Fontbonne drops ACT, SAT admission requirements permanently

CLAYTON, Mo. — For decades, the ACT and SAT have been the gold standard for getting into college.

Now, one local university said it will no longer require those test scores for general admission.

“We are not reviewing standardized test scores meaning the ACT, SAT scores will not be considered in their admissions decisions,” Fontbonne University Vice-President for Enrollment Management Quinton Clay said.

Admission decisions for the Fall 2022 semester is based on a student’s grade point average.

“Students who have a 3.0 cumulative GPA will qualify for automatic general admission to the University and again there’s no option for them to send a test score. Students below a 3.0 can still apply and many of those students will be admitted, however, those students will go through a holistic review process because they fall below that 3.0 minimum,” Clay said.

Many universities made standardized testing requirements optional through the pandemic.

Fontbonne University saw the impact and changed its admission process permanently.

“The data was not there to really justify keeping that standardized test score as a part of the policy so we just eliminated it altogether,” Clay said.

Clay said resources to prepare for the ACT and SAT varies among each school and each student’s life circumstance. 

He believes this gives opportunities for all students looking to further their education.

“Let’s think about the students where the gap has grown as it relates to access and capital, and we want to make sure that in the admissions process that we’re not just rewarding a student based off of their privilege, and taking nothing away from students who have additional opportunities, but we want to think about those students who don’t have a chance to shine in the same way with the same tools,” Clay said.

On average, Fontbonne admits about 550 freshmen students. This past year, they enrolled 113. 

Clay said it’s hard to tell if the new admission requirements will boost those numbers, but he hopes it will.