Resources

The pandemic saw the rapid and widespread adoption of test-optional admissions policies that allowed applicants to choose whether to submit SAT or ACT scores to selective four-year colleges.

Admissions General, Test-Optional Admissions

Admissions General, Letters of Recommendation

Inequity and College Applications: Assessing Differences and Disparities in Letters of Recommendation from School Counselors with Natural Language Processing

Admissions General, Letters of Recommendation

Analysis of letters of recommendation from school counselors from 600,000 college applications submitted through the Common Application platform.

Admissions General, Letters of Recommendation

Admissions General, Extracurricular Activities

Inequality Beyond Standardized Tests: Trends in Extracurricular Activity Reporting in College Applications Across Race and Class

Admissions General, Extracurricular Activities

Analysis of inequality in extracurricular activity descriptions in nearly 6 million college applications.

Admissions General, Extracurricular Activities

Admissions General, Test-Free Admissions

Test-Free Admissions at Selective Colleges: Insights from Admissions Professionals

Admissions General, Test-Free Admissions

While 1,700+ colleges and universities are test-optional, about 86 institutions completely eliminated the use of tests in admissions.

Admissions General, Test-Free Admissions

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Research Papers

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Research Papers

Test-Optional Admissions, Admissions General

Student, Faculty, and Staff Perspectives on Test-Optional Admissions in Two State Systems

Test-Optional Admissions, Admissions General

Through this research, we sought to better understand the impact of test-optional policies on the stakeholders most affected by them: Students.

Test-Optional Admissions, Admissions General

Test-Optional Policies in the Era of COVID-19: Responses from the College Admissions Community

Test-Optional Admissions, Admissions General

The COVID-19 pandemic propelled many institutions to adopt test-optional policies. At the same time, little is known about the decision-making processes that led to these changes, or how practitioners implemented them.

Test-Optional Admissions, Admissions General

Admissions General, Extracurricular Activities

Inequality Beyond Standardized Tests: Trends in Extracurricular Activity Reporting in College Applications Across Race and Class

Admissions General, Extracurricular Activities

Analysis of inequality in extracurricular activity descriptions in nearly 6 million college applications.

Admissions General, Extracurricular Activities

Non-Standardized Application Components, Admissions General, Letters of Recommendation

Inequity and College Applications: Assessing Differences and Disparities in Letters of Recommendation from School Counselors with Natural Language Processing

Non-Standardized Application Components, Admissions General, Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are affected by inequality.

Non-Standardized Application Components, Admissions General, Letters of Recommendation

Test-Optional Admissions, Admissions General

Test-Optional Admissions, Selectivity, and Enrollment Outcomes during the Pandemic

Test-Optional Admissions, Admissions General

To what extent do “test-optional” policies relate to selectivity and enrollment outcomes among low-income and racially minoritized students?

Test-Optional Admissions, Admissions General

Admissions General, Test-Free Admissions

Test-Free Admissions at Selective Institutions: Perspectives From Admissions Professionals

Admissions General, Test-Free Admissions

We analyzed perspectives on test-free admissions from 17 admissions professionals working at test-free institutions. Overall participants expressed positive viewpoints on test-free admissions.

Admissions General, Test-Free Admissions