The Return of Standardized Testing: Which Top Colleges Require SAT/ACT

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

Six of the eight Ivy League schools now require SAT or ACT scores for first-year applicants in the 2026-2027 cycle (entering the Class of 2031). Harvard reinstated testing in April 2024 for Fall 2025 applicants onward. Yale moved to a test-flexible policy that requires SAT, ACT, AP, or IB scores. Dartmouth, Brown, and Cornell each reinstated standardized testing for Fall 2025 applicants. The University of Pennsylvania reinstated testing in early 2025. Princeton announced in October 2025 that it would require testing starting with the 2027-2028 cycle, leaving 2026-2027 as its final test-optional year. Columbia remains the lone Ivy League school with a permanent test-optional policy.

Beyond the Ivy League, the most selective universities have followed similar trajectories. MIT never went test-optional permanently and required testing throughout the pandemic period. Caltech reinstated standardized testing in April 2024 for Fall 2025 applicants. Stanford reinstated testing in June 2025 for Fall 2026 applicants onward. Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Florida public universities have all maintained or reinstated testing requirements. The trajectory across the Top 25 is unambiguous: schools that suspended testing during the pandemic are returning to required scores faster than most families anticipated.

Why Are Top Colleges Bringing Back the SAT and ACT?

Three institutional research findings drove the reinstatement. First, internal studies at Dartmouth, MIT, and Brown found that standardized test scores were the most reliable predictor of first-year academic performance, especially when high schools used inflated grading scales. Second, scores helped admissions officers identify high-potential students from under-resourced schools who might otherwise be passed over because their applications lacked the polish of better-resourced peers (testing policy adoption and admissions officer use of test scores are tracked annually in the NACAC State of College Admission report). Third, the absence of test scores forced admissions officers to weight other factors more heavily, and those factors (recommendations, essays, activity profiles) were more correlated with family socioeconomic resources than scores were.

Dartmouth’s February 2024 announcement, the first Ivy reinstatement, was paired with a research paper showing that test scores were a stronger predictor of academic success at Dartmouth than high school GPA, particularly for first-generation and low-income applicants (Dartmouth Office of Institutional Research, February 2024). Harvard’s April 2024 announcement cited similar internal research. Brown, Cornell, Yale, and Penn followed in 2024 and early 2025, each citing the same finding: test-optional admissions had not produced the equity gains that had been the original justification for the policy.

Which Elite Universities Still Allow Test-Optional Applications?

For the 2026-2027 cycle, Columbia and Princeton are the only Ivy League schools that allow test-optional applications. Columbia’s policy is permanent. Princeton’s is a one-cycle holdover that ends with 2027-2028 applications. Outside the Ivy League, most Top 25 universities have moved away from permanent test-optional policies. Notable schools that remain test-optional for the 2026-2027 cycle include the University of Chicago, Northwestern (test-flexible), Duke (test-optional through 2026-2027), Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, and Rice.

How Much Have Mid-50% SAT Ranges Shifted Since 2019?

The most underappreciated consequence of test-optional admissions is what self-selection did to the published mid-50% SAT range at the most selective schools. A score that placed comfortably inside the middle 50% before the pandemic now sits at or near the 25th percentile at most Ivy League schools. The bar moved, and most families have not yet recalibrated their target scores.

The pattern is consistent: the 75th percentile is essentially flat (a near-perfect score has always been a near-perfect score), but the 25th percentile climbed roughly 50 points. The mechanism is self-selection, not a sudden surge in student aptitude. Under test-required policies, every enrolled student appeared in the mid-50% calculation. Under test-optional policies, only confident testers submitted, and students with scores in the lower portion of the historical 25th-to-75th band withheld, removing themselves from the published distribution. The result was a higher reported floor without any underlying change in the applicant pool.

For Class of 2030 and 2031 cohorts, every admitted student’s score will once again count toward the published mid-50% range at the schools that have reinstated testing. Whether the floor stays at this elevated level or settles back is the open question of the next two cycles. For now, families targeting Ivy Plus admissions should plan toward a 1500 to 1530 as a competitive entry point and 1570 or above to position above the median admitted student. For more on building a competitive academic profile beyond test scores, see our Ivy League Academic Index Calculator.

Are More Students Submitting Scores at Test-Optional Schools?

One of the most significant trends in the 2026-2027 cycle is the sharp increase in score submission rates, even at schools that remain test-optional. According to Common Application data, roughly 80-85% of applicants to selective test-optional schools now submit SAT or ACT scores, up from approximately 55-60% during the 2021-2022 cycle when test-optional policies were still new (Common Application reporting, 2024-2025).

The trend signals a clear message: students and families understand that submitting strong scores provides a competitive advantage, even when not technically required. At schools like Stanford, Duke, and Vanderbilt during the test-optional period, admitted students overwhelmingly had scores on file. The practical reality is that test-optional at a highly selective school is not the same as test-blind. Admissions officers will see scores when they are submitted, and the absence of scores raises questions when the rest of the applicant pool is overwhelmingly choosing to submit. For a deeper look at the submit-or-withhold decision, see our guide to whether test-optional is really optional.

What SAT or ACT Score Do You Need for the 2026-2027 Application Cycle?

The competitive SAT score for an Ivy Plus application has effectively risen by 30 to 50 points since 2019. A 1500 today carries the strategic weight that a 1450 to 1470 carried before the pandemic. Hitting the 75th percentile, where students are positioned above rather than within the middle of the admitted distribution, now requires a 1570 to 1580 at every Ivy League school.

For prep planning, this matters most at the high end of the score curve. The 30 to 50 points needed to move from a 1480 to a 1530 require disproportionately more preparation time than the same gain at the 1300 to 1350 level, because every additional question requires precision under timing pressure on items specifically calibrated to differentiate top scorers. Families targeting Ivy Plus admissions should build extra prep time into the junior year timeline rather than assuming a strong PSAT will translate easily into a competitive SAT submission. For the full junior year testing plan, see our Junior Year SAT and ACT Strategy guide.

When Should Students Take the SAT or ACT for 2026-2027 Applications?

The optimal testing timeline for a 2026-2027 application cycle places the first official sitting in the spring of junior year (March, May, or June), with one or two retakes if needed in August or October of senior year. Students who plan to apply Early Decision or Early Action in November of senior year should aim to have their final score in hand by the August or September sitting, since most ED and REA deadlines fall in November and score reporting takes one to three weeks.

Strong students often benefit from beginning preparation in the fall of sophomore year, particularly if they are aiming for the 1500 to 1570 band that defines competitive Ivy League submissions. The PSAT taken in October of junior year provides a useful diagnostic, but its score range tops out at 1520, and many students who score well on the PSAT find that closing the gap to a 1530 or 1550 SAT requires more practice than expected. For sophomore-year planning, see our SAT prep timing guide.

Should You Take the SAT or the ACT for Ivy League Admissions?

All Ivy League schools, MIT, Stanford, and Caltech accept either the SAT or the ACT with no preference between the two. The decision should come down to the student’s strengths and the test format. The SAT, in its current digital adaptive form, places a heavier emphasis on reading and reasoning under time pressure, with shorter passages and questions that adjust difficulty based on early performance. The ACT places a heavier emphasis on speed across longer reading passages and includes a science reasoning section that the SAT does not.

Students whose strengths lie in mathematics and concise analytical reading often perform better on the SAT. Students with strong scientific reading skills and the ability to maintain pace across longer text often perform better on the ACT. The most reliable way to decide is to take a full-length practice version of each test under timed conditions and compare percentile scores using the official concordance tables. For a deeper comparison, see our analysis of SAT versus ACT for Ivy League admissions.

What Does the Return to Required Testing Mean for Future Applicants?

The return of standardized testing requirements at the most selective schools has three concrete implications for families planning ahead. First, the published mid-50% ranges may settle slightly as test-required cohorts replace the test-optional self-selected ones, but families should not expect a return to pre-pandemic floors. The competitive standard has shifted upward, and the schools that have reinstated testing have reported no intent to lower it.

Second, the value of strong scores extends beyond the schools that require them. Students who submit competitive scores at test-optional schools where most peers also submit retain a strategic advantage. Withholding a score that falls below a school’s 25th percentile is sometimes appropriate, but withholding any score above the 50th percentile generally is not.

Third, the return to testing has clarified what test-optional was always quietly signaling: at the most selective schools, scores remained one of the most informative single data points in the application, even when policy framing suggested otherwise. For families planning toward the Class of 2031, 2032, and beyond, the practical question is no longer whether to test, but how to plan and prepare strategically. For the broader picture of what selective admissions looks like in this environment, see our analysis of the most competitive colleges and Ivy Day 2026 results.

Frequently Asked Questions About College Testing Policies

About Oriel Admissions

Oriel Admissions is a Princeton-based college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy. Our team includes former admissions officers from Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia. To discuss your family’s admissions strategy, schedule a consultation.