Test scores only part of determining college admissions

Students preparing to take the SAT next week and/or the ACT next month don't need to worry if they don't score as high as they hope.

A growing number of colleges and universities are looking at more than just numbers in determining who they admit, according to a survey released by the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a nonprofit group that urges institutions to look at other factors in selecting students.

As of this semester, more than 800 schools do not base admissions solely on the standardized college entrance exams, including schools within the University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems, according to the survey.

The Rio Grande Valley's two universities - the University of Texas-Pan American and the University of Texas-Brownsville/Texas Southmost College - said they consider test scores in determining how best to place and advise students, but they prefer to look at the whole picture when selecting students for admission.

Test scores can also serve as a litmus test for how well students might perform in school or how likely they will return the following academic year, admissions officials for those institutions said.

"We don't want to set anybody up for failure," said Maggie Hinojosa, associate vice president and dean of admissions and enrollment services for UTPA.

Starting this fall, students who score at least a 17 out of a possible 36 on the ACT or an 810 out of 1,600 on the SAT are automatically accepted to the university. If they don't meet that threshold but graduate within at least the top third of their class, they can still be admitted, Hinojosa said.

The university set admissions standards for students entering school in the fall semester of 2005 and has continued to raise requirements since then. Over the years, the university noticed that students with good rankings, grade point averages and test scores were more likely to continue to their sophomore year and graduate, Hinojosa said.

"When you look at one variable, you're really selling yourself short," she said.

UTB/TSC has an open enrollment policy, meaning almost all students who apply are accepted. But the university uses the test scores as well as students' transcripts to determine whether students might need to take remedial classes or receive tutoring.

Those criteria also help determine how much scholarship money the university awards students who score high enough on the exams and have good grades, said Rene Villarreal, the university's director of admissions.

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Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.