Miami University continues test-optional policy through 2025

OXFORD, Ohio (WXIX) - Miami University announced Tuesday that ACT or SAT scores will not be mandatory for first-year and transfer student applications through spring 2025.

The university’s admission office started the test-optional policy due to the changes in standardized testing that the COVID-19 pandemic created.

The school is now entering its third year using this policy, and has seen an increase in applications and academic accomplishments, a spokesperson for Miami University said.

“Since Miami has been test-optional, about 50 percent of our applicants have asked us to use an ACT or SAT score in our evaluation of their application,” Miami University Director of Admission Bethany Perkins said. “We continue to enroll extremely accomplished students, and the academic profile of each new class continues to be among the best of all Ohio public universities.”

The first two Miami classes, admitted in the fall of 2021 and 2022, were the “most academically accomplished in Miami history,” according to a university spokesperson.

“A test score has never been the only factor Miami’s admission committee considers in an application evaluation, and it certainly isn’t the most important factor,” Perkins said. “There are much better predictors of college success such as the strength of a student’s curriculum and achievements in high school courses.”

In addition, test scores will not be required for merit scholarship applications or admission to programs, such as the Honors College. However, students who want to use their test scores will have that option.

“The extension of our test-optional policy will allow us to evaluate the outcomes of Miami University’s Class of 2025 before deciding whether the university should be test-optional permanently,” Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success Brent Shock said. “Analysis of graduate data, combined with the student retention and success data we’re already evaluating, will enable us to make a well-informed decision based on the best interests of future students.”

According to Miami University, 50% of students ranged between a 3.63 to 4.21 GPA, a 24-30 on the ACT and 1210 to 1400 on the SAT (combined score) in the fall of 2022.

For more information on the test-optional policy, click the link here.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.