Yale Drops SAT/ACT Essay Requirement
Yale has joined a growing list of major universities that are dropping the timed-essay portion of its college admission test. Yale applicants will no longer be required to submit an essay score from the ACT or SAT.
The new policy will be in effect for students looking to enter the school’s Class of 2023.
photo/ Pixels
The move comes shortly after Dartmouth College and Harvard University dropped the essay requirement.
In the last few years, cities, states and counties have been funding ACT and SAT testing during school days in public schools to make the exams free for students. Some testing programs include the optional essay sections, while others do not. Students are then faced with the question of whether to retake the test just to complete the essay portion.
Yale acknowledged this problem when announcing its move to remove the essay requirement.
“We hope this will enable more students who participate in school-day administrations of the SAT or ACT to apply to Yale without needing to register for an additional test,” Yale said in a message to counselors.
The essays differ from the application essays many colleges and universities require, which some students use college paper writing services to complete. The timed essays are a part of the SAT and ACT test. Most Ivy League schools have dropped the essay requirement, but some major universities still require them, such as Duke, Brown, Stanford, Princeton and the University of California.
Princeton’s dean of admission told the Washington Post that the school is considering all sides of the issue.
For the high school class of 2017, 1.7 million students took the SAT. About 70% of those students took it with the essay.
The essay version of the SAT test debuted in 2005 and adds an additional 40 minutes to the 3-hour exam. In 2016, the SAT was once again overhauled, and the required essay section became optional and separate from the main exam.
Prior to 2005, students were able to submit essay scores from the College Board through the SAT Subjects tests. That program was separate from the main SAT.
For many students, the essay option increases the cost of taking the exam. The fee to take the main test is $46. That fee jumps to $60 if the student takes the main test with the essay. Fees for the ACT test are similar. Fee waivers are available for both tests to students who are in financial need.
Author: Jacob Maslow
