Top Schools Have Moved to Reinstate Test Requirements

After the Covid-19 pandemic, colleges and universities around the country collectively made a big push away from standardized tests such as the ACT and SAT. This led to many boldly proclaiming the “age of the SAT” to be over. The pendulum seems to be swinging the other way now.

After many years of test optional and test blind policies, many universities are now backpedaling and reinstating test mandatory policies! Why? Elite colleges are finding standardized test scores are indeed a better indicator of college success than high school grades.

Stanford University announced that standardized testing will again be required for applicants starting with the class entering in fall 2025. Similarly, Harvard University will reinstate the SAT and ACT requirements for the class entering in 2028, emphasizing that these tests offer valuable data points for assessing academic readiness. Notable schools that have reinstated the SAT/ACT include Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, MIT, Caltech, and the entire public university systems of Florida and Georgia.

What does this mean for students? 

Many more students might find themselves in a situation where they have to take standardized tests and even students who already planned to take these tests might realize they are more critical for college applications than previously thought. And with selective colleges reflecting the outcome of dropping test scores, schools such as Yale are finding students who were admitted without test scores are earning lower grade point averages than their test-submitting counterparts. With colleges catching on to this trend, even test optional schools are less inclined to admit students without test scores. As a student, it can hurt your chances of admission if you choose not to submit a SAT or ACT score. The only caveat is, of course, that students need to do their own research on where they apply to make the best decision for themselves.

SAT_ACT_on_Grades.pdf (opportunityinsights.org)
List of Colleges Dropping & Reinstating ACT/SAT Requirements (horizoneducation.com)