UT-Austin reinstates test requirement, adds Early Action deadline

UT Tower.

Following similar decisions by Dartmouth, Yale, and Brown in the last two weeks, UT-Austin announced on March 11, 2024, that it would require SAT or ACT scores for all applicants beginning with the entering class of 2025. In a press release, the University claimed that these scores would help to identify entering students who require additional support services to be successful and would also serve as a “proven differentiator” among the “abundance” of applicants with GPAs near 4.0. The University noted that standardized test scores would be considered in the context of an applicant’s background, suggesting that a score below the usual accepted range may still be helpful for a student from an under-resourced background.

Unlike the Ivy League institutions that have recently gone back to test requirements, UT is required to accept many of its applicants regardless of scores due to the state law guaranteeing admission to the top 6% of each high school graduating class in Texas. So the impact of the change may not be apparent in admissions decisions, but rather in the major(s) open to admitted students. The press release specifically notes that scores will be used “to match applicants to their choice of majors,” leading one to wonder whether highly competitive programs like engineering and business will have de facto (or even official) SAT/ACT score requirements.

The change to Early Action may be more immediately relevant to Class of 2025 applicants, as all students will now need to take a standardized test in time to have the scores available by the 10/15/24 deadline - seven months away. Students who have not yet scheduled a test should immediately locate an available test center and arrange to take the test this summer.