UC schools to drop SAT score requirements for fall 2021
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Despite having already taken the SAT, many UC-bound juniors will no longer require the minimum scores previously detrimental to the admissions process.
It’s no secret that educators are dedicated to the full development of distance learning as the prognosis for coronavirus seemingly stretches further and further ad infinitum. However, as the number of days spent locked indoors steadily rises, so do the precautions necessary to carry out an effective education.
One of the biggest changes to come from distance learning, however, is neither towards how materials are taught nor the budget, but rather the selection process itself.
On Wednesday, April 1, the University of California system announced that all standardized scores and grades will not be considered for the Fall 2021 semester. Despite having been announced on April Fool’s Day, this is no joke.
“I think it’s a good decision,” says current junior Erin Basca. “Online schooling has been a rough transition for many classes … so it’s good that universities are keeping that in mind.”
Basca, like many other students who will be applying to these schools throughout the year for the 2021 school year, has already taken the SAT. However, she isn’t regretful for having taken the test despite its irrelevance.
“I know many people have been much more impacted by this than I have and it’s not fair to wish that my work still counted at their expense.,” Basca said.
While this is great news for current juniors, it places incoming freshmen for the Fall 2020 school year in somewhat of an awkward position. While next year’s batch of students will no longer be assessed with scores in mind, those same numbers are responsible for the rejection of many who applied to their dream schools.
“I understand why they can’t really use SAT scores in the admission process,” says senior Sienne Le, “but just think it kind of sucks for all the people in my class this year who didn’t get in because of their SAT score.”
Le, similarly to many students graduating in May, is frustrated with the backhanded nature of dropping all requirements mere weeks after the completion of the admission process for many UC schools.
However, despite minor frustration with the process, she and many more understand the importance of the changes. Many are unable to leave their homes due to lack of now-detrimental protection like masks and gloves, and the idea of testing a large group of students together all in one room is a social distancing nightmare.
“They can’t discriminate and prevent huge swaths of applicants just because testing opportunities were canceled for a global pandemic,” says Rathip Rajakumar, current senior. “It would be unfair to the hundreds of thousands of kids who thought they’d have another chance.”
While the news comes as a shock to many, it is just one piece of a flood of new rules and regulations that will soon come as a result of social distancing orders. The harder the world works to embrace them, the sooner it can return back to normal.
