FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jazmyn Burton
Spelman College
(404) 798-5212
jburton8@spelman.edu
Twitter: @SpelmanMedia
ATLANTA (August 25, 2020) -- Spelman College is suspending the standardized testing requirement for students applying for the class of 2025. The College is making the change to the admissions policy to alleviate increased barriers to applying to Spelman that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The impact of the Coronavirus has resulted in testing cancellations, increased registration demand and safety concerns at testing sites. Suspending required standardized testing will prevent prospective students from being disadvantaged during the application process by these unfortunate circumstances.
“COVID-19 has posed unparalleled challenges and disruptions across the world, including students planning the next step in their educational careers,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman. “Standardized tests have always represented only a portion of Spelman’s application review process, which includes many opportunities for students to share their full selves – all of their gifts and talents – with our admissions team. We are committed to remaining flexible and empathetic during these unprecedented times.”
This policy change applies to new first-time students graduating from high school in the 2020-2021 academic year. Students applying for future terms should plan to submit standardized test scores as a requirement. The Office of Admissions will reassess the testing climate at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year and make the best decision to ensure a fair admissions cycle for future classes.
Students who are unable to take a standardized test or who choose not to submit their results should remain confident that their application will be given a holistic review. In addition to academic credentials, the College considers leadership experiences, extracurricular involvement, community service, as well as personal interests and abilities.
The Office of Admissions is committed to continuing a whole-person application review process that remains competitive and inextricably connected to the mission of Spelman.
The full test optional policy and other admissions considerations in response to COVID-19 are available here.
About Spelman College
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a leading liberal arts college widely recognized as the global leader in the education of women of African descent. Located in Atlanta, the College’s picturesque campus is home to 2,100 students. Spelman is the country's leading producer of Black women who complete Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The College’s status is confirmed by U.S. News and World Report, which ranked Spelman No. 57 among all liberal arts colleges, No. 22 for undergraduate teaching and No. 6 for both innovation and social mobility among liberal arts colleges, and No. 1 for the 13th year among historically Black colleges and universities. The Wall Street Journal ranked the College No. 3, nationally, in terms of student satisfaction. Recent initiatives include a designation by the Department of Defense as a Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM, a Gender and Sexuality Studies Institute, the first endowed queer studies chair at an HBCU, and a program to increase the number of Black women Ph.D.s in economics. New majors have been added, including documentary filmmaking and photography, and partnerships have been established with MIT’s Media Lab, the Broad Institute and the Army Research Lab for artificial intelligence and machine learning. Outstanding alumnae include Children’s Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman, Starbucks Group President and COO Rosalind Brewer, political leader Stacey Abrams, former Acting Surgeon General and Spelman’s first alumna president Audrey Forbes Manley, actress and producer Latanya Richardson Jackson, global bioinformatics geneticist Janina Jeff and authors Pearl Cleage and Tayari Jones. For more information, visit www.spelman.edu.