NCAA Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

What happened?

Hidden in recent news out of the NCAA’s annual meetings in San Antonio was a really big announcement by the NCAA’s Standardized Test Score Task Force. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the NCAA has been temporarily suspending the test score requirement for initial eligibility review. There were still times when student-athletes needed a score (for a specific school), but the suspension allowed students who didn’t need a test score for admission to their final destination to avoid taking the test.

Division 1 Council Rule Changes: https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2023-01-11/ncaa-division-i-council-modernizes-rules-coaching-limits
Division 2 Council Rule Changes: https://www.ncaa.org/news/2023/1/14/media-center-dii-adopts-football-proposals-providing-more-season-of-competition-flexibility-spring-scrimmage-opportunities.aspx

These proposals have been adopted by both the D1 and D2 councils. Division 3 will continue to operate on a school-by-school admissions requirement basis.

What does this mean for student-athletes?

Still take the test! There are still schools where a test score will be required, and many more where a good test score will be extremely helpful for your admissions chances. But, the pressure to hit a certain number or you can’t play NCAA sports has lessened significantly. Currently, around 80% of colleges in America are test-optional or test-blind, which means that a significant majority of colleges will have the ability to tell their recruits not to submit a score.

Students who plan to apply to the most selective colleges in the country should still be prepared to take the tests. The incredibly high level of scrutiny and competition to get into the Ivy League or Liberal Arts Colleges like Amherst, Emory, and Claremont will keep the need for strong test scores high, at least for now.