My heart hurts thinking of my sixteen-year-old self who placed her entire worth into a two-digit ACT score. I recall the silence in my household that followed my first test score, which was below my parents’ expectations, and the world of opportunities I was told to believe would only open up when I tested higher.
On April 11, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced that students applying to Harvard College’s Class of 2029 must submit standardized test scores, hopping on the trend of a growing group of elite U.S. universities returning to standardized tests after a pause prompted by the pandemic. Some of these other universities include Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, and MIT.
In June 2020, as the pandemic severely limited access to standardized testing, Harvard began a temporary test-optional policy under which students could apply to the college without submitting scores. The admissions cycle for the Class of 2028 was the fourth in which students were able to apply test-optional.
For the Fall 2025 admission cycle, other eligible tests will be accepted, including Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams, for what Harvard called “exceptional cases” when applicants are unable to access SAT or ACT testing.
I admit that I did submit an ACT score in my application to Harvard. But, I also admit that I took the ACT three times, met twice a week with a standardized testing tutor, and had the time and ability to access hundreds of practice exams and resources. I recognize the privilege of access to these resources, and that this degree of accessibility is rare.
In theory, the virtue of standardized testing is its universality, and while there is generally widespread availability of such testing, the playing field is not even. Not all students attend well-resourced schools, and those who come from modest economic backgrounds or first-generation college families may have had fewer opportunities to prepare for standardized tests.
In her message, Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Hopi E. Hoekstra wrote that access to testing should never prevent a student from applying to Harvard and included information for those who may not be able to access the SAT or ACT, as well as other sources for no-cost tutoring and test preparation.
However, there is a specific problem with the timing of the announcement. Given the nature of releasing it so late into the year, this announcement creates an uneven playing field for students applying to college in the coming cycle. Many students assumed they did not need to take the SATs or ACTs, and they therefore are now likely unable to apply to Harvard in the fall.
There is, however, a bigger problem—prospective applicants are going to see this reversal as a sign to equivocate their standardized test scores with their ability to apply to top universities. Harvard, a globally renowned pinnacle of undergraduate education, can already feel untouchable in nature. Given the newly added pressure to submit a score, applicants will self-select in a more critical way as to whether or not they should enter the application pool. Many prospective applicants, who now may choose to not apply, are surely qualified in all other aspects to attend Harvard, including strong extracurriculars, community service, essays, and recommendations. Harvard’s Class of 2029 is undeniably going to miss out on these qualified individuals.
In 2023, economists at Opportunity Insights, based at Harvard, found that one-third of the children from the top 0.1 percent of parental incomes scored 1300 or higher on the SAT, while less than 5 percent of middle-class students did the same. As a result, students from low-income backgrounds and schools that typically do not send students to prestigious universities potentially might be more hesitant to apply to Harvard.
I have a fundamental problem with standardized testing, even as someone who opted in to submit my score. Standardized test scores do not work for everyone, and in a holistic process like college admissions, so many other things in someone’s life matter more than a two or four-digit number. Some of the most brilliant people that I know and love—in the Harvard space and in others—did not submit an ACT or SAT score in their college application. The latter group are incredible people who challenge my thoughts, impact my habits, and contribute to my personal growth, just as much as the former.
Harvard prides itself on its ability to garner the world’s next generation of thinkers and leaders who will contribute to shaping the future. At a university where we are taught to think critically, I cannot help but feel disappointed by this decision. Harvard roots itself in its commitment to a well-rounded admissions process that considers a variety of factors beyond standardized test scores. To cultivate the thoughtful, critical thinkers that Harvard seeks, a more transparent and well-timed admissions policy must be implemented.
Rania Jones ’27 (rjones@college.harvard.edu)’s life-long enemy is the ACT science section.