs do not give students a chance to really show who they are as a student, and many believe that the pandemic could possibly launch schools in a test optional direction for good. The only issue is that many of the scholarships and aid packages given are based on test scores. Thus, students and their families who hope to obtain financial assistance are left wondering what will happen if these scores are no longer. 

Now, let’s say most schools go test optional. How will students weigh the pros and cons of sending in a score they may have already obtained. Will the score help them if they send it or hurt them? That may very well be a test run for current juniors and in their hands to decide. The next scheduled SAT is June 6th, and the next ACT is June 13th. Hopefully, these tests will be administered as planned, so that students have more opportunities for success. In all honesty, there are no definite answers, and anything is possible as a result of the current situation. But, juniors, don’t worry! Colleges are going to help you out, and we will get through this together! 

Photo courtesy of ncsasports.org.