The sudden shift away from mandatory testing during the pandemic has given way to a widespread reversal. Across private and public higher education, admissions offices are increasingly reinstating standardized testing requirements for applicants who will enter college in the fall of the Class of 2027. This change affects everything from selection decisions to merit scholarships, and it has been driven largely by institutional research showing that test scores remain a reliable predictor of academic outcomes.
Families and counselors should treat this as an operational change, not a temporary headline, and plan accordingly.
What began as an emergency response has become a sustained policy pivot. Schools that moved to an test-optional approach found that removing a common yardstick complicated comparisons among applicants from diverse high school backgrounds. As a result, many admissions teams now balance high school transcripts and activities with SAT, ACT, or alternatives like the CLT. Because the decisions are data-driven, the pattern has been clear: administrators prefer having standardized metrics when making high-stakes choices about incoming classes.
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The reversal among elite colleges
The change started to gain momentum in early 2026 when Dartmouth publicly restored its testing requirement after an internal study. In the months that followed, a number of highly selective institutions updated their policies, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, Cornell, Caltech, Stanford, MIT, and others. Princeton announced in October 2026 that it would require scores for the 2027-28 admissions cycle, leaving Columbia as one of the few Ivy League holdouts. Today, virtually every Ivy League university except Columbia either requires or strongly recommends submission of standardized test results.
Administrators cite several practical benefits. Without a uniform metric, admissions offices leaned more on grades and extracurricular résumés, measures that can be influenced by grade inflation or unequal access to enrichment. That made it harder to identify high-achieving students from varied backgrounds. Research from Dartmouth and other institutions reinforced the view that test scores are an important component of a holistic review, helping colleges select students who will persist and succeed academically.
Public flagships and the growing acceptance of the CLT
The trend has not been limited to private elites. Several major public universities and whole state systems are reintroducing testing rules for the fall 2027 cohort. For example, LSU has restored its requirement, Auburn University is phasing out test-optional admission entirely by 2027, and the University of Alabama now asks applicants with GPAs below 3.0 to submit scores. The Florida and Georgia public university systems had already moved back to requiring tests, and the University of Texas at Austin reinstated its policy in 2026. These moves reflect a broader reassessment of how to fairly evaluate applicants.
Alongside the SAT and ACT, the Classic Learning Test (CLT) has gained traction as an alternative exam. Roughly 325 colleges now accept the CLT, and in February 2026 the University of North Carolina system approved it for use across campuses for fall 2027 admissions. The U.S. Service Academies added CLT to their accepted exams for the 2027 cycle, and many Florida schools already accept CLT scores for both admissions and state scholarship eligibility. The expansion of test options offers students additional pathways to demonstrate readiness.
Which colleges now require or prefer scores
More than 60 institutions and systems have restored testing expectations in some form. That list spans selective private universities and large public flagships: Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, University of Chicago, University of Michigan (test preferred), University of Virginia, University of Florida (system), University of Georgia (system), University of North Carolina (system), University of Texas at Austin, University of Wisconsin–Madison (test preferred), Vanderbilt (test preferred), and many others, including regional colleges such as Allegheny Wesleyan College, Lee University, Piedmont University, and York College of Pennsylvania. Policies differ — some schools require scores for all applicants, others require them only below GPA thresholds, and still others classify scores as strongly preferred.
What students and families should do now
Given the timeline and the uneven pace of announcements, families should act proactively. Have juniors take full-length practice administrations of the SAT or ACT to establish baselines and identify strengths and weaknesses. If any target schools accept the CLT, take a CLT practice test as well. Use free resources where possible: the College Board partners with Khan Academy for no-cost SAT prep, and the CLT makes practice materials available online. Plan to sit for an official exam by late spring or summer 2026 so there is time for a retake before early application deadlines.
Why test scores still matter
Even institutions that call themselves test-optional may, in practice, be test-preferred. Submitting competitive scores can improve chances for admission and unlock substantial merit scholarships — sometimes amounting to five- or six-figure differences over four years. Admissions officers use scores as one of several tools to forecast academic fit and retention, and colleges balance the costs of unsuccessful enrollments. Preparing early gives applicants the best opportunity to perform well and increase both admission odds and financial aid prospects.
