Dear FAS community,
Colleges and universities across the country paused the requirement of standardized test scores at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when students no longer had reliable access to testing sites. As testing again became available, Harvard continued to use standardized test scores as an optional part of the admissions application, with the guidance that this practice was expected to continue through the admissions cycle for the Class of 2030.
I write to announce that, starting with next year’s admissions cycle, Harvard College will require the submission of standardized test scores. The College will accept the SAT or ACT to meet the standardized test requirement. In exceptional cases in which those tests are not accessible, a set of alternative standardized tests can meet the requirement. More information is available on the website of the Harvard College Admissions and Financial Aid Office.
This decision to return to requiring testing was motivated by a number of factors. Standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond. Indeed, when students have the option of not submitting their test scores, they may choose to withhold information that, when interpreted by the admissions committee in the context of the local norms of their school, could have potentially helped their application. In short, more information, especially such strongly predictive information, is valuable for identifying talent from across the socioeconomic range.
It is important to remember that – through Harvard’s whole-person admissions process – test scores are considered carefully with the expertise of the admissions committee alongside a plethora of information about an applicant’s experiences, skills, talents, and contributions to their communities, as well as their academic qualifications in relation to the norms of the applicant’s high school.
Reinstating this requirement brings important information back into the admissions process. That said, we recognize that this requirement also brings certain challenges. Access to testing should never prevent a student from applying to Harvard. In addition to providing alternative test options for those who cannot access the SAT or ACT, Harvard College Admissions provides information on sources for no-cost tutoring and no-cost test preparation. And through Harvard’s need-based financial aid program, the ability to pay should also never prevent an applicant from saying “yes” to Harvard.
Through the admissions process, we seek to recruit students from all parts of our nation and across the world, from many walks of life, to bring with them to Harvard a universe of new questions, perspectives, and hopes for the future. Fundamentally, we know that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. With this change, we hope to strengthen our ability to identify these promising students and to give Harvard the opportunity to support their development as thinkers and leaders who will contribute to shaping our world.
Sincerely,
Hopi Hoekstra
For more information, please see this Harvard Gazette article.
Hopi Hoekstra
Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
C. Y. Chan Professor of Arts and Sciences
Xiaomeng Tong and Yu Chen Professor of Life Sciences