Standardized Test Policy for 2010
Why is NYU changing its policy on standardized testing?
Our Holistic Admissions Process
We take a holistic approach in our admissions process. There are no set "formulas" that we follow when we review applications. We actively seek students who have a variety of interests, talents, and goals, and we recognize that each applicant offers a unique combination of achievement and potential. As a result, when we make our admissions decisions we carefully consider the entire application - academic and extracurricular records, essay and personal statements, letters of recommendation - as well as standardized test scores. While test scores are but one factor in our evaluation, we believe that considering a wider variety of test scores will enhance our ability to make sound admissions decisions.
Missing Otherwise Talented Applicants
We know that we are receiving fewer applications each year from students with lower SAT scores. We believe that the current level of our SAT scores - just under 1400 this year for students admitted to our four-year programs - may be discouraging applicants with lower scores from applying; this may include students who might have some remarkable talents that we would welcome, but whose SAT score is not necessarily indicative of their ability to be successful at NYU. We hope that by providing additional score reporting options, we will encourage students such as these to consider NYU and apply for admission.
Subject Mastery
The SAT Subject Tests, Advanced Placement Exams, and the ACT are linked more to secondary school subject areas than is the SAT. As a result, they provide more indication of real mastery of subject matter. They are also less prone to test preparation and cultural biases. As a result, we believe they may offer many students a more level playing field in our admissions process.
Predicting Success at NYU
Our own research - with our students at NYU, not another school's report on their students - has traditionally indicated that the high school transcript has always been the single most important predictor of how well students will perform in their freshman year. Adding the SAT into the mix improved predictability. After we began requiring SAT Subject Tests for most of our applicants several years ago, we discovered that SAT Subject Test Scores, along with the high school transcript, tend to be an even better predictor of success than the transcript and SAT Reasoning Test scores alone.
Providing Student Choice
As a result of much that has been said above, we have concluded that our admissions process, and the students who participate in it, will be better served by allowing those students to select for themselves how best to present their candidacy for admission - to allow our applicants to choose the tests that best highlight their strengths and represent their abilities.