Penn is the latest university to drop the SAT requirement for admission amid coronavirus

The University of Pennsylvania, one of the most selective colleges in the country, for the first time will not require standardized test scores for applicants next year, the school announced Thursday.

The Ivy League university joins a growing number of schools regionally and nationally that have scrapped the requirement for SAT and ACT scores amid the coronavirus pandemic. They include small selective colleges such as Haverford, Tufts, and Williams, and larger state universities, such as Rutgers’ New Brunswick and Newark campuses and West Chester University,

“Standardized testing has always been only one part of a larger review process that considers many factors, including the rigor of coursework and performance in these courses,” Penn said in a statement.

Some schools, including Haverford, have scrapped the requirement for three years, others for one year. like Penn, and some indefinitely.

Penn’s decision follows the College Board’s announcement that an at-home SAT test will not be offered as planned, and as in-person tests have been canceled because of concerns about spread of the virus.

» READ MORE: Haverford College scraps standardized test requirement amid pandemic

Penn accepted almost 8.1%, or 3,404, of its 42,205 applicants this spring for admission in the fall, which represents a slight decrease in selectivity.

The latest wave follows an increase in schools that have stopped requiring scores for admission in recent years. In the Philadelphia region, the list includes Temple, Bryn Mawr, Rosemont, Immaculata, Stockton, Rider, Rowan, Susquehanna, Ursinus, Delaware, Cabrini, Dickinson, Eastern, Franklin and Marshall, Gettysburg, La Salle, Muhlenberg, and St. Joseph’s.