The University of St. Francis initiated an alternative test-optional admission route beginning May 2020, with the hopes of using the best and fairest criteria for evaluating every student’s potential, like your academic performance in rigorous, college-preparatory programs in high school.
Domestic and international students who have been unable to test, or prefer not to share your test scores, may apply for admission to any degree program.
SAT or ACT exams will not be required for consideration for merit scholarships provided by the university. Incoming freshman international students will still be required to demonstrate English proficiency before admission.
Our objective is to encourage a wide range of high-achieving students like you to consider St. Francis.
University of St. Francis staff members are excited to help you realize your goals! When you commit to attending USF under our test-optional policy, USF’s Academic Resource Center (ARC) will work with you to craft an academic success plan for the semester, which may include regular meetings with an academic coach—either one-on-one, or as part of a class. Because these plans are personalized, we need to get to know a little bit about you first. There are two parts of the process: a pre-registration survey and a conversation.
1. Freshman Pre-Registration Survey
This form should take about 10 minutes to complete. It will give the Academic Resource Center an overview of your strengths, challenges, opportunities and goals for the upcoming school year.
2. Pre-Freshman Registration Conversation
This is an opportunity to meet with a staff member from the Academic Resource Center to provide information on the many services ARC offers, as well as to discuss how ARC can best support you! The conversation should last about 20 minutes.
Every application submitted to St. Francis receives a holistic review. This means every piece of your application is reviewed and considered in order to make a decision. One single item does not determine your admissibility, and a test-optional policy allows students to demonstrate their abilities in other ways.
If you believe your test scores are indicative of your academic achievement, then we are happy to consider them as part of your application. However, if you have a strong academic record demonstrated by above-average grades in challenging courses, but do not feel your test results are a good reflection of your academic performance, you can choose not to submit them.
In weighing your options, consider the information below as a guide:
Class of 2024:
You will be asked to indicate whether or not you are applying test-optional on your application for admission.
If you choose to apply test-optional, your application for admission will be reviewed without considering scores, even if they are included in your record. Remember, you must indicate whether or not you are applying test-optional on your application for admission.
St. Francis will utilize a holistic review for every student. The review process will consider many things in this process including, but not limited to, strength of high school coursework and grade trends.
No, there have been numerous national studies that show students’ performance in high school is a better predictor of college success than a standardized test score, including a recent study (aera.net/Newsroom/Research-Finds-that-High-School-GPAs-Are-Stronger-Predictors-of-College-Graduation-than-ACT-Scores) by researchers at the University of Chicago. We look closely at the preparation students receive in our area high schools and trust that the courses taken and grades are an excellent predictor of a student’s ability to succeed at USF.
No, any incoming freshman student who wishes to can consider test-optional admission.
For high schools with a 4.0 grading scale, we’ll use the weighted GPA. The weighted GPA will include any additional points earned for honors, AP, or IB courses. For high schools with a grading scale that’s not on a 4.0 scale, we will first convert the scale to a 4.0 scale, then use the converted weighted GPA to ensure students receive any additional points for honors, AP or IB courses.
All admitted students will be considered for merit scholarships, regardless of test score submission. However, scores may be required for some competitive scholarship applications (stfrancis.edu/scholarships).
If you are enrolling at St. Francis and have taken the ACT or SAT, we encourage you to submit your scores for research purposes. Doing so will not impact your admission decision.
International students are still required to show proof of English Proficiency (stfrancis.edu/intl-students/english-language-proficiency) if they plan on enrolling at St. Francis as an academic student, which can be demonstrated in multiple ways, including test scores.
Your admission counselor (stfrancis.edu/admissions-aid/undergraduate-admissions-staff) is available to answer any questions you may have about anything USF-related, including test-optional admission, or you can sign up for one of our Test-Optional Virtual Info Sessions (calendly.com/usf-ug-admissions/test-optional) to find out more about it!
