Which Colleges Require the SAT or ACT? Top College Testing Policies for 2026-2027

Which top colleges require the SAT or ACT for fall 2027 entry?

Of the 28 colleges below, 11 require the SAT or ACT for students applying in the 2026-27 cycle, 14 are test optional, Rice recommends scores, Carnegie Mellon sets its rule by college, and UCLA does not consider scores. Each policy was read on the college’s own admissions page on October 26, 2026; where a page does not name the cycle, the table shows the policy the page states as current.

Two policies need a closer read. Carnegie Mellon describes “test flexible” as a requirement to submit test scores, with a choice among the SAT, ACT, IB, AP, A-Level or French Baccalaureate, except in the Griffin School of Computer Science, which requires the SAT or ACT; the College of Fine Arts is test optional (Carnegie Mellon). The University of Chicago says that “submitting an SAT or ACT is optional and not required for admission” and that a submitted score is used in review only if it helps the application (UChicago).

Which Ivy League schools require the SAT or ACT?

Six Ivy League schools require the SAT or ACT for fall 2027 entry: Harvard, Yale, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth and Cornell. Princeton and Columbia are test optional in the 2026-27 cycle and will require scores starting with the 2027-28 cycle. By the announcement dates below, Dartmouth was the first Ivy to announce a return to required testing and Columbia the last.

Princeton exempts active military personnel from the requirement that begins in the 2027-28 cycle (Princeton). Columbia says applicants may request a testing waiver as part of the application once its requirement begins (Columbia). Penn offers a hardship waiver now (Penn).

Which other selective colleges brought back required testing, and when?

MIT Admissions announced on March 28, 2022 that it was reinstating the SAT or ACT requirement after a pandemic suspension, starting with applicants to the Class of 2027 (MIT Admissions). Caltech announced on April 11, 2024 that its requirement took effect immediately, for students applying in fall 2024 to enroll in fall 2025 (Caltech News). Johns Hopkins announced on August 16, 2024 that it would require scores for admission in fall 2026 (JHU Hub). Stanford states that scores “were optional for the Class of 2029” and are required now (Stanford).

Four colleges in this guide have announced requirements that start after this cycle: Princeton and Columbia, covered above, plus Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. Notre Dame says it “will remain test optional for those applying for fall 2027,” and applicants seeking to enroll in fall 2028 will need to submit the ACT or SAT (Notre Dame). Vanderbilt will not require scores for fall 2027 or fall 2028 entry and will require them for fall 2029 (Vanderbilt).

Why did selective colleges bring back testing requirements?

The colleges that reinstated requirements gave their reasons in their announcements, and the reasons overlap:

• Harvard: Dean Hopi Hoekstra wrote that tests “are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond.” The announcement also cited research by Raj Chetty, David Deming and John Friedman (Harvard Gazette).
• Dartmouth: the announcement says the decision was “informed by new research,” and Dartmouth’s testing page says research by Dartmouth faculty helped inform it (Dartmouth Office of the President; Dartmouth testing policy).
• Johns Hopkins: its review found that the test-optional environment “may have discouraged some applicants” from less-advantaged or underrepresented backgrounds from submitting scores “that would have provided an additional positive signal” (JHU Hub).
• Princeton: the decision follows a review of five years of test-optional data, which found that academic performance at Princeton “was stronger for students who chose to submit test scores than for students who did not” (Princeton).
• Caltech: the decision followed a recommendation from a faculty advisory committee on undergraduate admissions policy (Caltech News).

How many students submit scores at test-optional colleges?

The Common Data Set reports the share of enrolled first-year students who submitted SAT and ACT scores. Because some students submit both, the two shares can add up to more than 100%. For students who entered in fall 2025, when the colleges below were test optional, the share who submitted the SAT ranged from 32% to 60%.

At colleges that already required testing for fall 2025 entry, the SAT share was higher: 79% at Harvard, where 27% submitted the ACT (Harvard CDS), and 69% at Dartmouth, where 33% submitted the ACT (Dartmouth CDS). Tufts reports that about half of all applicants for the Class of 2029 submitted SAT or ACT scores (Tufts). Score ranges at each college are in our guides to Ivy League SAT score ranges and the highest SAT score.

Should you submit scores to a test-optional college?

Test-optional colleges say that applicants without scores are not disadvantaged. Princeton says applicants who apply without an SAT or ACT score this cycle “will not be at a disadvantage in our process” (Princeton). UVA tells fall 2027 applicants that it will consider their application “with care and respect” whether or not they share scores (UVA), and Columbia states that there are “no minimum test score requirements for admission” (Columbia).

In the view of Oriel Admissions, a score at or above a college’s Common Data Set median is usually worth sending, a score below its 25th percentile usually is not, and a score in between depends on the rest of the file and on the intended major. Some colleges limit changes after submission: UVA allows a change by email until 5 p.m. on November 22 for Early Decision and Early Action and January 15 for Regular Decision (UVA). Our guides to whether test optional is really optional and changing a test-optional decision cover the details.

When should 2026-27 applicants finish testing?

Score deadlines vary by college and round, and several colleges accept scores from tests taken after the application deadline:

• Yale: SAT and ACT exams completed in October or November are generally available for Single-Choice Early Action, and exams completed in January or February for Regular Decision (Yale).
• Northwestern: Early Decision applicants should send scores no later than November 30, 2026, and Regular Decision applicants may self-report December scores until February 15, 2027 (Northwestern).
• Caltech: testing for Restrictive Early Action must be completed before November 30, 2026, and for Regular Decision before December 31, 2026 (Caltech).

For students in earlier grades, our junior year SAT and ACT strategy guide and SAT prep timing guide cover when to start.

Do colleges prefer the SAT or the ACT?

Every college in this guide that requires or considers scores accepts either the SAT or the ACT. Yale states no preference between the SAT and the ACT and does not require the ACT Science or Writing sections (Yale), and Caltech does not require ACT Writing or Science (Caltech). Our comparison of the SAT and the ACT for Ivy League admissions covers how to choose.

Frequently Asked Questions About Which Colleges Require the SAT or ACT

Sources: Harvard application requirements, Harvard Gazette, April 2024, Yale standardized testing, Yale News, February 22, 2024, Yale News, May 27, 2026, Princeton standardized testing, Princeton Alumni Weekly, Columbia testing policy, Columbia testing policy update, Penn testing, Penn Today, Brown standardized tests, Brown University News, March 2024, Dartmouth testing policy, Dartmouth Office of the President, February 2024, Cornell standardized testing policy, Cornell Chronicle, April 2024, MIT tests and scores, MIT Admissions, March 28, 2022, Caltech standardized tests, Caltech News, April 11, 2024, Stanford testing, Johns Hopkins standardized testing, JHU Hub, August 16, 2024, Georgetown application requirements, Carnegie Mellon standardized testing, Rice first-year applicants, Duke apply, UChicago required materials, Northwestern standardized testing policy, Notre Dame standardized testing policy, Vanderbilt testing policies, WashU first-year applicants, Emory exams, UVA deadlines and instructions, University of Michigan application changes, NYU first-year applicants, USC test-optional FAQ, Tufts enrolled student profile, UCLA first-year requirements, Harvard Common Data Set 2025-2026, Dartmouth Common Data Set 2025-2026, Princeton Common Data Set, UChicago Common Data Set, Northwestern Common Data Set, Emory Common Data Set 2025-2026, WashU Common Data Set 2025-2026. All read October 26, 2026.

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