Dartmouth College, an Ivy League member and one of the world’s top academic institutions is bringing a big change in it’s admission process. Dartmouth will reactivate the standardized testing requirement for undergraduate admission beginning with applicants to the Class of 2029.
A new research study commissioned by Dartmouth came to the conclusion that a standardized testing requirement will improve and not detract from their ability to bring the most promising and diverse students to the campus.
The faculty researchers write: “Our overall conclusion is that SAT and ACT scores are a key method by which Dartmouth can identify students who will succeed at Dartmouth, including high performing students…who may attend a high school for which Dartmouth has less information to (fully) judge the transcript.” Simply said, it is another opportunity to identify students who are the top performers in their environments, wherever they might be.
The SAT and ACT are standardized tests widely used for college admissions in the United States.
Earlier, Dartmouth suspended its standardized testing requirement for undergraduate applicants in June 2020 and reactivating the standardized testing requirement for undergraduate admission by removing the extended pause.
Beginning with the Class of 2029, Dartmouth will once again require applicants from high schools within the United States to submit results of either the SAT or ACT, with no Dartmouth preference for either test. As always, the results of multiple administrations will be super-scored, which means we will consider the highest result on individual sections of either exam regardless of the test date or testing format. For applicants from schools outside the U.S., results of either the SAT, ACT or three Advanced Placement (AP) examinations OR predicted or final exam results from the International Baccalaureate (IB), British A-Levels, or an equivalent standardized national exam are required.
Dartmouth’s English language proficiency policy remains unchanged: For students for whom English is not the first language or if English is not the primary language of instruction for at least two years, students are required to submit an English proficiency score from TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English Test or the Cambridge English Exam.