Brown testing policy at a glance: Yes, Brown requires the SAT or ACT. First-year applicants have needed to submit scores since the 2024-25 admission cycle, when Brown reinstated its requirement beginning with the Class of 2029, and the policy applies to every first-year applicant, recruited athletes included. Only in the rare circumstance that the tests are genuinely unavailable to a student can the requirement be set aside, with an explanation in the application. Families planning a testing timeline around Brown can schedule a consultation to build a complete testing and application strategy.
Source: Brown Undergraduate Admission, Standardized Tests (admission.brown.edu/ask/standardized-tests).
Does Brown Require the SAT or ACT?
Yes. Brown requires standardized test scores, either the SAT or ACT, from all first-year applicants, and it applies the policy without carve-outs: Brown states directly that the testing requirement applies to recruited athletes just as it does to everyone else. The SAT Essay and ACT Writing sections are completely optional, and most applicants do not submit them. Students reporting the ACT should share their highest English, Math, and Reading section scores, with the Science section optional and worth including only when the result helps. Older scores technically never expire, so a student may self-report an earlier sitting through the Common Application, though recent results represent a candidate best.
Brown is among the friendliest top schools on score mechanics. It accepts Score Choice and superscores within both the SAT and the ACT, considering the highest individual section scores across all administrations, and it even accepts self-reported superscores. For students who genuinely cannot take either test, Brown asks for an explanation of the circumstances in the Additional Information section of the application and encourages submission of whatever other testing exists, such as AP results, final or predicted IB scores, or A-levels, to help the committee read academic performance in context. International applicants whose primary language is not English are strongly encouraged to add an English proficiency test on top of the SAT or ACT.
How Has Brown’s Testing Policy Changed?
Brown suspended its testing requirement in June 2020 and spent the pandemic years test optional while gathering evidence. In September 2023, President Christina Paxson charged an Ad Hoc Committee on Admissions Policies, composed of senior faculty and Corporation members, with assessing the policy’s effects, and on March 5, 2024 she accepted its recommendation to reinstate required testing beginning with the Class of 2029, students applying in the 2024-25 cycle for fall 2025 enrollment. Brown was the third Ivy to move, following Dartmouth and Yale by a matter of weeks, and the requirement has governed every cycle since, including the current 2026-27 cycle.
The committee’s findings were pointed. Roughly 40 percent of applicants had stopped submitting scores under the optional policy, yet the data showed test results to be a strong predictor of performance once enrolled and of the capacity to succeed in a demanding academic environment. More striking was the equity finding: the committee concluded that test-optional policies can disadvantage talented students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, whose strong scores, read in context, might have demonstrated their ability to succeed at Brown, and whose absence of scores left admissions officers hesitating. Provost Francis Doyle called SAT and ACT scores among the key indicators that help predict a student’s ability to thrive at Brown.
| Policy Detail | Brown |
|---|---|
| Requirement status | SAT or ACT required for all first-year applicants, including recruited athletes |
| In effect since | Class of 2029 (2024-25 cycle), announced March 5, 2024 |
| Exceptions | Rare circumstances where tests are unavailable; explain in Additional Information and submit AP, IB, or A-level results |
| Superscoring | Yes, within both the SAT and ACT; self-reported superscores accepted; Score Choice allowed |
| Optional sections | SAT Essay and ACT Writing optional; ACT Science optional and worth sending only if strong |
| Score timing | Early Decision by the last October test date; Regular Decision by the last December test date |
What SAT and ACT Scores Are Competitive at Brown?
Brown sets no minimum scores and says explicitly that a result below its average ranges should not deter an application, because every number is read against a student’s school and opportunities. That said, admitted students cluster near the top of the national distribution, with recent averages among submitters in the low-to-mid 1500s on the SAT and the mid 30s on the ACT. Our working guidance for Ivy-Plus applicants is to treat roughly 1500 to 1530 as a competitive entry point and 1570 or above as positioning above the median admitted student. Brown’s generous superscoring across both exams means those targets can be assembled across sittings rather than achieved in one.
How Should You Plan Testing for Brown?
Brown gives concrete testing deadlines: Early Decision applicants must complete testing by the last October test date to ensure scores arrive, and Regular Decision applicants by the last December date. Working backward, a first official sitting in spring of junior year followed by an early-fall retake fits Early Decision comfortably, while Regular Decision students hold one extra window. Because Brown superscores within both tests and accepts self-reported superscores, each additional sitting is essentially free upside for a prepared student. Students facing genuine access barriers should write the explanation into the Additional Information section early in the drafting process and gather AP, IB, or A-level evidence rather than treating the exception as an afterthought.
For the picture across every top school, see our full guide to which colleges require the SAT and ACT. From there, Brown vs Dartmouth: Admissions, Curriculum, and Fit, Brown vs Cornell: Admissions, Curriculum, and Fit, and SAT and ACT Prep Timeline: 9th Through 12th Grade Roadmap for Elite Admissions can help you put testing inside a complete Brown application strategy.
What Does This Policy Mean for Your Application Strategy?
Strategically, Brown’s policy is demanding in coverage but forgiving in mechanics. The requirement reaches every first-year applicant, athletes included, so no recruiting conversation should assume testing away; at the same time, superscoring on both exams makes Brown one of the easier top schools at which to present a best-case number. The committee’s own reasoning offers a lesson for borderline scorers: Brown concluded that withheld scores were hurting students whose results, in context, would have helped them, which argues for testing seriously and submitting rather than gaming the margins. A strong score built for Brown also travels, since nearly every Brown peer now requires one.
Frequently Asked Questions About Brown’s Testing Policy
No. Brown reinstated its testing requirement in March 2024 beginning with the Class of 2029, and every cycle since, including 2026-27, requires first-year applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores.
Yes. Brown states plainly that its standardized testing policy applies to all first-year applicants, so recruited athletes must submit SAT or ACT scores like everyone else.
Yes, both. Brown superscores within each exam, considering the highest individual section scores across all administrations, accepts self-reported superscores, and allows Score Choice, which makes planned retakes essentially free upside.
No. Applicants should report their highest English, Math, and Reading scores; the Science section is optional and worth submitting only when the result strengthens the file, and the Writing section is entirely optional.
Brown allows for rare circumstances where the tests are unavailable. The student explains the situation in the Additional Information section and is encouraged to submit other testing such as AP results, final or predicted IB scores, or A-levels.
Brown sets no minimum and reads scores in context, but recent submitter averages sit in the low-to-mid 1500s. We suggest treating roughly 1500 to 1530 as a competitive entry point and 1570 or above as above-median positioning.
Early Decision applicants must finish by the last October test date and Regular Decision applicants by the last December date, so scores arrive in time for review. A spring junior-year sitting plus a fall retake fits both calendars.
A committee review found scores strongly predicted success at Brown and, notably, that optional policies were hurting talented students from less-advantaged backgrounds who withheld results that would have helped them in context.
Sources: Brown Undergraduate Admission, College Board SAT Suite, ACT, NCES College Navigator, College Scorecard.
Testing also matters after early decisions: if you are deferred, a stronger winter score is one of the cleanest updates you can send. See our guide to being deferred from Brown.
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