Just wondering any opinions on whether Hamilton will move to test optional permanently or further suspend for class of 22 graduates.
i feel like it will very much depend on how well it benefits the college as a whole. oftentimes, a college implementing a test-optional policy helps increase diversity enrollment (such as from first-gen, minority, and/or low-income students), so if hamilton sees that they achieved that this cycle, it may help them feel more inclined to implement the policy permanently.
i could be wrong, but didn’t they already follow a test-flexible policy similar to that of nyu and uofrochester? this cycle could be the final push to officially change the policy. plus, it helps that quite a few of the other NESCAC schools already had test-optional policies before the pandemic (bowdoin, conncoll, bates, colby, trinity, wesleyan, etc.). only time will tell, i suppose.
Thanks Kalons. Makes sense and you’re right about them already being test flexible pre-covid. Test optional a completely different ball game, however.
Under its test-flexible policy Hamilton’s goal seemed to be to help students better match themselves to Hamilton’s academic environment. At the same time Hamilton recognized the biases inherent in standardized testing when the options were restricted to just two exams, as well as in any standardized testing that would be evaluated without substantial context. Hamilton may also consider its exemplary four-year graduation rate, which it achieved under a test-flexible policy, and which places it among the top 14 colleges in the nation by this standard. For these reasons it appears Hamilton can accomplish more with a test-flexible policy than with a test-optional policy, and continuing with its former policy after national events have stabilized would seem to align with its mission as, primarily, an academic institution.
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/highest-grad-rate
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In today’s Junior Preview event they confirmed they will be test optional next year
Colby went from test flexible to TO so Hamilton could do the same… Without knowing anyone inside Hamilton, I would guess that they will have some sense of how well the admissions office did in assembling a class without requiring tests and take it from there. And remember that even if they are TO, many students who would like Hamilton will still submit scores.