If you’ve ever dreamed of the SAT or ACT vanishing into thin air, you’ve got your wish . . . sort of. Many colleges and universities who believe that these standardized tests are not the best way to determine a student’s potential have voiced their opinions in a pretty big way: they are removing the SAT and ACT from their application requirements.

If you are a strong student but freak out when it comes to major tests, this is definitely a time to rejoice. In fact, you are the reason that more and more schools are moving towards making the SAT and ACT optional. These schools question the validity of standardized testing in assessing a student’s future success in college. When you think about it, it does make sense—how could a three-hour test possibly sum up all the skills you have learned during years of schooling? Critics of these tests also point out that standardized testing is prejudiced toward minority and economically disadvantaged students. Much has been said about establishing a test that will be a fairer assessment than what is currently in place with the College Board and the ACT.

Stop doing your happy dance for just a moment and check out this list of SAT-optional schools from Fair Test, an organization dedicated to creating fair and effective admissions standards. Pretty impressive, huh? There are dozens of small liberal arts colleges across the country that are shedding the SAT and abstaining from the ACT, but what’s really making people’s tongues wag is the fact that there are also more and more competitive schools that are appearing on the list, such as Bard College, College of the Holy Cross, and Bowdoin College.

Although the list of test-optional schools is getting longer each year, that doesn’t mean that you should burn your SAT or ACT practice books just yet. There are still plenty of schools—including the Ivies—that are not ready to budge on the testing issue. You may find that you’ll still have to take the SAT or ACT, but you’ll only have to submit scores to a few of the schools on your list. It’s enough to take a bit of the nervous edge away, now that you know there are colleges and universities out there that will look at you as a person and not just a verbal or math score.

You may resume your happy dance now.

 Image by dieselbug2007 and used under a Creative Commons license.