UD will require new version of SAT

Louis Hirsh, director of admissions

4:42 p.m., Sept. 1, 2004--College-bound high school juniors across the nation this year will have the option of taking the current version of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or the new version, which will contain more algebra and reading passages as well as a section that tests writing skills.

At UD, students applying to enter in the fall of 2006 or later will need to take the new SAT to be considered for admission.

Louis Hirsh, director of admissions at UD, answers questions below about how the new SAT will affect future applicants to the University of Delaware.

Q: Next March, the new version of the SAT will replace the old one. Will the University accept scores from either form of the test?

A: No. Students entering fall 2006 or later will need to take the new SAT. We will not accept the old SAT. The reason is that the two tests are different, and it is misleading to compare students who have taken one test with students who have taken the other.

Q: Many high school counselors are encouraging students to take both versions of the test. Would the University’s admissions office encourage future applicants to send in scores from both tests?

A: No, we wouldn’t. Most students applying for fall 2006 are currently high school juniors. The new SAT will begin in March 2005. If they want to take an “old” SAT, therefore, they will need to take it before the spring of their junior year. That’s generally too early in students’ high school careers to be reflective of the kind of performance they can show us if they wait until they have had a chance to complete more coursework. (Besides, why give up another Saturday morning taking a test?).

Q: If a student opts to take the older version of the test, will the University ask for an additional writing test?

A: Since we will not accept the “old” SAT for 2006 applicants, this is not an option. The only other choice is to take the ACT Assessment. However, if students elect to take an ACT, then they must also sit for the ACT Writing Test and include those scores. Although the ACT makes it optional, we will require it of ACT takers if they want us to use their ACT scores.

Q: What will the new test results do to benefit the admissions into the University? Do you feel it will make it harder for students to receive high scores or will it give students a better chance to increase their scores?

A: The class that enters in fall 2006 will be the first class to have taken the new SAT. At the end of their freshman year, we’ll look at how well the new test correlates with their freshman year performance in their UD classes—especially their work in English and mathematics. Until then, we can only make conjectures about the new test.

Based on what I have read about it, however, I do think that the new test is likely to serve us better—especially in giving us a better feel for a student’s writing ability. The test has another advantage for us; the writing portion of the new SAT will be indisputably the student’s own work. That’s important. Like other selective universities, we do require an admission essay, but from time to time we have had concerns about whether the essay represents the student’s own work.

I don’t know whether students will find the new SAT harder or easier, but I am inclined to believe that it will be a better measure of their verbal and mathematical aptitude. If so, then it will be a better and fairer test.

Q: What advice would the University give future applicants regarding the SAT? Should they take an SAT prep-course?

A: The new SAT notwithstanding, your high school transcript will still weigh far more heavily in our decision! Here are our priorities:

We’ll look first at the rigor of your high school and at the rigor of the curriculum that you have pursued. How many college preparatory courses have you taken? Have you challenged yourself with courses that are designated as accelerated, advanced, honors, advanced placement or international baccalaureate? We have a bias in favor of rigor.
We’ll look next at your grades, with a lot of attention to the trend in grades. We will be especially interested in seeing a tough senior year course selection and topnotch grades in those senior classes.
The SATs will be third on the list. Not first. Not second. Third!
We’ll also look closely at your admissions essay, your letters of recommendation, and at the awards and honors you’ve earned, your our-of-classroom accomplishments and community service activities.

Given where the SAT falls in our scheme of things (no better than third on our list of priorities), I’m not a big fan of SAT prep courses, mainly because I fear that students who spend time (and money) on them are focusing on what for us is really a lower priority. Your time would be much better spent taking tough classes and concentrating on earning excellent grades in them.

Article by Meredith McCarty, AS 2005
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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