For the first time since Covid-19 broke out in 2020, Andover is returning to a test-mandatory admissions policy. Beginning in Fall 2025, students will be required to submit an SSAT, ISEE, PSAT, SAT, or ACT score. Additionally, Andover has become interview optional and lifted a policy requiring students from certain towns to apply as day students.
Jim Ventre, Assistant Head of School for Admission and Financial Aid, Peter Dignard, Senior Associate Director of Admission, and Jill Thompson, Associate Dean and Director of Admissions, explained several reasons behind this shift to test-mandatory admissions.
“At Andover, standardized test results often accurately predict a student’s potential academic success in the first year at Andover as measured by grade point average. Additionally, with worldwide grade inflation, using standardized test results from different schools and regions helps ensure that students are held to the same academic standards in the admission process. Standardized testing also provides valuable data that can be used to identify where Andover may need support,” wrote Ventre, Dignard, and Thompson in an email to The Phillipian.
In addition, the admissions office has broadened interview options to include in-person interviews, virtual interviews, and personal video submissions. Through this change, the admissions team aimed to increase application accessibility.
“We strive to provide as many interview options as possible to applicant families so they are able to do what is most accessible to them in order to complete an application to Andover. No one should be prevented from applying because their family cannot make a trip to campus or tune in for a virtual interview,” wrote Ventre, Dignard, and Thompson in an email to The Phillipian.
Some students disagreed with this new policy. Criticizing standardized tests as a limited metric, Haoyu Zhang ’27 argued that these tests do not reflect personal qualities, a factor he believed equally important in an applicant.
“I don’t think it’s a positive change. In some places, it can be harder to access or study for standardized tests. I get that they’re trying to make it equal, but I don’t think it says much about a student’s personality or how well they’ll fit into the school… I don’t think [tests] tell anything apart from the fact that the student knows basic information and can study for a test,” said Zhang.
Similarly, Aksel Kohler ’28 believed that tests fail to capture the full scope of a student’s abilities. He expressed that interviews should play a more central role in admissions, as they provide a clearer picture of an applicant’s character beyond academic performance.
“Interviews should be mandatory because they give a chance for admissions to see who you really are beyond grades. It’s an interview. It’s a way for them to assess your personality. Tests shouldn’t be mandatory because they measure something different, even though not everyone is good at tests,” said Kohler.
Eliza Francis ’26 recognized that going test-mandatory could increase the efficiency of the admissions process. However, she noted that this change can dissuade potential applicants who lack the time or resources to prepare for standardized tests.
“My decision to apply to PA was somewhat on a whim, and requirements such as standardized tests make that more difficult. [The admissions officers] are somewhat limiting their applicants. That’s not inherently bad. I’m sure they get an excessive amount of applicants anyway, so that may help eliminate some steps for admissions because I imagine they’re quite busy, but I do think that it probably discourages some people because not everyone has the time to study or the money to hire tutors,” said Francis.
Responding to concerns around the equity of standardized testing, Ventre, Dignard, and Thompson stress the admission office’s commitment to evaluating each application holistically.
“Andover’s admission team knows the limitations of standardized testing. To understand those limitations is to understand the inequities that persist across the world of education. In knowing and accounting for these limitations, the admission committee strives to interpret an applicant’s standardized [testing] within the context of their entire application in our holistic review process. We are confident in our team’s ability to interpret each applicant’s standardized test score in a way that is both fair to our process and to each individual student,” wrote Ventre, Dignard, and Thompson in an email to The Phillipian.
