MSU
Students in the MSU Department of Psychology are developing a personality-based addition to the SAT to more accurately match incoming students with colleges.
The College Success Project, now in its third year, is funded with about $300,000 from the College Board, the distributors of the SAT.
Psychology Professor Neal Schmitt, who leads the project with nine other student researchers, said the two-section multiple choice test aims to boil down a student's personality into a numerical score.
The first section, a biographical data test, asks students about high school experiences, including extra-curricular activities, sports, clubs and leadership roles held by students.
The second section is a situational judgment test, which gives students hypothetical situations and allows them to choose a course of action.
Psychology graduate student Alyssa Friede said the test also will help gauge how well a student might perform in college.
"Some people feel the SAT and ACT don't give a sense of who they are," Friede said.