SAT and ACT for University of California

Applications to the University of California schools are due today, the traditional end of November deadline for the nation’s largest public university system. On the eve of this deadline, we figured we’d pose one question: Why do the University of California schools, which are now test-blind as a matter of law, even ask applicants to insert their SAT or ACT scores if they so wish. Why can this section not be entirely eliminated?

You see, while many colleges claim to be test-optional (which is a whole lot of malarkey since, as we’ve long expressed, all else being equal, test-optional schools will always favor students who submit great test scores over students who submit no test scores), the UC schools truly are test-blind. SAT and ACT scores are not to be considered in the admissions process to UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, and the rest of the UC institutions. So why even ask? And don’t tell us scholarships — that’s just silly.

So on this day, the application deadline day for the University of California schools, we hereby issue a call for the Regents of the University of California to delete the SAT / ACT section from the University of California application. After all, what message does it send prospective applicants — who are supposed to be under the impression that the schools to which they’re applying don’t consider SAT or ACT scores in admissions — to ask for this information on their applications? Put simply, it sends the wrong message. Here’s hoping the question will be eliminated from the UC application for the Class of 2027!