ATLANTA — ACT and SAT scores will not be required at many public colleges and universities in Georgia in the fall. The Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia is temporarily waiving test score requirements at 23 of its 26 institutions.
"It's been a tough couple of years, so I remember being very nervous," said Akirya Rucker, a junior at Georgia State.
Rucker said she thinks temporarily dropping the test requirement for new students will be a good thing. Senior Chris Ortiz wishes that had been the case when he applied.
"It would've been cool but those were the cards I was dealt at the moment," said Ortiz.
Georgia State Director of Admissions, Romina Torres, called the move surprising.
"It was based on seeing the number of students taking the SAT and ACT, so, [it's] one way to eliminate some of the barriers that we may be experiencing with COVID and students not being able to take the tests," said Torres.
Torres said now there are two tracks of admission at Georgia State -- the usual freshman index combining SAT and ACT scores with a student's GPA -- and now the test optional track. But students who go that route, the GPA requirement is higher, particularly for research universities like Augusta University and Georgia State.
"Specifically for the test optional it means that any student with a GPA of 3.4 or higher and on track to finish the 17 units of required high school curriculum will now be admitted," said Torres.
Comprehensive universities like Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State have a 3.2 GPA requirement and state universities will require a 3.0.
"I think as long as the grades are good, then it's all right," said Rucker.
The testing waiver is only in place for students starting this fall of 2022, and Georgia State has moved their application deadline from April 1 to May 1, to give students more time to apply. The waiver does not apply to Georgia Tech, Georgia College and State University or the University of Georgia. Those three institutions still require ACT and SAT scores.