Testing Policy

Test-Optional Policy

Whitman College is test-optional, meaning that most applicants are not required to submit ACT or SAT scores as part of the admission process. See below for important exceptions to this policy.  

Whitman's holistic application review process considers high school coursework, application essays, recommendation letters, involvement in school and community activities, work history, leadership positions, and a variety of other factors. We encourage applicants to decide for themselves whether they wish to submit ACT or SAT results as an additional measure of their academic preparedness.  

For applicants who submit test scores, those scores will be one of many factors considered in the application review process. The admission committee will make no assumptions about why some students elect to submit test results and others do not.

Redesigned SAT

The College Board began administering the Redesigned SAT in March 2016. The Redesigned SAT exam consists of two sections, each scored on an 800-point scale, and an optional essay. Whitman does NOT require the optional essay.

Whitman will accept scores from the old SAT and the new SAT. For applicants who submit scores from both exams, we will use concordance tables to determine which exam places you in the best standing in our evaluation process.

Superscoring

Whitman will superscore test results from the ACT or the SAT, meaning that we will combine the highest subsection scores from tests taken on different dates. For the ACT, this means we will combine the highest English, Math, Reading, and Science subscores and use the average of those scores to calculate the composite ACT score. For the SAT, we will superscore subsections from the same version of the SAT, but we will NOT superscore results from the old SAT with results from the new SAT.

Test-Optional Exceptions

Homeschooled applicants and applicants from secondary schools that provide written evaluations rather than grades are strongly encouraged to submit ACT or SAT test results.

International applicants are strongly encouraged to submit an ACT or SAT test score when available. Also, Whitman College requires international applicants whose first language is not English to submit an official score report for either the TOEFL or IELTS.

Scholarships & Financial Aid

SAT or ACT scores are not required for consideration for Whitman's merit or need-based scholarships. Applicants who choose not to submit SAT or ACT scores will be given equal consideration for all forms of financial aid at Whitman College for which they qualify.

Score Reporting

For students who choose to submit test scores when applying, Whitman will accept ACT or SAT scores reported in the following ways:

Official:

• Scores reported directly by the testing agency. (Note that Whitman's Whitman's CEEB code number is 4951; our ACT code number is 4492)
• Scores listed on the official high school transcript
• Scores reported by the student's high school counselor via email

Unofficial:

• Self-reported scores listed on the Common Application or sent via email by the student. (Note that students who choose to submit self-reported scores will be required to submit official scores if they choose to enroll)

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