MACON, Ga. — The University System of Georgia announced they're extending waiving testing requirements for most of their schools.
"It was stressful because, at the time, I was living in a shelter," says Markiyah Rawls
Rawls says she wishes she could've opted out of taking the ACT to get into college. Rawls says grades are a better indicator of whether a student will be successful in school.
"That's a more long term like how a student is doing in school and what they're constantly giving to the school as opposed to a test," says Rawls.
Rawls is now heading back to college after taking a break, and her mom also gets the opportunity to apply to some schools within the University System of Georgia without worrying about the ACT or SAT.
"We're going test-optional for 23 of the 26 institutions in the system," says Stephen Schultheis
Schultheis is the Vice President of Enrollment at Middle Georgia State University. He says in the past, USG waived test score requirements in the fall 20-22 admissions for some institutions.
It's extended to all USG schools except Georgia Tech, The University of Georgia and Georgia College and State University. That means the other 23 schools will look at another number for admissions: a student's grade point average.
With USG's announcements come opportunities for high schoolers participating in dual enrollment.
"We have a pathway that dual enrollment students do not have to submit an ACT or SAT to get in the program," says Schultheis.
He says students are already benefiting.
"Approximately 60 students we've been able to offer admissions to because of this change," says Schultheis.
Students applying for the Zell Miller Scholarship will still need test scores.