Loyola College's Jesuit tradition calls for it to serve students who did not start with every economic, social or geographic advantage.
Widespread research, meanwhile, shows that standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT favor those from privileged backgrounds and that such tests are less predictive of college success than excellent grades and a rigorous course load in high school.
So, in search of a more diverse and accomplished student body, Loyola has joined a growing list of colleges and universities that no longer require applicants to submit an SAT or ACT score. Among Maryland schools, Goucher College, Salisbury University, Washington College, St. John's College and McDaniel College also practice forms of "test-optional" admissions.
Officials from these schools say they've received more applications - and some say they have improved the socioeconomic diversity of their student bodies -since making the switch. Because of such positive examples, advocates of test-optional admissions believe their cause has gained tremendous momentum in recent years.
"We have a very strong retention rate, the students are performing well, our faculty is satisfied," said Ellen Neufeld, vice president of student affairs at Salisbury. "My mind draws a blank when I try to think of anything negative associated with it."
Test-optional policies might calm the widespread SAT anxiety felt by high school juniors and seniors, added Florence Hines, vice president of enrollment management at McDaniel.
"We're telling them, 'If you're worried about being a poor test-taker, don't worry about the test,' " Hines said. "We want students to know that it was never a big enough factor that we couldn't just let it go. We can take away one of the things that freaks them out the most."
Skeptics of the test-optional approach argue that grade-point averages are relative because of the wide disparity in quality among high schools. Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT help admissions officers to put high school performance in perspective, advocates say.
"There is ample evidence that the SAT does an excellent job of predicting college grades," said Brian O'Reilly, spokesman for the College Board's SAT program.
O'Reilly said he doesn't understand why college admissions officers wouldn't want as much information as possible about applicants. No college would allow an applicant to submit grades for some classes and not others, he said, so why would the school count the SAT as a positive for many students but ignore it for many others?
