ABC "World News Tonight" reporter Bob Jamieson and an ABC News crew spent a day on the Bates campus Sept. 20 conducting interviews for a national story on the increasing number of selective colleges that are implementing optional-SAT admissions policies. Jamieson chose Bates as a pioneer of the policy.

Bates also was contacted recently by NBC "Nightly News with Brian Williams," and our wordmark and Web pages appeared on the Sept. 20 NBC newscast. Both networks were particularly interested in Bates' 20-year study of the policy, which shows virtually no difference in the grade point averages and graduation rates of students who submitted SATs and non-submitters. Bates encourages prospective students to include with their application evidence of various forms of intelligence, academic skills, discipline, productivity, values, and contribution to a community. Admissions officers say that 20 years of data show the optional SAT policy allows them to make better decisions about who will succeed at Bates – to consider factors like internal motivation, intellectual curiosity, creativity and the ability to work well with others.

The ABC story is scheduled to run Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Eastern time zone. Check TV listings in your area. As with any newscast, our story may be bumped by breaking news. If that happens, we will let you know the next scheduled airdate.