The University will be replacing its current admissions requirements with a more “holistic” approach aimed at shifting the focus from standardized tests to the aspirations and extracurricular accomplishments of applicants.
Instead of emphasizing scores, admissions will be more based on recommendations, personal essays and accomplishments. The University’s decision to discontinue the minimum standardized test requirements comes after a national wave of adaptation to more inclusive admissions processes with the intent of attracting more diverse and impactful application pools.
“It is used by 80 percent of flagship universities, as well as all but two of the nation’s top 50 public universities, including many of our aspirational peers like University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UT-Austin, UCLA, and the Universities of Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Berkeley,” LSU President F. King Alexander said in a letter to The Advocate.
According to the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, more than 1,000 schools in the nation have eliminated standardized testing standards and admissions requirements as of January.Some have criticized the decision, insisting the University is lowering its standards. Alexander refutes this claim, noting the University continues to welcome classes of students with record average ACT scores and GPAs, a continuation of the high performance of the class of 2021.In reality, the new holistic approach to admissions will not only result in more accepted applications, but also encourage those students with high achievements and low standardized test scores to consider LSU as an option.
Tests like the ACT and SAT have long been the deciding factor for many students’ college decision. Dreams can be shattered and years of hard work can be either rewarded or in vain based on the outcome of a four-hour testing process.
Every applicant is different. Making the admissions approach broader allows a greater number of talented and impactful applicants a chance at wearing and representing purple and gold.
“There is a trend of removing the standardized test scores. They’re not as good at predicting college success,” LSU Vice President Jason Droddy said to The Advocate.
“Test scores don’t properly portray low-income and minority students, those coming from poor schools, or those who have learning disabilities or family problems, or who just don’t test well but otherwise have demonstrated academic perseverance deserving of a closer look,” said The Advocate Capitol News Bureau editor Mark Ballard in an article. Not everyone can afford an ACT tutor. Not every high school offers ACT tutoring. To put so much emphasis on one aspect of an application that access, or lack thereof, can dramatically affect is not fair to all applicants.
Frankly speaking, a student who an acceptable GPA, has adequate writing skills with good recommendations and a yearning for higher education and bettering themselves has just as much right to be here as anyone else.
Justin Franklin is a 19-year-old political communication sophomore from Memphis, Tennessee.