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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

TCU has no plans to drop SAT and ACT requirement

Students still have to send in their SAT or ACT scores when applying to TCU. Photo courtesy: pixabay.

Despite the growing movement to drop standardized test scores from the admissions process, TCU said future Horned Frogs will still have to sit for the SAT or ACT.

Over 1,000 universities nationwide have begun to de-emphasize standardized tests, according to The National Center for Fair and Open Testing. The list includes Bryn Mawr College, George Washington University, Hofstra and The University of Chicago.

Chancellor Victor Boschini said that TCU is competing with other universities that still accept the scores, such as Princeton and Dartmouth, so prospective students see TCU as academically challenging.

“People feel like they are getting the product they are paying for and so they think a lot of things that aren’t true,” said Boschini. “I feel like they’ll feel like we are not academically excelling if we don’t consider those scores.”

The most recent incoming class had an average score of 1247 on the SAT and a score of 28 on the ACT, roughly the same scores as the previous four classes. The average of all past five classes is 1249 on the SAT and a 27.54 on the ACT.

Boschini said that he would get rid of the standardized test if he could because he said it’s much more important to look at the student holistically rather than as a score on a standardized test.

The admission staff has not formally looked at eliminating the exams, but they continuously evaluate ways to improve the application process, according to Heath Einstein, dean of admission.

“Designed to level the playing field between applicants who attend different high schools with varying curricula, the ACT and SAT provide some predictive value in how students might adjust academically to the rigors of a college education,” said Einstein.

Einstein said that the predictive value does have limitations and that is why the scores are not the most critical factor in a student’s admission.

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