The Testing Pendulum Swings Back: Why Elite Colleges Are Requiring the SAT/ACT Again

INDUSTRY NEWS & ADMISSIONS TRENDS   •   JULY 2026

The Testing Pendulum Swings Back: Why Elite Colleges Are Requiring the SAT/ACT Again

Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and Penn now require SAT/ACT scores for 2026-27. Here's why elite colleges reversed test-optional policies, which schools still don't require scores, and what it means for your student's testing plan this fall.

For five years, “test-optional” was the safe assumption. Families could skip the SAT or ACT and focus energy elsewhere, and most selective schools said scores wouldn't be held against a student either way. That assumption no longer holds at the schools where it matters most. One by one, the most selective universities in the country have reinstated testing requirements — and the list is now long enough that “test-optional” can no longer be treated as a blanket policy across your student's college list.

If your student is heading into junior or senior year, this is the trend to understand before you finalize a testing plan for the fall.

Why This Matters Right Now

Fall SAT and ACT registration windows are open now, and seats at popular test centers fill up months in advance. Rising seniors need scores in hand before Early Action and Early Decision deadlines this November. Rising juniors are choosing between SAT and ACT prep this summer. Both groups are making that call based on a testing landscape that looks very different from just two years ago — and different depending on exactly which schools are on the list.

Who's Requiring Scores Now

Dartmouth moved first, reinstating its SAT/ACT requirement in early 2024 after an internal faculty study concluded that test scores remained the strongest predictor of a student's academic success on campus. Harvard followed in April 2024, applying the requirement starting with Fall 2025 applicants. Brown reinstated alongside Dartmouth for Fall 2025; Cornell followed for Fall 2026 entry. Yale spent a period on a test-flexible policy — accepting SAT, ACT, AP, or IB scores in place of a single test — before ending that flexibility in May 2026 and returning to a straightforward SAT/ACT requirement.

For the 2026–27 admissions cycle, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and the University of Pennsylvania all require SAT or ACT scores.

The pattern isn't limited to private Ivy-caliber schools. Florida's and Georgia's entire public university systems now require scores. UT Austin brought its requirement back in 2024. Auburn, Alabama, and LSU have announced they're phasing in requirements for 2027.

The Holdouts — and Why the List Matters More Than Ever

Not every selective school has moved the same direction, which is exactly why a one-size-fits-all testing strategy no longer works. Princeton remains test-optional through the Fall 2026 cycle but will require scores starting in 2027, leaving Columbia as the only Ivy League school with a permanently test-optional policy. The University of California system — Berkeley, UCLA, San Diego, and the rest — remains test-blind, meaning it won't consider scores even if a student submits them.

That split means a student applying to Cornell, UC Berkeley, and Princeton in the same cycle is navigating three different rules for the same test. Building the list and the testing plan together, rather than treating them as separate decisions, matters more this year than it has since test-optional policies began.

What the Data Shows About Applicant Behavior

Common App's own numbers show the shift is already reshaping applicant behavior broadly, not just at the schools requiring scores. As of March 1, 2026, roughly 52% of first-year applicants had submitted SAT or ACT scores — the largest single-year jump in submission rates since the pandemic drove that number down from a pre-pandemic high of 74% in 2019-20.

That said, context matters: only about 5% of institutions on the Common App platform actually require scores. The vast majority remain test-optional. The rising submission rate reflects families choosing to test and submit even where it isn't required — a reasonable response when a strong score can only help an application, and an increasing number of dream schools require one outright.

What This Means for Your Student's Testing Plan

The safest assumption for the 2026-27 cycle is no longer “test-optional, so it's optional for us.” It's “check every school on the list individually.” A few principles we're using with families right now:

•    Build the testing plan alongside the college list, not after it. If even one reach school on the list requires scores, that shapes the whole junior-year testing calendar.

•    Register early. Fall test dates fill up, and a student who waits until October to decide they need a score has fewer center and date options.

•    Don't assume a low-stakes score is worthless at a test-optional school. With submission rates rising, a solid score is increasingly a way to stand out even where it isn't required.

•    Revisit the list every few months. Princeton's shift to required testing in 2027, and Auburn/Alabama/LSU's phase-in, show these policies keep moving — a list built last year needs a policy check this summer.

The Stepping Stones Approach

This is precisely why our multi-year planning starts testing strategy early, tied directly to each family's evolving college list — not as a generic “take the SAT junior year” checkbox. A testing plan built for a Columbia-only list looks nothing like one built for a list that includes Cornell, UT Austin, and Berkeley.

If your student's list and testing plan haven't been reviewed since this wave of policy changes, now is the time.

   Not sure which schools on your list still require scores?

   Book a free consultation at steppingstonesadvisors.com/appointments and let's build a testing plan matched to your student's actual list.