Columbia testing policy at a glance: Not this cycle, but that is about to change. Columbia College and Columbia Engineering remain test optional for the 2026-27 admissions cycle, then return to required standardized testing effective August 2027 for the 2027-28 cycle. First-year and transfer applicants seeking to enroll in fall 2028 must submit SAT or ACT scores, a reversal Columbia announced on June 12, 2026 after a multi-year faculty review. Families planning a testing timeline around Columbia can schedule a consultation to build a complete testing and application strategy.
Source: Columbia Undergraduate Admissions, Testing Policy (undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/process/testing).
Does Columbia Require the SAT or ACT?
For students applying in the 2026-27 cycle, Columbia does not require the SAT or ACT. Applicants indicate with a yes or no answer in the Columbia Supplement whether they want submitted scores considered in the review, and the choice itself carries no penalty. That flexibility ends next cycle: effective August 2027, Columbia College and Columbia Engineering will require all first-year and transfer applicants to submit standardized test results from the ACT or SAT. Columbia has built in a safety valve, stating that applicants who face challenges in meeting the requirement may request a waiver at the time of their application, language that echoes the hardship provisions at Penn and Harvard.
The mechanics are specific. Students reporting the ACT must include the English, Mathematics, and Reading sections along with the Composite score, while the Science and Writing sections are optional and will be reviewed if submitted. SAT reporters submit the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math sections. Testing may be completed as late as November for Early Decision and February for Regular Decision, and scores may be self-reported on the Common Application or Coalition Application or updated through the status portal, with Columbia verifying official results for every enrolling student who self-reported. Discrepancies between self-reported and official scores can jeopardize a student’s place, so accuracy matters. Columbia’s ACT code is 2717 and its SAT code is 2116.
How Has Columbia’s Testing Policy Changed?
Columbia’s reversal closes a singular chapter. The university suspended its testing requirement in 2020 alongside the rest of the country, then went further than any Ivy peer, extending the policy indefinitely in 2023 and becoming the league’s standard-bearer for test-optional admissions. Through 2024 and 2025, as Dartmouth, Yale, Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Penn, and finally Princeton announced returns to required testing, Columbia held its position. The June 12, 2026 announcement, which followed a quiet June 8 update to the university’s application guidance, made Columbia the last Ivy League school to reinstate the requirement, and it means every Ivy will require the SAT or ACT for the high school Class of 2028.
Columbia attributed the decision to a multi-year faculty review that found test scores to be a useful indicator of potential student success, considered alongside grades, coursework, and the rigor of a student’s curriculum. The move also reflected the arithmetic of the applicant pool: even under the optional policy, students who submitted scores to Columbia posted formidable results, with the middle 50 percent of submitters to the Class of 2027 ranging from 1510 to 1560 on the SAT and 34 to 35 on the ACT according to the university’s own class profile. When nearly every peer requires testing and the submitting cohort scores at that level, an optional policy increasingly described the rulebook rather than the behavior.
| Policy Detail | Columbia |
|---|---|
| Requirement status | Test optional for the 2026-27 cycle; SAT or ACT required effective August 2027 (2027-28 cycle) |
| Change announced | June 12, 2026, following a June 8 update to application guidance |
| Applies to | Columbia College and Columbia Engineering, first-year and transfer applicants entering fall 2028 and beyond |
| Waivers | Applicants facing challenges meeting the requirement may request a waiver at the time of application |
| ACT sections | English, Mathematics, Reading, and Composite required; Science and Writing optional |
| Score timing and reporting | Testing as late as November for Early Decision, February for Regular Decision; self-reporting allowed with official verification at enrollment (ACT code 2717, SAT code 2116) |
What SAT and ACT Scores Are Competitive at Columbia?
Columbia’s own numbers set the competitive frame. Under the optional policy, the middle 50 percent of score submitters admitted to the Class of 2027 ran from 1510 to 1560 on the SAT and 34 to 35 on the ACT, bands that sit at the very top of the national distribution. Once testing is required, every admitted student’s result will count toward the published ranges, which may soften the extremes of self-selection slightly without changing the fundamental picture. 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, always read within Columbia’s holistic review of curriculum rigor and school context.
How Should You Plan Testing for Columbia?
Families should plan around two calendars. Students applying in the final optional cycle this fall should test anyway and submit if the result is competitive, since a strong score reads as a straightforward asset while its absence, in a pool where submitters cluster in the mid 1500s, leaves a gap the rest of the file must fill. Students in the high school Class of 2028 and younger should treat Columbia as a test-required school from day one. Columbia’s own cutoffs allow testing as late as November for Early Decision and February for Regular Decision, but a first sitting in spring of junior year with a fall retake remains the comfortable path, and self-reporting keeps costs down until enrollment.
For the picture across every top school, see our full guide to which colleges require the SAT and ACT. From there, Columbia vs Dartmouth: Which Ivy Is the Better Fit?, Columbia vs Princeton: Admissions, Aid, and Fit Compared, and SAT and ACT Prep Timeline: 9th Through 12th Grade Roadmap for Elite Admissions can help you put testing inside a complete Columbia application strategy.
What Does This Policy Mean for Your Application Strategy?
Strategically, Columbia’s announcement removes the last exception at the top of the market: no student building an Ivy League list for the Class of 2028 or beyond can plan around avoiding the SAT or ACT. That simplifies decision-making even as it raises stakes, because a single strong score now serves every school on the list. Students with genuine access barriers should plan to use Columbia’s waiver request rather than applying with silence where a score was expected. And since Columbia pairs the requirement with an emphasis on coursework rigor, the score should sit on top of the most demanding curriculum a school offers, which remains the foundation the committee reads first.
Frequently Asked Questions About Columbia’s Testing Policy
Yes, for one final cycle. Applicants in the 2026-27 cycle choose whether submitted SAT or ACT scores are considered, with no penalty either way. Beginning August 2027, all first-year and transfer applicants must submit scores.
Effective August 2027, for the 2027-28 admissions cycle. First-year and transfer students seeking to enroll at Columbia College or Columbia Engineering in fall 2028 must submit SAT or ACT scores, per the June 12, 2026 announcement.
Columbia cited a multi-year faculty review that found test scores to be a useful indicator of potential student success alongside grades and curriculum rigor. It was the last Ivy League school to reinstate the requirement.
Columbia states that applicants who face challenges in meeting the requirement may request a waiver at the time of application. Families anticipating genuine access barriers should document them and plan to use that route.
No. ACT reporters must include the English, Mathematics, and Reading sections plus the Composite score, while Science and Writing are optional and will be reviewed if a student chooses to submit them.
Among submitters admitted to the Class of 2027, the middle 50 percent ran 1510 to 1560 on the SAT and 34 to 35 on the ACT. We suggest treating roughly 1500 to 1530 as a competitive entry point and 1570 or above as above-median positioning.
Columbia accepts testing completed as late as November for Early Decision and February for Regular Decision, though earlier sittings leave room for retakes and prompt score delivery.
Generally yes, if the result is competitive. With submitters clustering in the mid 1500s and the requirement returning a cycle later, a strong score is a clear asset, while omission asks the rest of the application to carry more weight.
Sources: Columbia Undergraduate Admissions, College Board SAT Suite, ACT, NCES College Navigator, College Scorecard.
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