Princeton testing policy at a glance: Not yet, but the clock is running. Princeton remains test optional for first-year and transfer applicants seeking to enroll in fall 2027, and applying without scores in the 2026-27 cycle carries no disadvantage by Princeton’s own statement. Beginning with the 2027-28 cycle, applicants seeking fall 2028 entry must submit SAT or ACT scores, a change announced in October 2025. Families planning a testing timeline around Princeton can schedule a consultation to build a complete testing and application strategy.
Source: Princeton Admission, Standardized Testing (admission.princeton.edu/apply/standardized-testing).
Does Princeton Require the SAT or ACT?
For the current 2026-27 cycle, Princeton does not require the SAT or ACT. The university states plainly that students who apply for fall 2027 entry without a score will not be at a disadvantage in the process. That window closes with this cycle: Princeton will return to requiring standardized testing beginning with the 2027-28 admission cycle, meaning every first-year and transfer applicant seeking to enroll in fall 2028 must submit either SAT or ACT scores. In practical terms, current high school seniors applying this fall still choose; current juniors and every class behind them should treat Princeton as a test-required school and plan accordingly.
Princeton’s score mechanics are distinctive and worth knowing precisely. Scores must be sent directly from the testing agencies rather than self-reported, using code 2672 for the SAT and 2588 for the ACT. Applicants may use the SAT’s score choice feature, but Princeton does not superscore between the paper and digital SAT, so score choice only works within a single format. For the ACT, Princeton accepts only the highest single composite score rather than a superscore, and it treats the original four-section ACT and the redesigned three-section version equally, which means the ACT Science section is not required. One permanent exception stands: active-duty military personnel are exempt from the testing requirement because of access constraints.
How Has Princeton’s Testing Policy Changed?
Princeton suspended its testing requirement in 2020 when the pandemic closed test centers, then extended the pause year by year while most of its peers reversed course. Dartmouth, Yale, Brown, and Harvard announced reinstatements in early 2024, Penn and Cornell followed for fall 2026 entry, and Stanford, MIT, and Caltech restored requirements of their own. Princeton held out until October 9, 2025, when it announced the return of required testing effective with the 2027-28 cycle, giving families an unusually long two-cycle runway. With Columbia’s June 2026 announcement completing the set, every Ivy League school will require the SAT or ACT for the high school Class of 2028.
Princeton’s stated reason was its own evidence. The university reviewed five years of data from the test-optional period and found that academic performance at Princeton was stronger among students who chose to submit scores than among those who did not, concluding that standardized testing is among the tools helpful in indicating potential for academic success. The university paired the announcement with reassurance: testing remains one element of a comprehensive, holistic review, there are no minimum score requirements, and every number is read in the context of a student’s school and circumstances. Close to 80 percent of Princeton’s most recent incoming class submitted an SAT or ACT score even while the policy remained optional.
| Policy Detail | Princeton |
|---|---|
| Requirement status | Test optional for fall 2027 entry; SAT or ACT required starting with the 2027-28 cycle (fall 2028 entry) |
| Change announced | October 9, 2025, two full cycles in advance |
| Applies to | First-year and transfer applicants; active-duty military personnel are exempt |
| Score reporting | Directly from the testing agencies (SAT code 2672, ACT code 2588); no self-reporting |
| Superscoring | SAT score choice within one format only (no paper-to-digital mixing); ACT judged on highest single composite |
| Score timing | October test date for single-choice early action; December date for regular decision |
What SAT and ACT Scores Are Competitive at Princeton?
Princeton publishes no cutoffs and emphasizes that promising candidates are read in school context, but the practical bar sits with the rest of the Ivy League’s most selective tier. Self-selection during the optional years lifted the published ranges, and with close to 80 percent of recent classes submitting, a score has effectively functioned as a standard credential for some time. Our working guidance for Ivy-Plus applicants is to treat roughly 1500 to 1530 on the SAT as a competitive entry point and 1570 or above as positioning above the median admitted student, with ACT composites in the mid 30s. Because Princeton takes the highest single ACT composite rather than a superscore, ACT students should aim for one complete, strong sitting rather than assembling sections across dates.
How Should You Plan Testing for Princeton?
Princeton’s own checklist sets the calendar: applicants who submit testing should take the SAT or ACT by the October test date for single-choice early action and by the December date for regular decision. Since scores travel directly from the testing agencies, students should send them at registration or promptly after scores release rather than waiting, because agency reporting adds days that a deadline will not forgive. Current juniors targeting the final test-optional cycle should still test and submit if the result lands in competitive range, since a strong score only helps. Current sophomores face a required policy, so a diagnostic of both exams this year, followed by a spring sitting and a fall retake, is the comfortable path.
For the picture across every top school, see our full guide to which colleges require the SAT and ACT. From there, SAT and ACT Prep Timeline: 9th Through 12th Grade Roadmap for Elite Admissions, Junior Year SAT and ACT Strategy: Testing Timeline, Score Goals, and When to Retake, and SAT vs ACT: 1530 SAT or 35 ACT, Which Test Should Your Child Take for Ivy League Admission? can help you put testing inside a complete Princeton application strategy.
What Does This Policy Mean for Your Application Strategy?
The strategy question at Princeton differs by graduating class. Seniors applying in 2026-27 hold a genuine choice, and the right call follows the number: submit anything in or above the competitive range, and weigh omission only when a score sits well below it and cannot be improved before deadlines. Everyone younger should simply plan as if the requirement were already in force, because it will be when they apply. The two-cycle notice Princeton provided is best treated as preparation runway rather than reprieve, and because nearly every Princeton peer now requires scores, a testing plan built for Princeton doubles as the plan for the entire list.
Frequently Asked Questions About Princeton’s Testing Policy
Yes, for one final cycle. First-year and transfer applicants seeking fall 2027 entry may apply without SAT or ACT scores and, by Princeton’s own statement, face no disadvantage. The requirement returns with the 2027-28 cycle for fall 2028 entry.
Beginning with the 2027-28 admission cycle. Students applying in the fall and winter of 2027 for enrollment in fall 2028, the entering Class of 2032, must submit either SAT or ACT scores, per Princeton’s October 2025 announcement.
Current seniors applying in 2026-27 still choose whether to submit. Current juniors and every younger class will apply under the restored requirement, so they should build a full SAT or ACT preparation plan now.
Partially. Applicants may use SAT score choice, but Princeton does not superscore between the paper and digital SAT, so choices work only within one format. For the ACT, Princeton considers the highest single composite rather than a superscore.
No. Princeton accepts the original four-section ACT and the redesigned three-section version equally, so students taking the newer English, Math, and Reading format are fully covered.
No. Princeton requires scores to be sent directly from the testing agencies, using SAT code 2672 and ACT code 2588, so students should order reports promptly rather than waiting until deadlines approach.
A review of five years of test-optional data found that academic performance at Princeton was stronger among students who submitted scores, leading the university to conclude that testing helps indicate potential for success. Close to 80 percent of the most recent class had submitted scores anyway.
If the score lands in or above the competitive Ivy-Plus range, roughly 1500 to 1530 and up, submit it. Withholding makes sense only when a score sits well below range with no realistic path to improvement before the October or December test dates.
Sources: Princeton Admission, College Board SAT Suite, ACT, NCES College Navigator, College Scorecard.
About Oriel Admissions
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