Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

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ProudofPride
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Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

Post by ProudofPride »

Hofstra announced a few weeks ago that have have dropped the SAT and ACT requirement for students entering in Fall 2015. What are people's thoughts on this? I've read that some alumni are upset because they think it might devalue their degree. My thoughts as a current student are mixed. The ONLY reason I thought the tests were a good idea is because it is a way to compare students on a national level since all high schools are different, and have different standards. Plus, some students just aren't good test takers. An an example for me, I was taking AP Calculus and AP Statistics at the time I had to take the SAT. While some people might think this was an advantage, it actually hurt me because I hadn't done the "simpler" math that appeared on the SAT for a few years before that. At this point the tests are no longer accurate as to their original intention (to measure how a student will do in college). This also suggests to me that there is a lessened gap between high schools across the country. I also assume that those students who choose not to submit test scores will have their decisions based much more rigorously on what they did in high school.
stuball888
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Re: Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

Post by stuball888 »

I think this is a bad move and was probably PC motivated. An example was my daughter and a friend of hers in another part of the country. Both students had similar grades but my daughter scored 400 points higher on her SATs when 1600 was the top score. Suffice to say this other girl struggled in college while my daughter graduated from Hofstra with honors. What is preventing other schools from giving students inflated grades to help them get in schools where they dont use the SAT or ACT. You want to reduce the formula for acceptance using the SAT or ACT fine. Reduce it from 25% say to 15%. If a student is a 90 student but scores really low on the standardize tests, maybe a red flag goes up. Just my opinion.
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HofstraHockey
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Re: Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

Post by HofstraHockey »

I have no problem with it. You don't HAVE to submit it, but you still can. I wouldn't say it's a PC thing- while Hofstra is by no means the first, there's not many others that have done it yet, so it's not like there was pressure to make a change. I'm sure they have the data, and that may show that SAT scores do not accurately reflect how well a student will succeed at Hofstra. While in some cases, like your daughter, Stu, it did. Does that mean that a quality student that doesn't do well on the SAT doesn't exist? I don't think so. As far as I know, student-athletes will still have to take the test and submit that to the NCAA clearinghouse.

I also believe that, over time, they will see how students from each high school do. Obviously there will be more data from students in the NY metro area, compared to out-of-state schools, but over time you can create a correlation between what grades a student gets from a school in the area and what their college grades are. You can use current data for that. From there, you can see what schools might inflate their grades, and base your decisions on that information.
stuball888
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Re: Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

Post by stuball888 »

I hope you are right HH but there have been instances where schools dont have a good reputation such as Hempstead High school where grades have been pumped up. Also this can hurt the student as much as it helps
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HofstraHockey
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Re: Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

Post by HofstraHockey »

Oh, I agree that schools can pump up grades. But there have to be enough students from Hempstead HS that go to Hofstra that you can look at their high school grades and their college grades and see a pattern. So if you see that a kid that has a 95 average at Hempstead performs on par with a kid with an 87 average at Garden City HS (again, averaged over time across many students), you adjust your standards for future students from that school accordingly.
HofstraPride1
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Re: Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

Post by HofstraPride1 »

I have no issue with move since standardized tests are not a good predictor of college success and there are already some very solid academic schools already doing this such as Wake Forest, Holy Cross, Wesleyan, American, Bates, etc. This will only enhance the quality of students who apply and enroll in my opinion.


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stuball888
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Re: Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

Post by stuball888 »

Hofstra Pride 1 I dont know about enhancing the quality of students by dropping the SAT requirement. Here is another spin on it. I could be wrong but has Hofstra had a drop on applications the past year or so. This will probably enhance applications therefore increasing the pool of potential students. Also in his speeches over the last several years president Rabinowitz would brag that the incoming freshmen had higher SAT scores than in the past so we were getting better students. He cant use that anymore. maybe with the medicasl school he feels we dont need the SAT as a barometer of the quality of our incoming freshmen class.
HofstraPride1
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Re: Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

Post by HofstraPride1 »

Actually Stu he still will be able to use the SAT numbers since the students who do well on the test will still submit their scores and ones who are going for Honors College admittance or to get scholarship money will as well. This will enhance the SAT average a lot and combined with students who have solid GPAs but are not great on SATs and op not to submit their scores will enhance the student profile. If there weren't other quality schools already doing this I may feel differently but I think this will end up being a great move.
HofstraPride1
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Re: Hofstra Drops SAT/ACT Requirement

Post by HofstraPride1 »

GW adds some more great company to this growing trend. Still remain very happy with Hofstra's decision.
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