Amid Stanford’s testing reinstatements, classical colleges offer greater opportunity

Following a four-year hiatus, Stanford University announced that they would once again return to a pre-covid entrance policy—a standardized testing requirement. 

ACT and SAT requirements emphasize a common core curriculum, giving little consideration to classically educated students. Although standardized test scores are only part of the larger picture considered by admission officers, standardized tests do evaluate the potential trajectory of prospective students. As a result, some homeschooled and traditionally learned students may be at a competitive disadvantage because the common core curriculum can be a foreign concept to them. 

While higher education reinvigorates old entrance standards, over 250 colleges and universities are now accepting the Classic Learning Test (CLT). The CLT is a classically inspired test accepted by some colleges and universities in place of the ACT or SAT. From Hillsdale College to Liberty University, conservative colleges provide children who hail from classical backgrounds with equal opportunity by allowing both classical and standardized admission tests. 

“Stanford will resume requiring either the SAT or the ACT for undergraduate admission, beginning with students applying in fall 2025 for admission to the Class of 2030.  Stanford will remain test-optional for students applying in fall 2024 for admission to the Class of 2029.”

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