AUSTIN, Texas � After four years of test-optional admissions for
undergraduate applications, The University of Texas at Austin will return
to requiring standardized testing scores, beginning with applications for
the Fall 2025 semester. The University suspended the standardized score
requirement in Spring 2020 due to limited testing availability during the
COVID-19 pandemic.

�Our goals are to attract the best and brightest students and to make sure
every student is successful once they are here. Standardized scores
combined with high school GPA support this goal by improving early
identification of students who demonstrated the greatest academic
achievement, the most potential, and those who can most benefit from
support through our student success programs,� said President Jay
Hartzell. �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.
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.�

Last year, the University experienced an all-time high number of
applicants � approximately 73,000. It is estimated that about 90% or more
of these applicants took a standardized exam, according to a range of data
provided by the College Board, which administers the SAT. Analysis of the
University�s own data further revealed that on average, students who
submitted standardized scores performed significantly better on those
exams and in their first semester of college, relative to those who did
not take the test or chose not to have their scores considered as part of
a holistic review. Among the findings:

42% of the nearly 73,000 freshman applications for Fall 2024 asked to have
their standardized scores considered in a holistic review (to �opt in�),
while 49% of students applying under the state�s auto-admit rule (in the
top 6% of their high school class) made that request.

Those who opted in had a median SAT score of 1420, compared with a median
of 1160 among those who did not.

The higher standardized scores translated on average to better collegiate
academic performance. Of 9,217 first-year students enrolled in 2023, those
who opted in had an estimated average GPA of 0.86 grade points higher
during their first fall semester, controlling for a wide range of factors,
including high school class rank and GPA. Those same students were
estimated to be 55% less likely to have a first semester college GPA of
less than 2.0, all else equal.

The University has also demonstrated that knowledge of standardized test
scores contributes to higher graduation rates. The ability to predict
student success using standardized test scores and other factors spurred a
major student success initiative in 2012, strategically directing
assistance and resources to students with the greatest academic needs. In
part due to these efforts, during the following decade, UT�s four-year
graduation rate climbed to a record 74.5% in Fall 2023, up from 52% in
2013. The student success program was recognized in its early stages in
New York Times Magazine.

The University will continue to conduct a holistic review and will
consider standardized test scores and other performance metrics in light
of each applicant�s background, including the strength and rigor of their
high school. Standardized test scores will not change the admissions
decision for automatic admits, of course, but will be used to match
applicants to their choice of majors and to indicate who might benefit
most from the University�s student success programs.

In addition to reinstating standardized scores, the University is making
further modifications to the application process to strengthen holistic
review and craft a stronger, more successful class. These modifications
will also improve the application experience for prospective students.

Introduction of a new Early Action program. This optional deadline will
require application submission by Oct. 15, with a guaranteed decision
communicated to applicants by Jan. 15. The regular deadline for
applications will remain Dec. 1, with a guaranteed decision communicated
by Feb. 15.

Modification of the required essay. This will provide greater flexibility
in topic choice and enable students to leverage responses used on other
applications, while expanding opportunity for a more personalized
response.

Reduction in the number of short answer responses. This reduction from
three responses to two will maintain the currently used major-related
question, while creating a new prompt that allows students to highlight a
specific activity of their choice.

Introduction of a waitlist. Applies to students who are not automatically
admitted. Most students will be notified as early as March 1 if they are
admitted from the waitlist.

Narrowed scope for letters of recommendation. Applicants submitting
letters of recommendation will be strongly encouraged to provide those
letters from sources outside of their high school. This reduces the burden
of this work on high school teachers and counselors and allows University
staff to better leverage other materials.

The University will begin requiring standardized test scores and implement
other related changes during the Aug. 1�Dec. 1, 2024, application period.

https://news.utexas.edu/2024/03/11/ut-austin-reinstates-standardized-test-
scores-in-admissions/