When it comes to university admissions, test scores matter more for engineers than they do for other majors. Engineering majors will face challenging quantitative courses during their time at university: differential equations, advanced calculus, physics, chemistry, statistics, and more. Admissions officers are wary of admitting prospective students lacking the requisite quantitative skills to thrive in a rigorous engineering programme. As mark inflation has eroded the predictive power of secondary school marks, many admissions offices have turned to standardized testing as a proxy for academic readiness. An increasing number of STEM-oriented universities have now officially reinstated test requirements, while many test-optional universities with strong engineering programmes now place significant weight on the math portion of standardized admissions tests. While submitting strong math test scores may be optional, selecting this option can have very real admissions consequences for aspiring engineers.

STEM schools are shifting their focus back to test scores

During the pandemic, the most prestigious engineering schools in the country adopted test-optional and even test-blind admissions policies. With the pandemic in the rear view, slowly, but surely, these policies are being rolled back. In March of 2022, MIT was one of the earliest universities to reinstate testing requirements. MIT’s Dean of Admissions, Stuart Schmill, stated his case: “Our research has shown that, in most cases, we cannot reliably predict students will do well at MIT unless we consider standardized test results alongside marks, coursework, and other factors.”

MIT’s decision to require testing for its STEM-focused students was a harbinger of things to come. Many universities with strong engineering programmes followed suit: Purdue, Cornell, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and more. The Naval Academy, where a third of the midshipmen are engineers, reinstated testing requirements along with the other military academies. CalTech abruptly shifted from test-blind to test-required. Cooper Union recently announced test requirements for its School of Engineering applicants, and this summer Carnegie Mellon returned to a test-required, albeit test-flexible policy.

The US News ranking of the top graduate-level engineering programmes (which correlate highly with the undergraduate list) reveals that 10 of the top 16 programmes in the country require testing.

Worcester Polytechnic rediscovered the value of testing after the pandemic. In 2021, WPI announced it was adopting a test-blind admissions policy for a minimum of 8 years. Andrew Palumbo, WPI’s assistant vice president for enrollment management and dean of admissions and financial aid, said “the SAT and ACT, are not useful means for evaluating university applicants, and can even be counterproductive.” He deemed testing “an unnecessary part of the university application process.” Palumbo left WPI in 2023, and within a year, WPI abandoned its 8-year test-blind pilot, returning to test-optional admissions in a nod to the value of testing for STEM students.

For years, Harvey Mudd, one of the most prestigious STEM-focused liberal arts universities in the country, placed strong emphasis on admissions testing. In 2018, Peter Osgood, then Director of Admissions, cited the SAT Math 2 Subject Test as the single most important assessment to determine who would succeed at Harvey Mudd. He found that students scoring below a 650 on Math 2 (a test focused on pre-calculus) had the highest likelihood of dropping or transferring out of Harvey Mudd. Recently, there have been discussions within the Claremont University group, of which Harvey Mudd is a part (in addition to Scripps, Pitzer, Claremont McKenna, and Pomona), indicating renewed interest in reinstating testing. The faculty at Claremont McKenna voted 53 to 24 to reinstate SAT/ACT requirements. If the Board approves this measure, testing could return to Claremont McKenna and eventually to the other Claremont Universities.  

Optional, but far from neutral

Jeff Selingo, educational author and thought leader, recognized early in the pandemic that test-optional admissions policies did not affect all students equally. Through his conversations with admissions directors across the country, Selingo learned that aspiring engineers submitted test scores at significantly higher rates than did other students. And on the admissions side, Selingo learned from deans of admission that engineering applicants with test scores gained admission at significantly higher rates than did engineering applicants without test scores. Even in a world that was nominally test-optional, both engineering applicants and admissions offices understood that “optional” did not have a neutral connotation, and strong test scores had a meaningful impact on admissions outcomes.

Implications for engineering applicants

If you are considering applying to an engineering programme, strong standardized test scores will frequently help you stand out in a crowded admissions pool. Universities value student retention, and high math scores indicate a level of quantitative strength that will help the admissions office confirm your readiness for rigorous university-level classes. Don’t assume that a test-optional policy is a test-neutral policy, and don’t assume an engineering programme that is test-optional today will remain test-optional in the future. The tides are turning, and test requirements are returning to the world of selective engineering schools and programmes.

To build a strong application for engineering programmes, prioritize the math section when prepping for standardized tests. Don’t overlook strong performance on AP or IB-level STEM courses, which also provide confirmatory evidence of quantitative ability. Attaining strong marks in your secondary school STEM classes, strong scores on your STEM AP and IB assessments, and a strong performance on the quantitative sections of the SAT and/or ACT paints a picture of an applicant ready for the rigors of a university engineering programme. Showcasing your quantitative strengths will inspire greater confidence in an admissions office and increase your likelihood of gaining an offer of admission to the engineering programme of your choice.