Michaela Fleischer

Despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020-21 undergraduate application cycle featured an unprecedented 36.3 percent spike in Ivy League applications, with Columbia seeing a 51 percent increase. It is likely that Columbia’s record-low 3.7 percent acceptance rate was, in part, due to a decision by all Ivies except Princeton to make standardized testing optional this year. In a system where standardized testing costs range from $50 to $70, a harrowing expense for many low-income students, will this groundbreaking policy change inspire a long-overdue move toward increased admissions equity and diversity?