Caltech To Begin Accepting ACT Scores For Admissions

April 15, 2004

IOWA CITY, Iowa—The California Institute of Technology has announced that it will now accept ACT entrance exam scores from students seeking admission to the school. Caltech, one of the nation's most prestigious universities centered on math, science, and engineering, previously accepted only SAT scores in its admissions process.

A major reason the university decided to alter its admissions requirements was a desire for greater geographic diversity in its student population. The ACT is administered in all 50 states and is the predominant college entrance exam taken in 25 states.

"The ACT Assessment will enlarge our opportunity to attract the nation's most able and energetic students," said Dan Langdale, the school's director of undergraduate admissions. "It provides a measure of student competence in subjects very important to academic success at Caltech."

"We are pleased to welcome Caltech to the ranks of schools accepting ACT scores for admission purposes," said Jon Erickson, ACT's vice president of educational services. "College-bound high school students across the country clearly have a choice when taking admissions exams."

The ACT Assessment is the most widely preferred college admissions test in the nation and is accepted by virtually all colleges and universities across the country. It measures academic achievement in English, reading, mathematics and science. Nearly 1.2 million students in the graduating class of 2003 took the ACT.