The CLT as an alternative to the ACT and SAT – Great colleges measuring intellectual engagement

The Classic Learning Test (CLT) invites students to wrestle with works of the greatest minds in the history of Western thought across literary and mathematical content. Rich material reflecting both theistic and secular perspectives benefits and enriches the student in the test-taking process. Among standardized college entrance exams, the CLT provides the most accurate and rigorous measure of academic formation, accomplishment, and potential.

You may have heard about the CLT as an alternative to the ACT or SAT. They’re making a pretty big claim which, for all intents and purposes, is the college’s claim to accept. The college has to make the admission decision based on the student’s application. In a hopeful sign of the test’s potential, a number of colleges have accepted the claim and will accept the CLT in their admissions process alongside the ACT or SAT.

Given the name of the test, you would not be remiss in thinking that the CLT would be the right test for a classically trained high school student – either home schooled or through one of the Classical Christian schools. There seems to be a nuance, though, in that the test’s approach and name refer to classical literature rather than classical training. So what does that mean for you?

67 colleges have accepted the CLT. In one sense, this is not a large pool to choose from. In another sense, a broad mix of faith traditions have signed on including the evangelical Liberty and Bryan, a number of Catholic schools, Christian schools representing Baptist and reformed theology, and conservative-leaning schools like Hillsdale and Patrick Henry. Some of these schools have committed scholarship funding to students who excel on the CLT. Perhaps this bodes well as an opportunity for students to set themselves apart from other applicants in the admissions process. If you’re interested in these schools the CLT may be for you.

Alternatively, there are no public colleges currently accepting the CLT, and only a limited number of CLT schools currently include the CLT score as part of scholarship calculations. If you are looking at public universities you’ll still need to include an ACT or SAT score with your college and scholarship applications.

The CLT was formed in 2015. To be clear, very few students have sat for the exam, and empirical evidence backing the claim that “the CLT provides the most accurate and rigorous measure of academic formation, accomplishment, and potential” may not yet be fully justified. Still, for the home school and Classical Christian school approach, which we’re very familiar with here at CollegeTicket, the CLT may be worth pursuing, especially if you are targeting one of the 67 schools accepting this test as part of your application.

You’ll find 2017-2018 testing locations here, and the test dates are

• September 16, 2017 (Deadline – September 12)
• November 11, 2017 (Deadline – November 07)
• February 03, 2018 (Deadline – January 30)
• April 21, 2018 (Deadline – April 17)
• May 19, 2018 (Deadline – May 15)

If you sit for the CLT, let us know about your experience. You can drop me an email at andy@college-ticket.com.