Standardized Testing Buckets
Busting the "Caltech Requires Perfect Scores" Myth
Admissions leadership explains the bucket system for evaluating standardized test scores
Many students applying to Caltech assume that the Institute will only accept those applicants who have perfect SAT and/or ACT scores. With the introduction of a unique "bucket" system by which test scores will be evaluated alongside a number of other criteria, Caltech's admissions team hopes to dispel this myth and prevent qualified students from selecting out of the process before they've even applied.
How does the new system work?
The novel system works like this: Scores between 780 and 800 on individual portions of the SAT or 35 to 36 on sections of the ACT will be labeled by the admissions team as "Bucket A." Data on student performance at Caltech showed only a small difference between students whose test scores fell within this range. SAT scores between 750 and 770 or ACT scores of 33 and 34 will be shown as "Bucket B." The data showed a larger, but still relatively small, difference in these students' grades at Caltech relative to those who would now be in bucket A. Individual scores in buckets A or B will be hidden from the admissions committee and will only display as the bucket the score falls in to. Students with SAT subscores below 750 and ACT subscores below 33 will have those specific scores presented as part of their application.
What scores do students need?
"The biggest motivation for all of this is the fact that students are worried that unless they have perfect SAT scores, they will not be admitted into Caltech, which makes them not apply," says Omer Tamuz, a Caltech professor of economics and mathematics, and chair of the undergraduate admissions committee. "We feel like we lose a lot of people who self-select out of our pool that we would have wanted to admit." He notes that while falling into bucket A and bucket B gives students the best chance at getting into Caltech, the Institute has typically admitted a handful of students with scores below 750 each year. "It just requires an extra level of care from students who are in bucket C to make sure you have very clear, additional evidence that you have what's needed to be academically successful at Caltech," Tamuz says.
Why was a new evaluation system developed?
What was also revealed through the committee's research was that students do not have to have earned perfect test scores to do well at Caltech, says Ashley Pallie, dean of undergraduate admissions.
"We realized we needed to help students know that they can be successful at Caltech without perfect scores and not self-select out of applying to the Institute," she says.
To help bridge gap between what the faculty committee and admissions team learned about the importance of test scores as part of the process of evaluating applications, the admissions team recently rolled out a new system for assessing SAT and ACT test scores in which ranges of test scores are grouped together for the purpose of evaluation. The aim of the new system is to steer qualified prospective students away from the belief that they should not apply if they don't have perfect test scores.
Is testing the only thing that matters?
Tamuz and Pallie say it's also important to remember that standardized test scores are just one data point used in the holistic review process of a student's academic career and achievements. In addition, because Caltech accepts a superscore for test results—the highest score one can achieve by combining the best section scores—the bucket system could benefit those who might not have the resources to take the test more than once.
"Our ideal test score is now a range," says Pallie. "Yes, that range is still much higher than would be expected at most other institutions, but it fits the expectations of the academic experience at Caltech."
What is the goal of the bucket system?
Pallie hopes the new bucket system will mean that the Institute will gain an even broader pool of applicants who both have the ability to succeed at Caltech and do not self-select out based solely on less-than-perfect test scores. "We heard this from counselors, we've heard this from students, and it's certainly just kind of out in the ethos, this idea that if you don't get perfect scores, you shouldn't apply to Caltech. We also heard this from some of our admitted students who were saying, ‘Oh, wow, if testing had been required when I was applying to schools, I wouldn't have applied to Caltech'. These are incredible students that we know deserve to be here".
To our knowledge no other schools are doing bucket systems. Our innovative approach is intended to help high-achieving students see that they should bet on themselves
The 2026-27 academic year will be the first year in which the new system will be implemented, and that the admissions office will continue to collect information on testing and student success that might help refine the process in the future. "It's the Caltech way to go in with a willingness to experiment and try something new that's really backed by data."
Why are test scores being evaluated again?
Caltech reinstated the requirement for prospective undergraduate students to submit their scores in April 2024, after pausing its SAT and ACT test requirement in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to reinstate was the result of a recommendation from a faculty advisory committee on undergraduate admissions, which reviewed student testing data from the past few years and compared it to their academic success.
"We wanted to know whether test scores are predictive of student performance in our classes, so we looked at various metrics—how they did in classes, whether they did research, all sorts of things—and we got one very clear answer: Test scores are predictive of success, even into students' sophomore and junior years," says Tamuz. "So, we don't want to give up on the SAT or ACT."