Standardized test scores as admission requirements for colleges and universities have come under fire for being limited in determining the future success of prospective students. Although the Standard Aptitude Test (SAT) is still required by many institutions, some schools have de-emphasized the test and replaced it with other considerations. California, home to one of the largest public university systems in the country, has more than 90 colleges that don't require the SAT, or that make the test optional.
Art Institutes
The Art Institute of California, Los Angeles; the Art Institute of California, Orange County; the Art Institute of California, San Diego; the Art Institute of California, San Francisco; and the Art Institute of California, Laguna Beach do not have SAT requirements for admission. These institutes offer degrees in design, media arts, fashion and the culinary arts.
The Art Institute of California, Los Angeles, lists six requirements for applicants: a phone or in-person interview, completed application form, 150-word essay, high school transcript or GED scores, $50 application fee and a $100 enrollment fee. Although there are GPA minimums for certain programs, applicants are evaluated based on stated career goals, reasonable chance of success and the written essay.
Film Schools
Film schools without SAT requirements are Columbia College in Tarzana and the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia. Columbia College requires that all applicants have high school diplomas or GED certificates. In addition, each applicant must provide a 500-word personal essay and two character recommendations. Columbia College recommends the submission of SAT scores, but does not require them for admission.
California State Schools
There are 23 campuses under the California State University (CSU) system, and 14 of them only require the SAT if an applicant doesn't meet a minimum GPA or class rank. These schools are: CSU Bakersfield, CSU Chico, CSU Dominguez Hills, CSU East Bay, CSU Fresno, CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, CSU Los Angeles, CSU Monterey Bay, CSU Northridge, CSU Sacramento, CSU Sacramento, CSU San Bernardino, CSU San Marcos and CSU Stanislaus.
CSU Los Angeles requires applicants to be high school graduates with grades of C or better in English, math, social science, lab science, a foreign language, visual and performing arts and an elective. Applicants who are residents of California and have 3.0 GPAs do not have to submit the SAT. Nonresident applicants need 3.61 GPAs to waive the SAT requirement.
ITT Technical Institutes
ITT Technical Institute, with more than 125 campuses in the United States, offers associate's and bachelor's degrees in programs such as information technology, electronics technology, business, drafting and design, and criminal justice. In California, the ITT Technical Institutes that don't require SAT scores are the campuses in Anaheim, Lathrop, Los Angeles, Oxnard, Rancho Cordova, San Bernardino, Sylmar, Torrance and West Covina.
ITT Technical Institute requires each applicant to have a high school diploma or GED, meet with a representative of the school and pass an admissions test in lieu of the SAT. An applicant who has earned 36 credit hours with a 2.0 GPA from an accredited educational institution can also bypass the SAT requirement.
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