In light of the testing cancelations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, each of the eight Ivy League universities has announced test-optional policies for applicants to the Class of 2025. SAT or ACT scores along with SAT Subject Tests will not be required for rising seniors applying to college next year, though we’ve asserted numerous times on the pages of our college admissions blog that it still behooves applicants to submit great scores (if they can!). But within the announcements of these new test-optional policies, our readers may have noticed that athletic recruits would still be required to submit scores. Wondering why? Look no further than the Ivy League’s Academic Index.

Ivy League Recruited Athletes Must Still Submit SAT or ACT Scores

As Tyira Bunche reports for The Daily Pennsylvanian in a piece entitled “As Penn goes test optional, prospective athletes still must submit scores,” “Penn’s announcement came with an asterisk: student-athletes must still take a test in accordance with Ivy League recruitment requirements. The admissions process for Penn athletes is a delicate and complex intertwining of NCAA policies, Ivy League policies, Penn’s general admissions criteria, and more specifically, Penn Athletics’ requirements. As a Division I conference in the NCAA, the Ivy League must follow the Division I academic eligibility guidelines. According to those guidelines, prospective student-athletes must submit either their ACT or SAT scores. At the height of the pandemic in April, the NCAA did announce that they will be waiving the standardized test requirement for 2020 high school graduates. However, this statement from the NCAA made it clear that this change in criteria does not apply to students who graduate after summer 2020.”

We Predict These Requirements Will Be Waived for the Class of 2025

So should the NCAA waive testing requirements for next year’s batch of applicants? In light of all the SAT and ACT test cancelations in 2020, they sure should. But even if the NCAA does waive these requirements, that’s no guarantee the Ivy League will waive its own testing requirements, which are reflected in the Academic Index, an index created to ensure that athletes within the Ancient Eight meet certain academic standards. It thus seems reasonable in these uncertain times that both the NCAA and the Ivy League should waive all testing requirements for applicants to the Class of 2025. In fact, Ivy Coach’s famously accurate crystal ball hereby predicts that both the NCAA and the Ivy League will, in due course, do just that. Let’s wait and see!