College admission standards have fluctuated pretty considerably over the last five years, most notably during the pandemic. Many universities stepped away from standardized exams.
The basic logic was that an entire wave of new students were unable to take them in a safe or controlled environment, and so a great experiment emerged.
Schools, even with as high a pedigree as Harvard, decided to no longer require standardized tests as a feature of their admission requirements.
The result? Unfortunately, less than optimal. The experiment lasted for several years before many universities across the country walked back their initial commitment.
The basic logic? According to these universities, at least, a lack of standardized testing was diluting the quality of the candidate pool.
Standardized tests are back in. What does this mean for college applications, and what other requirements should students in 2025 be thinking about? Let’s get into it.
Standardized Exams: Are They Really Back?
First, the question concerning standardized exams: Are standardized tests really back? And, we might add, with a vengeance? The answer to that question will really depend on a couple of things.
First, where are you applying? If your child is hoping to get into an Ivy League school, then yes, they will need to complete a standardized evaluation to determine their admission eligibility. It’s not only the top ten or so colleges in the country that are enforcing this requirement again.
Many schools that get more applicants than they can accept are once again relying on standardized exams as a sort of screening criteria. It’s also a requirement in law school, medical school, and a way of getting licensed in a wide range of different careers.
That said, there are still lots of schools, for example, state institutions, that do not require it. If you’re trying to go to Eastern Illinois University, you probably don’t need a 28 on the ACT.
On the other hand, you may still need standardized scores to gain admission into certain programs.
In many states, there is a minimum standardized score for admission into certain educational or even healthcare programs. Standardized test scores can also influence your child’s eligibility for certain scholarships.
So how seriously should they take them? If none of the points we’ve made above swayed you one direction or another, consider keeping this in mind: Doing a good job on a standardized test will only help your student.
Doing a bad job needn’t necessarily hurt them. You can simply decline to put it in your submission materials, focusing instead on their grades or extracurricular involvement. Many schools still allow submitting standardized scores to be optional.
This is perfectly ethical, legal, and common. The idea, ever and always, is to make your student look as good as possible. If good standardized test results are part of that package, then by all means, use them.
Developing a Brand
A common buzzword in the world of higher learning is institutional fit. In other words, colleges are actively looking not just for high-achieving students, but kids who in some way contribute to their campus culture.
If you look at student body demographics at, say, Harvard, you’ll notice that they are very proud of having students with a wide range of creative, scientific, philosophical, and athletic ability. The institutional fit there could be described perhaps as excellence.
Every college has a culture, the same way that most major companies now do.
A student hoping for a thick acceptance packet in the mail should identify qualities that make them a strong institutional fit. Encourage your child to develop a narrative in their application package that describes what contribution they will make to campus culture.
Narrative based applications are of importance in graduate school applications as well. In this case, applying students may set themselves apart based on their intended contributions to research and academia. Alternatively, students may also stand apart based on their career objectives.
Grades Are Still Priority
Standardized tests are still around. Personal branding is something college students have to think about more than they used to.
At the end of the day, though, universities recognize that the most reliable metric for student achievement is their grade point average.
The best time to start thinking about this, of course, is freshman year of high school, but students who have had an average track record for three years can still improve their prospects with a strong first quarter of their senior year.
Even the difference between a 2.5 and a 3.0 grade average can be very impactful both in the context of college admission and scholarship eligibility.
If your child feels limited in what they can do to improve their resume, focusing on getting the highest possible grades is a very strong step. No one is ever rejected for having too high a GPA. If you can only pull one lever in the college application process, this may be the one to focus on.
Extracurriculars Matter, Too
Finally, extracurriculars demonstrate the child’s ability to balance multiple responsibilities and contribute to the wider academic community. Schools appreciate visible participation because they know that students who enrich their high school community will continue to do so at the collegiate level.
Basically, they want people that will make their university a better place. Figure out ways to help your child show them that that is who they are.
This, at the end of the day, is the mindset behind any skill or attribute that’s being accentuated on a college resume. Why does the university want it? Because they want to admit as many people as possible who will:
- Do well at their school and contribute positively to the overall culture, and
- Go on to be successful in the professional world.
After all, it’s these professional triumphs that serve as a sort of calling card for the university later on.
Remember that applying for college is a short-term stress. What can feel overwhelming in the momentum ultimately fades into a few barely remembered months of stress. Remind your student to breathe. They will be ok.
