SATs: the most dreaded and nerve-wracking test. Endless tutoring sessions, review booklets and preparation for a test that will ultimately decide your future- the easy high school days are coming to an end and the more difficult college days are approaching quickly. Each school requires different scores for acceptance between math, verbal and writing. Of course, ivy league schools require the highest, and other universities and colleges fall somewhere in-between.
The University of Connecticut, ranked #19 best public school in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, has an admissions office that is there to help students understand the requirements needed to become a Husky. To much surprise, the SAT score is not the dominant factor in an application to UConn. “It’s more of an observation opposed to saying “it takes this to get in.” It’s a holistic review,” said Nathan Fuerst, Director of University of Connecitcut Admissions. “We look at grade trends, schedules, resumes, essays, recommendations- the essay is especially important.”
Since 2000, the average SAT scores for students specifically in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (this includes majors such as English, Economics, Communications and Chemistry) has changed, although not drastically. It is clear in the graph that the average SAT score between math and verbal goes no lower than 500 and no higher than 700. “That is interesting to see,” said Economics major Collette Troyano. “I got a 720 in verbal, which was way above the 589 average when I applied in 2011.”
On the other hand, Taylor Whiting, a Communications major said, “Im laughing because I don’t know how I even got into UConn. I got a 480 in the reading and a 520 in math. Maybe it had something to do with me being from Connecticut.” Her scores were way below the averages for when she applied in 2011.
The two highest years of average SAT scores for CLAS were in 2010 and again in 2012. This is interesting too see and makes sense when looking at statistics for the entire class that year as a whole. In 2010, the class of 2014 had the highest SAT scores at UConn to date. Similarly, the class of 2016 UConn Today named “the most academically accomplished freshman class in UConn’s history.” “This is so interesting to see because I never knew my class broke records the year I came into UConn. I had really high SAT scores,” said Jillian Crouse, junior English major who applied to UConn in 2012.
“It is important to understand that admission is competitive. The number of applicants has gone up with for 2014 and 2015. The reason is the increase demand on students,” Fuerst said. “ There are more highly qualified students. The average GPA has gone up for the incoming student- there is just quality across the board.”
An interesting approach to take from this is to look at the average SAT scores for other Connecticut colleges. As shown on the graph, Trinity College and Yale University both require higher SAT scores. These requirements are way above UConn’s. Other schools such as University of Bridgeport and University of New Haven require lower scores than UConn. It seems as though UConn falls somewhere in the middle with their average scores.
By looking at the data, you can see how the UConn College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has high expectations of prospective students, along with the other schools within UConn. “We really evaluate the student to UConn admissions as a whole, then we determine if theyre eligible for the major they’ve chosen,” Fuerst said. “Some schools within UConn have higher demand, but if they are offered admissions to the school, they will most likely get into their requested program.”
Although these SAT scores are important, Fuerst continued to stress the importantance of class rank, essays, extracurricular activities and letters of recommendation. These factors may have helped Whiting with her acceptance. On the other hand, Troyano’s SAT scores put her way above average in CLAS, so UConn put her into the Honors Program. For high school seniors applying to UConn CLAS for the fall: be sure to score around a 1212 to be amongst the average in 2012, but also keep in mind those other factors of your application.
These statistics also include the ACES program, which is for students who aren’t sure about what they want to do. “I am currently in the process of applying to colleges. UConn is one of my top choices, so I am glad to see that my scores are just about the average from 2012,” said Toms River High School East senior Ryan Wasilick. “Hopefully this statistical trend continues and I get accepted for fall 2015.”
Fuerst explained, “The reality of it is that in our application pool most of our applicants are great students. We turn down students who will do great things other places,” he said. “It’s just based on competitive student applications.”
Take a look at the UConn 2014 fact sheet for more information about SAT scores and admissions.