It’s almost mid-November. Halloween has come and gone, and now thoughts have shifted to Thanksgiving recipes, holiday gifts, and, of course, Early Decision! I mentioned in my last post that the office is just beginning our reading season for the 2014-2015 cycle. After going through application review training, I am very excited to sink my teeth into applicants’ files!
A part of some of these files includes SAT or ACT scores. The question around whether or not to send standardized test scores often arises in admissions. At the College of the Holy Cross, test scores are not required for students, with the exception of the TOEFL and IELTS for non-native English speakers or students who have spent less that four years taking classes in English (for more on the TOEFL and IELTS, please go here).
So if you do not have to send your scores, should you? Why would you? In a blog post from November 2008, our Director of Admissions, Ann McDermott, wrote that “if you feel your testing says something about you and your abilities, feel free to send them along. We will look at them in conjunction with your transcript, your recommendations, essay, and interview (if you have had one) and make our assessment. If, on the other hand, you feel that your test scores do not represent you well, then do not hesitate to withhold them. We will not make any assumptions about your testing, and will focus our attention on your transcript and the other accompanying credentials that are contained in your application.”
In other words, we at the College of the Holy Cross are test optional because we have found that a student’s academic history in high school is a better indicator of their scholastic ability than an exam taken on a singular Saturday morning (or taken on a few Saturday mornings). Please go here for more about our policy regarding testing.
P.S. For more admission information, as well as updates from current students, please check out our Twitter and Facebook pages!
(photos by Xiaofeng Wan)
