JANET RAPELYE, the University’s dean of admission for 15 years, will become president of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education Nov. 1. The organization, based at MIT, represents 35 selective private colleges and universities, including Princeton. It supports research and analysis on a range of higher-education issues, including admissions and financial aid, and convenes meetings of top officials from its member schools.
During Rapelye’s tenure, applications have nearly tripled, to 35,370 this year. Dean of the College Jill Dolan will serve as acting dean of admission and will chair the search for Rapelye’s successor.
Princeton will no longer require the writing section of the SAT or ACT as part of the admission process, but instead will require a GRADED WRITING SAMPLE, preferably in history or English. “With this policy, Princeton aims to alleviate the financial hardship placed on students, including those who have the opportunity to take the test without writing during the school day and for free,” the University said in July.
Though the University has on occasion requested a graded writing sample from individual applicants in the past, according to Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye, the new policy makes Princeton the first Ivy League school to require a graded writing sample of all applicants. Students may continue to submit SAT or ACT writing-test scores if they choose, she said.