The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced Monday that it would again require students to submit their SAT and ACT scores nearly two years after schools shifted to a test-optional admissions policy due to the pandemic.
“Our research shows standardized tests help us better assess applicants and identify socioeconomically disadvantaged students who lack access to advanced coursework that would otherwise demonstrate their readiness for MIT,” Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill said in a statement.
Schmill said the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school looks at standardized test scores alongside grades, coursework, and other factors to evaluate prospective students.
The requirement applies to anyone applying to MIT for 2023.
A Bold Move?
MIT’s decision goes against nearly 2,000 undergraduate institutions in the country that are going test-optional for fall 2022, including the entire Ivy League and the University of California system.
The SAT and ACT tests have also been criticized as prejudiced against low-income and first-generation students. The Varsity Blues Scandal exposed how wealthy students with more resources perform better on standardized tests.
The choice to reinstate the requirement is “a very M.I.T. specific decision,” Mr. Schmill told The New York Times. “I’m not saying that this is the right decision for any or every other school. But for us, we think this is the right decision.”
