How the University of Austin is fighting back against corruption in college admissions.
College acceptance season is here—and with it the reminder that the college admissions process is broken.
Application essays, formerly written by highly paid tutors for those who could afford it, are now being composed by artificial intelligence. At the same time, the Ivory Tower’s embrace of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which elevates race and sex above all other considerations, has made a mockery of merit.
In the midst of this systemic failure, the University of Austin (UATX) recently implemented a never-before-attempted policy that removes the subjectivity of AI-infused essays and DEI-infected applications: admissions based almost solely on standardized test scores.
If an applicant receives a 1460 or above on the SAT, a 33 or above on the ACT, or a 105 or above on the Classic Learning Test (CLT), that student is automatically accepted. (Full disclosure: I am the president of the CLT.) Any student with lower scores can still be admitted with the added consideration of Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate scores, as well as one-sentence descriptions of up to three significant achievements such as outstanding athletic accomplishments or examples of personal fortitude.
UATX does not accept essays, insincerely elongated lists of extracurricular activities, proclamations of intersectional victimhood, or any other non-merit-based materials.
Though UATX’s policy is groundbreaking, it’s not groundless. Standardized test scores are strong predictors of success in college—a fact many other elite colleges have forgotten. Where the University of Texas at Austin, Brown, Yale, MIT, and others tried and failed to impose an admissions system wholly reliant on subjective measures without standardized tests, UATX has gone the opposite direction—embracing merit alone.
Such a novel approach to college admissions is not only bold but necessary, and I believe more schools will begin imitating UATX’s policy soon. That’s because AI and DEI have made every other part of the traditional application process a fraudulent joke.
Personal essays have long failed to predict college success. Today, they have the added demerit of not even being written by the applicant. A 2023 survey found that 47% of graduate and undergraduate students would have used AI to write their college admissions essays if AI had been available. A 2024 study found that half of students used AI to create an essay outline, and 20% used it to write their first draft. Given that many students are reluctant to admit using AI, these numbers are likely underestimates. Whatever the true figure, it’s impossible to tell where the applicant ends and AI begins.
Essays are far from the only useless part of the college application process. In an attempt to game the system, generations of high achievers have been coached into composing long lists of empty extracurricular activities solely to catch the eyes of university review committees. Likewise, high school GPAs are meaningless in light of rampant grade inflation and a lack of standardization. Even letters of recommendation, while sometimes illuminating, are frequently gameable. After all, what teacher doesn’t want his students to get into the most prestigious schools possible?
Most insidious and anti-meritocratic of all is the obsession with DEI. It elevates certain races, sexes, and sexual identities to an exalted status, often at the expense of deserving individuals who are white, Asian, or heterosexual.
The Supreme Court rebuked Harvard for its DEI-inspired, race-based affirmative action programs that discriminated against Asian applicants. But America’s most “august” university was hardly alone. Indeed, while Harvard was battling to preserve its unjust system, many elite schools made their application process test-blind or test-optional, removing objective measures and thereby making it easier to sneak race and sex discrimination in through the back door.
UATX’s decision not only to accept standardized testing, but to make SAT, ACT, or CLT scores the primary determining factor of admissions removes every avenue for abuse and prejudice that’s endemic in the college admissions system. AI can’t change your test results. “Diversity” can’t increase your score. The only qualification that matters is merit. And that’s how it should be.
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