INTRODUCTION In the United States, college is the path to success. At no other time in U.S. history has a college degree mattered more. A college degree allows you to pursue your dreams in your chosen field, more opportunities than a high school diploma alone would allow. The university is also a gateway allowing those less economically fortunate to succeed in life by continuing their studies. In recent years, there has been an influx of high school students applying to universities in search of better jobs in the future. Due to the increase in college applicants, admissions officers are increasingly relying on SAT scores to make admissions decisions. Two years ago, “1.6 million students took the SAT,” a figure that has been increasing in recent years (Lewin). With the number of students applying to colleges increasing, it is more difficult for admissions officers to choose good and well-rounded applicants. College and college admissions officers “set an SAT score threshold […] below which students will not be considered for admission” (“The SAT Is Not the Problem”). Standardized tests have become the crutch that admissions officers rely on to choose prospective students. There has been widespread criticism of the SAT in general, leading the CollegeBoard to change the test format several times. The general criteria for college admission are SATs, high school grades, high school rank, entrance homework, and extracurricular activities, in that order. Standardized tests such as the SATs “continue to be used as an objective measure for college admission” even with the flaws that accompany their use (Deerman et al.). This shows that this standardized test has a great influence in America, whether positive or negative. Although SA......middle of article......T PREDICTS COLLEGE SUCCESS, STUDY SAYS. "Chicago Tribune May 6, 2001: A18. LexisNexis Academic. Web. April 3, 2014. Lewin, Tamar. "Tests, Tests." The New York Times. The New York Times, August 3, 2013. Web. April 4, 2014. Owen, David and Marilyn Doerr. “None of the Above: The Truth Behind the SATs, Revised and Updated.” "Racial Bias? » TheHuffingtonPost.com, April 25, 2011. Web "The SAT is not the problem. This is how the exam is used. " USA Today March 14, 2014: 10A. Biography in Context. Web. April 3, 2014. " Standardized Testing. " International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 8. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 95-98. Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Reference Web.. 2014.