Test-Optional under Covid 19...really???

College applicants and their families are experiencing tremendous stress under Covid 19. Virtual learning, canceled sports, missed senior year milestones, and isolation have all added to their worry. While the world grapples with the loss of lives, jobs, and normalcy, students have to also struggle with making big life decisions. How do they select their top colleges when campus tours are canceled? How do they meet eligibility requirements when their testing site continuously sends out cancellation notices? In response to this crisis, the majority of colleges made the decision to go test-blind or test-optional. The UC system went test-blind which means they will not consider test scores even if students send them. Thank you to the UC system for making this decision! Other colleges have elected to go test-optional which means students will not be hurt in the admission process if they do not send scores. You would think that all colleges will make the same compassionate decision under these unprecedented times right? Unfortunately, no.

Florida and Wyoming are now the only two states that have not changed their testing policy. The admission directors at the Florida public universities are appealing to the Board of Governors at 850-245-0466 to suspend the testing requirement. Contact Governor Ron DeSantis at 850-717-9337 and put pressure on him to take action. Not only have most colleges suspended the testing requirement for admission, they have also suspended it for merit-based scholarships. Howard, Spelman, Morehouse, and Xavier have elected to go test-optional for BOTH admission and merit-based scholarship eligibility. Unfortunately, Hampton College has gone test-optional for admission ONLY. Students who do not submit scores will be ineligible for merit-based scholarships. This is tragic. Merit-based scholarships may not be offered to students with the most earned merit but to the those who were fortunate to live in an area where they could test and/or had the resources to travel to states that offered testing. If you would like to inquire about this decision further, contact the Hampton College Admission Director, Ms. Angela Boyd at angela.boyd@hamptonu.edu.

To put this all in perspective, there are thousands of other colleges that possess the empathy and foresight to go test-blind or test-optional. There are many choices out there. Do your research, advocate for yourself, and select colleges that meet all YOUR requirements!