<p>Rollins is the latest school to drop requirements to submit the SAT's or ACT's for the High School Class of 2008. Read this article: </p>
<p>It says that although standardized tests are not required, it says that in order to be considered for Rollins' major scholarships (Cornell, Dean's, Alonzo), you must submit them.</p>
<p>I've never even heard of...Rollins...</p>
<p>I don't envision this becoming a trend anytime soon either..</p>
<p>To give you a little background info on Rollins:</p>
<p>It is a small LAC-style college in Winter Park, FL founded in 1886 with an undergrad enrollment of 1,700. It has a renowned business school, giving it a classification of a "Master's University" in the USNews Rankings. In 2007, it was ranked #1 in the South for Masters Universities. It is probably in the top 3 schools in Florida in terms of academics. Rollins participates in Division II athletics.</p>
<p>Rollins probably was in financial difficulty and needed to dip lower into its applicant pool without hurting its reputation. By not reporting SAT scores or by only reporting the SAT scores for its best students (like scholarship students) a college can deceive the public into thinking it is a better college than it really is.</p>
<p>Trust me, there is no financial difficulty at Rollins, and it is getting tougher to get in every year. They have been ranked #1 as a Masters University in the US News Rankings for years now. I think that in the South, its reputation is solid, and they are doing this for a reason other than financial. Might it be to maintain their ranking, sure. But applications are up, and they have no problem filling their classes with well qualified students.<br>
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=334013&highlight=SAT+optional%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=334013&highlight=SAT+optional</a>
I think that their endowment and financial situation ALLOWS them to do this; I do not thing their financial situation is the cause.</p>
<p>I LOVE Sonny ROLLINS. Best ones by him: Saxophone Colossus, Newk's Time, Sonny Side Up (Dizzy w both Sonnies), Tenor Madness, etc.</p>
<p>That's good. I personally don't like SATs very much - they dehumanize students by basically turning them into numbers... without really taking into consideration that some people just aren't good at taking tests. There's so much more to a person that should be looked at, and it annoys me that so many schools prioritize the SAT scores over a person's character.</p>
<p>Lots of people have great character, not many people have great SAT scores...</p>
<p>The goal of the SATs are too seperate candidates so that top schools have one more measure to distinguish Candidate A from Candidate B for admission...it does its job perfectly. </p>
<p>People who aren't good test takers can get extra time if they have a legitimate medical condition, I think.</p>
<p>I would prefer if there was another way to distinguish one person from another. Sarah Lawrence, for example - they make sure that the applicants are unique individuals who are looking for independence in learning before accepting them. Surely other colleges and universities can afford to figure out a similiar system: find the specific types of applicants they're looking for, see how well the applicant fits that mold... It's much better anyway, I think, than seeing them as a number.</p>
<p>When I say "aren't good test takers," I'm not talking about medical conditions like ADD or an LD. I'm talking about people who work hard at school, are interested and passionate in learning, and get great grades... but simply can't figure out how to take the SAT. To me, I don't think the SAT can really sum up a person's academic ability. It's taken way too seriously, I think.</p>
<p>I agree, I think GPA is more important - but with so many 4.0 students applying, there needs to be another factor. I guess things like essays, extracurriculars, and recommendations are also telling - however, all of these things are unverifiable, unlike SATs. Its a Catch 22. </p>
<p>Luckily, after senior year of high school, you don't have to worry about standardized tests...I wish. Blah. The worst part is, MCATs, LSATs, and other standardized tests for college students are relied on even MORE heavily than the SATs are for undergrad admission. Don't even get me started about studying for the Series 7, which is brutal for bad test takers.</p>
<p>Rollins is a better school than people who have never heard it will likely give it credit for. It's meaningful to me when a school like Rollins drops a standardized test requirement. It's not a widespread "trend" perhaps, but it's meaningful.</p>
<p>Rollins is an excellent liberal arts college which is not in financial trouble nor is it having trouble attracting good students. I'm sure that Rollins dropped the test requirement because it puts lots of emphasis on students' characters.</p>
<p>My S is, a student with SATs in the 99th percentile who was accepted to Rollins, his first choice, and got some merit aid. He plans to go depending on the results of his financial aid appeal.</p>
<p>Series 7? That's not even comparable to LSAT or GMAT etc.. lol. The Series 7 was something my boss passed after doing about a week of studying.</p>
<p>I don't really see this as a trend either. SAT/ACT whatever, the fact of the matter is schools need some sort of standardized test to distinguish students from others since obviously grades are not the same at every HS across the country. There's a reason nobody debates the GRE/LSAT/MCAT/etc. There may be problems with the format of the SAT/ACT, but eliminating standardized testing completely is not the answer. Some schools may be willing and ok to drop the requirement, and I think that is fine and their decision, but they do serve a purpose IMO.</p>
<p>Will never happen at top schools in my opinion.</p>
<p>Bowdoin and Mount Holyoke are test optional top colleges.</p>
<p>Bowdoin maybe, but Holyoke is a top college today? Can I assume you're over 40?</p>
<p>Holyoke's great. Its single-sex status keeps it from being ranked higher.</p>
<p>Rollins is not well known outside of the South (except for maybe its beautiful campus lake and waterski jump!), but it is a very good little school with a good and influential base of alumni. </p>
<p>I wonder why they are taking this step and speculate also if financials and/or rankings played much of a role although it is unlikely we will ever know.</p>