The Ivy League has largely walked away from test-optional admissions. For the 2026-27 cycle — students entering college in fall 2027 — Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, and Penn all require SAT or ACT scores. Columbia is the only Ivy with a permanent test-optional policy. Princeton remains test-optional for one more year, then joins the rest in 2027-28. If you're a junior targeting any of those schools, you need test scores.
The test-optional experiment at the country's most selective universities is winding down faster than most students realize.
For five years following the COVID-19 pandemic, elite colleges dropped standardized testing requirements in waves. Ivy League schools followed. Now, most of them are reversing course — and the data on what that reversal actually did to their applicant pools should change how juniors plan their test schedules right now.
Which Schools Require Scores for the Class of 2027
For students applying in the 2026-27 admissions cycle, here is where the eight Ivy League schools stand:
| School | Testing Policy for 2026-27 |
|---|---|
| Harvard | Required |
| Yale | Test-flexible (SAT, ACT, AP, or IB) |
| Dartmouth | Required |
| Brown | Required |
| Cornell | Required |
| Penn | Required |
| Princeton | Test-optional (last year) |
| Columbia | Test-optional (permanent) |
MIT and Caltech also require scores for the 2026-27 cycle.1
Yale's "test-flexible" policy deserves a separate explanation: the school accepts not just SAT and ACT scores, but also AP exam scores or IB exam scores as the testing component of an application. That makes Yale the most accommodating of the requirements-reinstating schools, though "test-flexible" is not the same as "test-optional."
What Happened When Schools Reinstated Requirements
The data from Harvard's first year back to requiring scores tells the story directly.
Harvard's application pool dropped 11% after it reinstated testing requirements — 47,893 applications for the Class of 2029, compared to 54,008 the prior year. Yale and Brown each saw application volume fall by roughly 12.5% after similar policy changes.2
That decline in applications was concentrated among students who either didn't have competitive scores or who calculated that without scores, their application was too speculative at schools where they'd now be required to submit them.
The flip side: schools that remained test-optional saw the inverse effect. Princeton, Columbia, and Duke — all test-optional during the same cycle — saw record-high application volumes.2 When a small set of schools at the top of the selectivity ladder keep the door open for students without scores, those students concentrate their applications there.
Harvard's acceptance rate rose to 4.18% for the Class of 2029, up from 3.65% the prior year — not because Harvard became less selective, but because fewer people applied.2
Why Schools Are Dropping Test-Optional
The official explanations vary, but a consistent thread runs through them: research at multiple universities found that test scores were better predictors of college performance than the test-optional advocates had assumed, and that without score data, admissions offices were relying more heavily on high school GPA and course rigor — factors that vary significantly across school districts and are harder to standardize.
At Dartmouth, research published by the university's own economists in 2024 found that requiring test scores actually improved socioeconomic diversity in their admitted class. That finding contradicted the prevailing assumption that test-optional policies helped low-income students — and it accelerated the Ivy reversal.
Columbia made its test-optional policy permanent, reasoning that it serves their specific institutional context and student body.3
Princeton announced in October 2025 that it would require scores starting with the 2027-28 cycle — the applications submitted by current high school juniors one year from now.4
If you're a junior planning to apply to Princeton for fall 2028 entry, Princeton will require SAT or ACT scores. That means your junior-year test schedule matters right now. Your last reliable test window before early deadlines is fall 2026.
What This Means for Juniors Right Now
If you're a high school junior intending to apply to any Ivy League school except Columbia, or to MIT or Caltech, you need to take the SAT or ACT.
That's not a recommendation — it's a requirement.
For students who haven't started testing yet, April of junior year is not too late. The typical testing timeline runs through fall of senior year for a reason: most students take the test two to three times.
Choose your test first. The SAT vs. ACT comparison covers the differences clearly. Take a practice test of each before deciding which to prepare for.
Book your dates now. The SAT test dates for 2026-27 and ACT test dates for 2026-27 are published and summer seats fill quickly.
Know what scores are competitive. Our guide to good SAT scores by school tier includes context on what score ranges matter at different levels of selectivity. For Ivy applicants, "competitive" means top 5-10% of test-takers — roughly 1500+ on the SAT.
If you already have scores: Read our analysis of when to submit SAT scores to colleges for guidance on whether your specific score helps or hurts you at a given school.
The Schools That Kept Test-Optional — And What That Means
The application surge at test-optional schools isn't necessarily a sign that those schools are easier to get into. Columbia remains highly selective. Princeton, even test-optional, admitted under 4% of applicants for the Class of 2029.
What it does mean: if you don't have strong test scores and Columbia or Princeton are genuinely realistic fits for you, the application volume has increased, which means competition for spots has also increased.
For students building a balanced college list, our guide to how many colleges to apply to and early decision vs. early action are worth reading alongside the testing policy picture. A school's testing requirement is one variable; the overall admissions strategy matters more.
The window to prepare, test, and retest before early applications open in September is about five months. That is enough time to move scores meaningfully — but not if you wait until August.
Footnotes
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Applerouth. (2025). University of Pennsylvania Joins Fellow Ivies in Requiring the SAT and ACT for Admission. https://www.applerouth.com/blog/university-of-pennsylvania-joins-fellow-ivies-in-requiring-the-sat-and-act-for-admission ↩
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The Harvard Crimson. (2025, November 4). The Return to Test Requirements Shrank Harvard's Applicant Pool. Will It Change Harvard Classrooms? https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2025/11/4/test-requirements-harvard-admissions-effect/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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Columbia Spectator. (2025, October 23). Columbia is the last Ivy League university to remain indefinitely test-optional. https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2025/10/23/columbia-is-the-last-ivy-league-university-to-remain-indefinitely-test-optional/ ↩
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The Daily Princetonian. (2025, October). Princeton to require SAT or ACT scores for applicants starting fall 2027, dropping test-optional policy. https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025/10/princeton-news-sat-act-standardized-test-optional-required-admissions ↩
