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Test-Optional to Test-Required: A 2025–2026 Guide for Applicants
- Sapneil Parikh
- Sep 12
- 3 min read
Test-optional reshaped admissions during the pandemic—but the tide is turning at many top universities. A growing group of elite schools now require SAT or ACT scores again (with a few “test-flexible” twists). Here’s a clear, current rundown of who requires what—and how to plan your testing strategy.
The headline: which top schools now require scores
Ivy League shifts
Harvard: requires SAT or ACT beginning with applicants for fall 2025 (Class of 2029).
Yale: “test-flexible”—all applicants must submit scores, but AP/IB subject exams can fulfill the requirement in lieu of SAT/ACT.
Brown: requires SAT or ACT starting with the 2024–25 cycle (Class of 2029).
Dartmouth: requires SAT or ACT beginning with the Class of 2029.
Tech and research leaders
MIT: requires SAT or ACT (policy reinstated in 2022 and ongoing).
Caltech: requires SAT or ACT for applicants who would enroll in fall 2025 and beyond.
Stanford: will require SAT or ACT for applicants beginning fall 2025 submissions (for entry in 2026, Class of 2030).
Public flagships and systems
University of Florida (example of Florida SUS): requires SAT, ACT, or CLT and superscores.
University of Texas at Austin: requires standardized test scores for applications submitted Aug. 1–Dec. 1, 2024 and forward.
Georgia landscape: Georgia Tech and UGA require SAT/ACT; the University System of Georgia remains test-optional at most campuses through 2025–26, with more campuses slated to add requirements in 2026.
Other notable policies
Georgetown: requires SAT or ACT for all applicants.
University of Miami: will require SAT or ACT beginning with the fall 2026 admissions cycle.
Remember: several top universities remain test-optional or test-free (e.g., University of California is test-free), but for the schools above, a score is once again part of a complete application. (Always verify each campus’s page for your term.)
Why schools brought tests back
Admissions offices cite a few consistent reasons: a common yardstick across very different high schools, additional predictive value for first-year success, and clearer context in holistic review—especially when grading standards vary. Recent policy notes from schools like Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, and Stanford frame scores as one data point among many, not the sole determinant.
What “test-flexible” means at Yale
Yale’s approach is unique: you must submit standardized scores, but they can be SAT/ACT or AP/IB exam results. If you don’t submit SAT/ACT, you’re expected to report all AP/IB scores completed before applying. That widens access while preserving a testing component in review.
How to plan your testing in a mixed-policy world
Take one exam path (and keep both options open)
Choose either the digital SAT or the ACT based on a diagnostic. Sitting for one official test (and a targeted retake) preserves eligibility everywhere—from MIT and Caltech to UT Austin and Florida. If your score helps at test-optional colleges, submit it; otherwise, withhold where allowed.
Watch your application year and exceptions
Stanford’s requirement starts with fall 2025 applications; Miami’s with fall 2026; Yale is test-flexible now. Major-specific or scholarship rules can add requirements even at test-optional campuses—always read each school’s admissions/testing page.
Use the middle-50 rule of thumb for submitting
If your scores are at/above a college’s median, submit. If they’re below the 25th percentile, consider withholding at test-optional schools (unless required). For required campuses, focus prep on superscoring wins—many schools, including Brown and Dartmouth, superscore.
Build a simple 90-day plan
Weeks 1–2: diagnostic, choose exam, set a target list.
Weeks 3–8: two content blocks + two timed sets weekly; full practice every 2–3 weeks.
Weeks 9–12: sharpen pacing, take a final full test, decide submit/withhold per college policy and score bands.
Bottom line
Test-optional isn’t disappearing, but the list of selective schools requiring scores is growing. Plan to test, track each school’s current policy for your application term, and submit scores strategically where they strengthen your file.
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