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UT Austin brings back standardized testing requirements for applicants
AUSTIN – Have your SAT or ACT scores ready if you’re applying to the University of Texas at Austin this year.
The university announced Monday it will require standardized testing scores beginning for the fall 2025 semester.
The requirement was suspended in 2020 due to limited testing availability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our goals are to attract the best and brightest students and to make sure every student is successful once they are here,” said UT Austin President Jay Hartzell. “Standardized scores combined with high school GPA support this goal by improving early identification of students who demonstrated the greatest academic achievement, the most potential, and those who can most benefit from support through our student success programs.”
“Our experience during the test-optional period reinforced that standardized testing is a valuable tool for deciding who is admitted and making sure those students are placed in majors that are the best fit,” Hartzell continued. “Also, with an abundance of high school GPAs surrounding 4.0, especially among our auto-admits, an SAT or ACT score is a proven differentiator that is in each student’s and the University’s best interest.”
According to UT Austin, on average, students who submitted standardized scores performed significantly better on those exams and in their first semester of college.
The university also says that students enrolled at the university have demonstrated that knowledge of standardized test scores contributes to higher graduation rates.
UT Austin says it will continue to conduct holistic reviews and consider standardized test scores and other performance metrics in light of each applicant’s background.
The university is making other changes to the application process, including the introduction of a waitlist for applicants who were not automatically admitted.
UT Austin isn’t the only university to reinstate the requirement. Dartmouth College announced last month they would require the test scores for prospective students for the Class of 2029.
Yale University is also reversing its pandemic-era rule, although did not make it clear when it would begin looking at exam scores.
Harvard University also said it won’t require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores through 2026, meaning that students seeking entry into the classes of 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 won’t need to send Harvard an SAT or ACT score as part of their application.
Last year, while the university suspended the requirement, about 90% of applicants took a standardized exam. That same year, UT Austin recorded the highest number of applicants – 73,000.
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
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A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
CBS Philadelphia
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.