December 10, 2004 SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) – Susquehanna University has expanded its “Write Option” admissions policy, allowing all first-year applicants to submit writing samples rather than standardized test scores. Instead of relying on SAT or ACT scores for admission, applicants may now provide two graded samples of academic writing from college preparatory courses taken in their junior and/or senior year of high school. This option allows students’ academic work in high school to speak for itself. “While we recognize the value of standardized tests in the admissions process, our most successful students tend to be those who’ve challenged themselves by pursuing a rigorous high school curriculum. Academic performance in high school really seems to be the best predictor of academic success in college,” said Chris Markle, director of admissions. In the fall of 1994, Susquehanna University joined a select group of colleges and universities making standardized tests an optional part of the admissions process for applicants meeting certain criteria. At the time, Susquehanna and Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster (Pa.) were the only two colleges in Pennsylvania to offer this kind of program. Ten years earlier, the faculty at Bates College in Maine paved the way for this growing trend by voting to make SATs optional for admission. Until now, Susquehanna has limited the “Write Option” to applicants who rank in the top 20 percent of their high school class, or to those attending schools that do not calculate class rank and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Starting immediately with the Class of 2009, all applicants to Susquehanna may choose this alternative. The two graded writing samples should demonstrate a student’s ability to communicate complex ideas, theories, and opinions, and to write effective, well-supported arguments. Samples that demonstrate a student’s ability to apply knowledge gained in the classroom are preferred. Examples include an analysis of a book, a work of art or a literary style, a research project from a natural or social sciences course or a position paper. “Our research shows that students who’ve been admitted to Susquehanna through our Write Option program have nearly identical SU grade point averages and graduation rates as their peers who’ve submitted SAT or ACT scores,” Markle said. A 20-year study done by Bates College of its own optional testing policy had similar findings. In that study, the overall difference in grade point averages between students who submitted standardized test scores and those who submitted writing samples was five-hundredths of a point. The difference in their graduation rates was one-tenth of one percent. For more information about Susquehanna’s “Write Option,” contact Chris Markle at 570-372-4425 or marklec@susqu.edu. Contact: Victoria Kidd 570-372-4119 #vk/1601#