But if you are a white or Asian without a hook, you’d be smart to still send in your 1600 on the SAT or 36 on ACT. From the Washington Post:
Harvard won’t require SAT or ACT through 2026 as test-optional push grows
The fast-spreading movement aims to limit the role of the standardized exams in college admissions
By Nick Anderson
Today at 7:00 p.m. ESTHarvard University will extend for four years a policy begun soon after the coronavirus pandemic emerged that allows aspiring students to apply without SAT or ACT scores — a landmark development for a fast-spreading movement that aims to limit the role of the standardized exams in college admissions.
Coming from one of the biggest names in higher education, the extension announced Thursday evening likely presages similar actions elsewhere to lengthen or solidify test-optional admission policies that arose amid the public health crisis.
The Not So Great Reset in action: because the pandemic got in the way of taking the SAT or ACT, institutions had to improvise, but all they have in the way of ethics anymore is:
Harvard would love to accept more URMs, Jared Kushner–types who come with a big check, children of celebrities or celebrities themselves (like Rivers Cuomo, leader of rock band Weezer), and hypercompetitive minor sports jocks (e.g., squash), who will next make a fortune on Wall Street and finally, completing the Circle of Life, write a huge check someday to the Harvard development fund.
Harvard studies very carefully whose admissions will maximize Harvard’s endowment in the short and long run, and extremely smart boys from nondescript flyover country rank pretty low in terms of Net Present Value of the Harvard endowment.
But, having to count these golden children’s SAT scores in published statistics is a drag.
So now, in this best of all possible worlds, Harvard will be able to let in more people with lucrative hooks other than boring academic excellence and not count the golden children’s lousy SAT or ACT scores.
Seriously, why not instead fix the SAT and ACT so Asian Tiger Mothers can’t game it: make each a one-hour test of pure IQ that’s difficult to prep for, augmented by SAT Subject tests or by Advanced Placement Subject tests so that if you go hog wild prepping for the tests you’ve actually learned something about U.S. history or chemistry or the like.
