Marquette University will become 'test optional' in fall 2020

MILWAUKEE -- Marquette University officials on Monday, June 10 announced the university would become test optional, offering domestic and international undergraduate applicants the choice to include standardized test scores as part of their application. The policy of no longer requiring ACT and/or SAT scores from all applicants is effective for students applying for entry in fall 2020, according to a news release.

“Our Catholic, Jesuit mission calls on us to keep a Marquette education accessible to a diverse population of students,” President Michael Lovell said in the release. “We will further open our doors by making standardized test scores optional in our undergraduate admissions process.”

With the move, Marquette would join a select group of top 100 national universities (based on U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges), as well as a growing number of Jesuit universities that have removed the ACT or SAT as an admission requirement, the release said.

“Four years of strong performance in rigorous high school coursework has always been the most important measure in Marquette's holistic admission review,” Acting Provost Kimo Ah Yun said in the release. “Requiring standardized tests was never intended to dissuade individuals from applying who felt they had the capacity to succeed here. We acknowledge, however, that requiring the SAT or ACT may have led to this unintended consequence and aim to address that now.”

Brian Troyer, dean of undergraduate admissions, said the university’s holistic admission review will continue to consider academic achievement in conjunction with a student's unique talents, leadership and service activities, application essay(s), school profile, letters of recommendation, and any other information a student wishes to submit for consideration.

Per the new policy, for students who choose to submit an ACT and/or SAT score, the score will be evaluated as a component in the admission review process. All applicants, regardless of test score submission, will have the opportunity to qualify for Marquette’s array of scholarship awards.

Marquette officials said they would continue to analyze the correlation between standardized testing and academic achievement in college and will evaluate this policy on an ongoing basis.