Drew University has opted to adopt a test-optional admissions policy again, Inside Higher Ed reported.
The New Jersey institution was one of the first schools to drop the standardized test requirement for applicants back in 2006, but they restored the requirement again in 2013. This new announcement reverses the decision made two years ago.
"Drew has and continues to attract high-caliber students who have completed a rigorous high school curriculum," MaryAnn Baenninger, president of Drew University, said in a statement. "Those students are succeeding at Drew regardless of their SAT test scores, which do not always give an accurate assessment of their abilities. This decision to make the scores optional will give applicants the confidence to know that our university looks at the whole student in making our admissions decisions."
School officials said it expects students who choose not to submit SAT/ACT scores to present high school transcripts that reflect at least a B average and a rigorous college preparatory or honors curriculum, nj.com reported.
"The relationship between grades and standardized test scores is not perfect," explained Robert J. Massa, Drew's senior vice president for enrollment and institutional planning. "There are students with excellent high school grades taking top level courses but who have non-competitive standardized test scores. Drew welcomes those students and encourages them to apply."
Drew joins many other universities across the nation in making the test scores optional, including leading liberal arts institutions such as Bowdoin College, Bates College, Wesleyan University, Franklin and Marshall College, Smith College, Colby College, Bryn Mawr College, Temple University and Brandeis University.
Applicants also do not need to submit SAT/ACT test scores to be considered for the Dean's Scholarships and need-based grants at Drew; the test scores are required, however, for Drew's Baldwin Honors Scholarship and Presidential Scholarship programs.
This policy goes into effect immediately.
