Test-Optional at the Ivies: 2026-27 School-by-School Guide
Six Ivies now require SAT/ACT scores. Princeton and Columbia are test-optional for one final cycle. Get the full 2026-27 school-by-school policy breakdown.
By Jorbi TeamNow that Common App is live for the 2026-27 cycle, EA deadlines starting October 15 are closer than they feel. If you're a rising senior finalizing your college list right now, the test-optional question is the most urgent policy decision of your entire application cycle. Six of the eight Ivy League schools require SAT or ACT scores for 2026-27. Princeton and Columbia are test-optional this year, but both have already announced they'll require scores starting next cycle. And at the schools still labeled "test-optional," submitting a strong score meaningfully improves your odds in ways the data now confirms.
Here's the full breakdown, school by school, plus a decision framework you can put to use today.
The 2026-27 Ivy League Testing Policy Map
The shift that's been building since Dartmouth reinstated requirements in February 2024 is now essentially complete. Six Ivies require scores for the students applying right now (Class of 2031). Two do not. By 2028, all eight will. Here's exactly where things stand:
The full Ivy policy breakdown is below.
School2026-27 PolicyRequired StartingSAT Mid-50%HarvardRequiredFall 2025 entry1510–1580YaleTest-FlexibleFall 2026 entry1500–1570DartmouthRequiredFall 2025 entry1490–1560BrownRequiredFall 2025 entry1490–1560CornellRequiredFall 2026 entry1470–1550PennRequiredFall 2025-26 entry1500–1570PrincetonTest-OptionalRequired 2027-281530–1570ColumbiaTest-OptionalRequired 2027-281490–1560
Sources: Compass Prep, Oriel Admissions, Collegewise
For Harvard, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, and Penn: no score on file means an incomplete application. You need scores. Full stop.
Princeton announced its return to required testing on October 9, 2025, citing an internal five-year data review. The school's official statement put it plainly: "academic performance at Princeton was stronger for students who chose to submit test scores than for students who did not." Scores will be required for all students entering fall 2028 onward. Columbia made the same announcement on June 12, 2026, becoming the final Ivy to reverse course. Every Ivy will require scores from the Class of 2032 forward.
For the 2026-27 cycle, though, both Princeton and Columbia are still technically optional. More on what "technically optional" actually means in practice below.
Yale's Test-Flexible Policy: A Distinct Category
Yale's policy deserves its own section because it's the most misunderstood change of this cycle.
Yale is not test-required in the traditional sense. Per Compass Prep's July 2026 update, Yale's new mandate follows its pre-pandemic policy of requiring score submission, but the school accepts SAT, ACT, AP exam scores, or IB exam scores to satisfy the requirement. If you took AP exams and scored well but never sat for the SAT or ACT, Yale is the one Ivy where that's still a viable path.
The practical implication: three AP 5s but no standardized test score won't automatically close Yale's door the way it would at Harvard or Dartmouth. Yale still expects strong AP or IB results. This is a different path to compliance, but the academic bar is identical. For most competitive applicants, having SAT or ACT scores alongside a strong AP record still makes for the stronger overall application.
Top Non-Ivy Schools: Required vs. Still Optional
The Ivy conversation gets most of the attention, but your list almost certainly includes schools outside those eight. Here's what you need to know about the other elite schools.
Schools That Now Require Scores
MIT has required scores since 2022-23 and emphasizes the math subscore heavily (780+ SAT Math is typical among admitted students). Stanford reinstated requirements for Fall 2026 entry. Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, and Georgetown all require scores. Georgetown has a specific quirk worth knowing: they require your entire testing history, not just your best scores.
Carnegie Mellon splits by school. The School of Computer Science requires scores. Other colleges within CMU are more flexible, and Fine Arts is optional. If you're applying to CS at CMU, treat it as required.
Schools Genuinely Still Test-Optional
The University of Chicago has been test-optional since 2018. This was a philosophical decision made years before the pandemic, not a crisis accommodation, and UChicago has given no indication it's changing course. Duke and Vanderbilt have extended their test-optional policies through the 2026-27 cycle, though both are listed as under ongoing review. Notre Dame, Emory, USC, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Virginia are all test-optional this cycle.
Two schools on this list need a special flag. UCLA and UC Berkeley are test-blind, not test-optional. The entire UC system does not consider test scores in admissions decisions at all. Sending scores to UCLA or Berkeley wastes your score-send fees and provides zero benefit. It's one of the most common mistakes I see students make. Save the money.
University of Michigan remains test-optional, as does Duke. These are genuinely optional, and whether to submit is a strategic call (more on that below).
The Honest Picture at "Test-Optional" Schools: What the Data Shows
Here's where students consistently misjudge their situation. "Test-optional" means you won't be rejected for not submitting scores. Scores still matter, and the data makes that clear.
Inside Higher Ed's March 2026 analysis of Common App data found that, for the first time since before the pandemic, more students applying for fall 2026 entry submitted test scores than did not. The submission rate crossed 52%, up 11% year-over-year. When you apply without scores to a school where the majority of your competition submitted scores, you're choosing to give admissions officers less information about your academic profile at a moment when that information is increasingly the norm.
The admission rate data is striking. At test-optional schools that track submission behavior, applicants who submitted scores were admitted at roughly twice the rate of non-submitters across a range of competitive schools. At Boston College, the multiplier was 2.7x. At Notre Dame, 2.0x. At Emory, 2.0x.
A January 2025 NBER study by Sacerdote, Staiger, and Tine found that high-achieving, low-income students with SAT scores above 1400 were 3.6 times more likely to receive an offer when they submitted scores, jumping from a 2.9% admit rate to 10.2%. For first-generation students with strong scores, submitting increased admission probability by 2.4 times. The researchers concluded that test-optional policies may actually harm the students they were designed to help, when those students have competitive scores and hold them back.
As Applerouth put it in their July 2026 analysis: "As more applicants submit scores, the absence of a score can reduce flexibility in certain review scenarios. This does not mean a student without scores cannot be admitted. It does mean that other elements of the application must work harder."
Decision Framework: When to Submit, When to Skip
The rule I use with every student comes down to one comparison: pull up the school's Common Data Set and find the 25th percentile SAT score. If your score is above that number, you should almost certainly submit. If it's below, think carefully.
More specifically:
Submit if your score is at or above the school's 25th percentile. Even landing in the middle of the range strengthens your academic profile. Above the median, submitting is nearly always the right call.
Submit if you're a first-generation or lower-income applicant with a score above 1400. The NBER data on this is unambiguous. Your scores are your most powerful tool in competitive pools where reviewers have limited context for your academic environment.
Skip if your score falls below the 25th percentile. A below-range score adds a negative data point to an otherwise clean file. Your application is stronger without it.
Skip entirely at UCLA and UC Berkeley. Test-blind. Full stop.
Princeton and Columbia specifically: Both are technically optional for 2026-27, but Princeton's own data shows that approximately 76-80% of admitted students in recent classes submitted scores, with a mid-50% SAT of 1530-1570. The Daily Princetonian noted in May 2026 that "even in this final test-optional cycle, score submission is the default for applicants who can produce a result at or above Princeton's middle 50%." Treat both Princeton and Columbia as strongly-preferred-to-submit unless your score falls below their 25th percentile.
Here are the mid-50% score ranges at the remaining test-optional elite schools, so you can benchmark your own situation:
Here is how the score ranges compare across the schools where submission is still your call.
SchoolSAT Mid-50%ACT Mid-50%Princeton1510–157034–35Columbia1490–156034–35UChicago1500–158034–36Duke1490–157034–35Notre Dame1490–156034–35Michigan1360–153032–35
Sources: Compass Prep college profiles, Oriel Admissions, school Common Data Sets
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Princeton really still test-optional for 2026-27?
Yes. Princeton is test-optional for students applying this fall for Class of 2031 entry. Princeton announced in October 2025 that scores will be required beginning with the 2027-28 cycle (Class of 2032). If you're applying this cycle, you are not required to submit. That said, the vast majority of admitted Princeton students do submit scores, and the mid-50% SAT range is 1510-1570. Strategically, submitting a competitive score is advisable.
What exactly does Yale's "test-flexible" policy mean?
Yale requires some form of standardized academic testing but accepts SAT scores, ACT scores, AP exam scores, or IB exam scores. You are not required to submit an SAT or ACT specifically. If you have strong AP or IB results but haven't taken the SAT or ACT, you can satisfy Yale's requirement with those scores. Yale is the only Ivy offering this option for 2026-27.
Should I bother sending scores to UCLA or UC Berkeley?
No. Both UCLA and UC Berkeley are test-blind, meaning admissions reviewers do not see or consider standardized test scores under any circumstances. Sending scores wastes your score-report fees (currently around $13 per score send from College Board) and provides zero benefit. This applies to all University of California campuses.
What happens if I apply test-optional and my application is otherwise weak?
Without scores, every other part of your application carries more weight. Your transcript, course rigor, essays, and recommendations must collectively do the work a strong score would have shared. IvyCoach's analysis of Penn's final test-optional ED cycle found that roughly 75% of admitted ED applicants had submitted scores. Leaving scores off a thin application at a highly selective school is a significant risk.
Which schools' test-optional policies might change before next year?
Schools with test-optional commitments expiring soon include Claremont McKenna, Wellesley, Barnard (through the 2027 cycle), and Colgate. Duke and Vanderbilt are continuing test-optional but under ongoing review. If you're a junior or sophomore planning ahead, test now and give yourself options. The trend at selective schools is clearly toward reinstatement.
What to Do This Week
Common App is live right now. Here are the specific steps to take before the end of August.
Step 1: Check your score against each school's 25th percentile. Pull the Common Data Set for every school on your list. College Board's BigFuture database also has this. Mark each school as "submit," "don't submit," or "borderline." This takes about 45 minutes and removes most of the anxiety from the decision.
Step 2: If you're applying to Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, or Penn and don't have scores on file, register for the October SAT or ACT today. October is the last viable test date for most EA/ED deadlines. For Yale's EA deadline specifically, you'll need an October test date. Don't wait.
Step 3: If you have strong AP or IB scores but no SAT/ACT and Yale is on your list, verify exactly which exam scores Yale will accept and request those score reports now. AP score sends from College Board take time. Start early.
Step 4: Remove UCLA and UC Berkeley from your "score send" list in your College Board or ACT account. Save those fees for schools where scores actually matter.
Step 5: For Princeton and Columbia, make your submission decision based on the 25th percentile rule, not the "optional" label. If your score is at 1500 or above, submit. If it's below 1490, a genuinely exceptional application without scores is viable, but your essays and other elements need to be extraordinary.
The test-optional era isn't quite over everywhere. But at the schools where it matters most to the most competitive applicants, the data has already made the decision for you.