More colleges are making standardized tests optional, which officials say helps to broaden and diversify applicant pools.

Ithaca College in New York last week became the latest institution to announce a “test-optional” policy: According to the college’s website, applicants for Ithaca College’s 2013 entering class will be given the option of submitting SAT or ACT scores as part of their admission files, or withholding them altogether.

“We have always reviewed applicants holistically to assess each student’s potential for success at Ithaca College,” explained Gerard Turbide, Ithaca College’s director of admission. “From the coursework they choose, to the leadership positions they hold, and the many and varied talents that they bring, we want to develop a complete picture of every student. None of that is captured in a standardized test score.”

Ultimately, Ithaca College officials hope that the policy will help broaden and diversify its applicant pool, which reached a record high of 13,810 in 2012.

“We believe this policy change will allow us to craft our class of enrolled students from a larger and more diverse applicant pool,” noted Eric Maguire, the college’s vice president for enrollment and communication, “while focusing less on standardized test scores that contribute only marginally to our prediction of student success.”

According to a list maintained by FairTest, The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, nearly 850 four-year colleges currently do not use SAT or ACT scores for admitting substantial numbers of students into bachelor’s degree programs. Many of those institutions have found that test-optional policies can indeed impact the applicant pool. As reported by the Watertown Daily Times, two colleges in upstate New York have noticed a change in both the number and type of applicants since making SAT and ACT scores optional.

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