2023 Survey of College and University Admissions Directors

Survey
Sep. 2023
Sample Size: 239
Demographics: admissions officers
Topics: Admissions And Enrollment Equity Diversity And Inclusion Administration

Top Findings:

  • Only 3 percent of admissions officers report that their institution requires applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores. Forty-four percent of respondents indicate that they recently changed their application process and are now test-optional or test-blind. Thirty-eight percent indicate that they were test-optional or test-blind prior to the pandemic.
  • More than half of those whose institutions recently changed to test-optional or test-blindness indicate that they considered and admitted more Black, Latinx and Native American applicants. Sixty-one percent said they saw more applications from Black, Latinx and Native American students; 65 percent said they admitted more of those students.
  • Changing to a test-optional or test-blind admissions process has had mixed impact for students who needed financial aid to enroll: 49 percent of admissions officers indicate that they experienced an increase in those students, and 51 percent indicate that they did not.
  • Most admissions officers are either not at all or slightly optimistic that essay questions and interviews will help them achieve diversity in the new legal environment (67 percent). Nearly one-third are moderately optimistic (31 percent).