Just giving the stats since the question was mentioned.
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Thank you
The gap year kids were the high school class of 2020 and they took a gap year for the 2020-21 school year when many schools went online. Those kids are now freshmen for the 2021-22 school year as all schools are in person this year. In addition, students who want to defer for a year, apply to college with their cohorts and then ask a specific school for a gap year. There would be only a tiny number of kids that graduated in 2021 who didn’t apply to colleges who would be applying with the class of 2022.
Every kid in America has been stuck at home for two years. I doubt there are more than 8 who wanted to spend another year at home. Kids couldn’t wait to get to college for the 2021-22 school year.
Some doing the CC transfer route are non-traditional students who may not have had any SAT/ACT scores. Some may not have even graduated high school.
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Yes, or took the SAT so long ago that the results are meaningless
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Yes, 6 of the 9 UCs are in USNWR top 40. The other three are pretty much in the top 100 - UCR (83), UCM (93) and UCSC (103)
A few years ago, USNWR added a factor evaluating social mobility. The UCs rank very high in the USNWR social mobility evaluation which raises their overall ranking. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/social-mobility
The original subject was not whether MIT should use standardized tests.
The original subject was:
Is this the New Norm?
So I’m curious. As someone who has had a less than favorable result in terms of college decisions (it seems like that’s been the case for a lot of people), and with the number of applicants rising as much as it has, do we think that this is what college admissions is going to look like from now on? And if so, why?
Can we please get back on topic and move the discussion about MIT test scores and math proficiency to MIT reinstates ACT/SAT test requirement?
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have a D23; and while we will be merit hunting, i’m reading these threads.
there used to be a thread on CC about the average excellent student. So many of them. I had one! 
talented, smart, high stats like so many others.
I think with going test optional, this average excellent student pool has drastically increased as one of the previous requirements (high test scores) isn’t part of the equation . from what we’ve seen, there are many more high GPAs than there are high test scores, so this pool is just becoming larger.
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Whether a criterion is a test score or something else, people in the bottom 90% based on that criterion is, by definition, the majority (even a bigger majority for the bottom 95%, and so on). Removing the criterion enlarges the pool and it will always be popular with the majority. If something is determined more and more by popularity, the trend will surely continue.
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Agree that our CC pathways into the UC System is unparalleled. There are absolutely outstanding professors and courses at a number of the CCs, and transfers into UCs are well prepared. Merced and Riverside are doing an excellent job with the students who matriculate there. For Merced, it’s a little bit of a chicken and egg problem as to developing the area around it so that it attracts more students. Curriculum at UCs is broadly similar on some levels – a degree from any UC is nothing to turn one’s nose up at. Remember when UC Irvine was one of the “bad” UCs, just a couple of decades ago? Look at it now. That’s Riverside and Merced next, particularly if/when a new campus gets added.
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I second that notion. For kicks, I took a one-year course at a California CC recently. The professor there was simply amazing. My D has taken several DE courses at CCs and loved them. My teacher was one of the finest I’ve ever had.
And yes, the CC transfer option into the UC system is amazing. We know so many students that have done that, saved a TON of money, and were admitted into the UCs, including several who got into the “top” UCs.
Stuff is expensive as can be here, but the higher ed in California is simply fabulous. Several friends and relatives who had students apply to colleges have told me this, and we are so glad we’re living here for this alone (and the other great reasons like the weather!)
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My D20 utilized the TAG program. Especially great to TAG at UCD as they announced conditional admission in mid-Nov, taking a lot of the stress out of the application process (although we’re still on pins and needles re a few other UCs, even though UCD is the #1 choice).
Classes have been challenging yet support/individual attention always there in CC. Saved a TON of $$$ and it’s not about where you start but rather, where you finish.
I believe that it’s a great option for many, especially those that may just have missed out on their ‘dream school’ as a HS student.
Curious if other states have similar programs like this?
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State universities that are not that selective may publish automatic admission criteria. For example, Arizona State has specified automatic admission criteria for the campus and specific majors; transfer students who meet them will be admitted: https://admission.asu.edu/transfer/apply .
Some more selective state universities have similar guaranteed transfer programs with in-state community colleges. An example is University of Virginia: https://admission.virginia.edu/transfer/guaranteed-transfer-admission .
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