Allegheny College Admissions To Go Test Optional Starting with Class Entering in Fall 2016

May 22, 2015 — The Office of Admissions at Allegheny College today announced that it will implement a test optional policy, allowing applicants to choose whether to submit standardized test scores such as SATs or ACTs with their college applications. The change takes effect with students applying for admission in fall 2016.

“Allegheny College embraces the concept that standardized test scores do not exclusively reflect a student’s full range of abilities or potential to succeed in college,” said Dean of Admissions Cornell LeSane. “Mounting evidence indicates that high school performance — as measured by rigor, grades and/or class rank — and less quantifiable factors, such as character, determination and love of learning, are the best indicators of success in post-secondary education. Giving students the option of providing test scores gives them the opportunity to showcase their greatest strengths.”

The 32nd oldest college in the nation, Allegheny joins a growing list of colleges and universities that have gone test optional in their admissions practices. The National Center for Fair & Open Testing reports that more than 850 accredited bachelor-degree granting schools now do not require all or many applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores, including more than 165 schools ranked in the top tiers of their categories.

“We want to engage every prospective student who has the potential to be a great student in our classrooms, and we expect that going test optional will further strengthen the caliber of student we see applying to Allegheny,” said Vice President for Enrollment and College Relations Brian Dalton. “Research shows that test scores can reflect socioeconomic factors more than actual readiness for college. By giving prospective students the option of submitting test scores, we continue to demonstrate the commitment to educational access and equity that has been a hallmark of Allegheny since our founding 200 years ago.”

That long-standing commitment to educational access, equity and success can also be seen through recent campus additions. Earlier this year the college opened the Academic Commons, a central location for study and collaboration in which students can access the resources they need to thrive at Allegheny and in their lives after college.

Housed in Allegheny’s Pelletier Library, the Academic Commons includes library research support, a variety of spaces for student study and collaboration, the Maytum Learning Commons and the new Allegheny Gateway, which provides opportunities for students to study, live and work abroad; encounter diverse people and viewpoints; get involved in defining and addressing real-world problems and challenges; engage in collaborative projects with other students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners; and articulate how their Allegheny experiences have prepared them for careers and graduate/professional studies after they leave college.

About Allegheny College
Allegheny College is a national liberal arts college where 2,100 students with unusual combinations of interests and talents develop highly valued abilities to explore critical issues from multiple perspectives. A selective residential college in Meadville, Pa., Allegheny is one of 40 colleges featured in Loren Pope’s “Colleges That Change Lives” and is also featured in “Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College That Is Best for You” and Peterson’s “Competitive Colleges, 400 Colleges That Attract the Best and the Brightest,” among many other guidebooks. Allegheny is celebrating its 200th anniversary of learning at its picturesque campus in 2015.