UT-Austin’s McCombs School of Business is home to the best undergraduate accounting program of 2020. Courtesy photo

UT-Austin Reinstates Standardized Testing Policy

If you’re applying to the University of Texas at Austin next year, you’ll want to include standardized test scores with your application.

UT-Austin announced that it will once again require standardized test score for applicants starting from fall 2025. The university previously suspended the testing requirement in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. University officials say standardized tests help identify student potential and determine suitable majors.

“Our experience during the test-optional period reinforced that standardized testing is a valuable tool for deciding who is admitted and making sure those students are placed in majors that are the best fit,” UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell says in a statement. “Also, with an abundance of high school GPAs surrounding 4.0, especially among our auto-admits, an SAT or ACT score is a proven differentiator that is in each student’s and the University’s best interest.”

GROWING NUMBER OF SCHOOLS REINSTATING TESTING REQUIREMENT

UT-Austin joins a number of schools that have recently reinstated the standardized testing requirement, including Brown, Yale, Dartmouth, and Georgetown.

“Strong testing, interpreted in the context of a student’s background, may serve to demonstrate their ability to succeed at Brown,” the school’s announcement says, “and the lack of scores may mean that admissions officers hesitate to admit them.”

Despite a number of top schools reinstating their testing requirement, some 2,000 colleges and universities have gone the opposite direction saying that they will not require admissions examinations. Columbia, Harvard, and the University of Michigan have all announced test-optional policies.

Sources: UT News, The New York Times, Brown University