Colleges across the nation are re‑adding the SAT and ACT to their admissions checklists, a shift that began with Columbia University’s decision to require standardized testing for the 2027 freshman class.
Elite schools lead the way
All eight Ivy League institutions have either ended their pandemic‑era test‑optional policies or announced plans to do so. MIT and Johns Hopkins have already reinstated the requirement.
At Dartmouth, economics professor Bruce Sacerdote co‑authored a working paper that found requirements can help high‑achieving applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
These statements echo a broader trend: top‑ranked schools are leaning on test data after years of pandemic‑driven flexibility.
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Opposition and the test‑optional setting
Despite the elite shift, the majority of U.S. colleges remain test‑optional. FairTest, an advocacy group, reports more than 2,000 bachelor‑granting institutions have either dropped or never required the SAT or ACT. Its executive director, Harry Feder, maintains that high school grades are a stronger indicator of college success than standardized exams.
A 2014 study of the policy’s colleges found little difference in graduation rates between students who submitted scores and those who did not, while strong high‑school GPAs correlated with higher college GPAs. Feder also highlighted that standardized tests often carry “class and race discriminatory properties.”
Racial gaps in test performance persist. A 2020 Brookings report showed Asian and White students consistently outscored Black and Latino peers on the SAT math section. Yet a 2025 working paper on Dartmouth applicants suggested that requirements can benefit high‑achieving, low‑income students, indicating the issue is not simply about scores alone.
Among public schools, the University of California system adopted a test‑free approach in 2020, but more than 2,300 faculty members have since signed a letter urging a return to SAT/ACT math requirements for STEM majors, citing concerns about math readiness.
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“I’m skeptical that returning to standardized tests is going to be the solution to the problem they’ve identified,” said Pamela Burdman, founder of the nonprofit Just Equations. She worries that a one‑size‑fits‑all approach could overlook the diverse missions of public universities.
Students now face an extra hurdle.
In practice, the re‑imposition of scores may reshape how applicants prepare for future exams like the MCAT. Sacerdote noted that “periodic standardized test assessments are part of life” for prospective doctors, suggesting early exposure could aid later professional testing.
It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration’s position will spur more colleges to follow the Ivy League’s lead.
