In a post-pandemic, highly competitive era of elite college admissions, in which the Ivy League is scrutinized more than ever by the media, the government, and the public, testing requirements are among the primary ways application processes vary among the Ivy League schools. While the Ivy League went in the direction of many elite colleges during the start of the pandemic, by instituting test-optional admissions, many of these schools have reversed course now that no global health crises currently threaten America’s secondary school landscape and also now that it has been definitively proven that students who do not submit test scores are not as academically prepared for the rigor of an elite college and are less likely to earn admission as a result.

So, which of the Ivy League schools require undergraduate applicants to submit either SAT or ACT scores, and which have remained test-optional? 

Which Ivy League Schools Require The SAT or ACT?

Ivy League School	Testing Required?
Brown University	Yes
Columbia University	Test-Optional
Cornell University	Yes
Dartmouth College	Yes
Harvard University	Yes
University of Pennsylvania	Yes
Princeton University	Testing required for 2027-2028 cycle, optional for 2026-2027 cycle
Yale University	“Test-Flexible,” i.e., SAT or ACT scores required OR AP and/or IB exam scores required

As of the publication of this blog, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, and UPenn require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores to be eligible for admission. Columbia remains staunchly test-optional. And as for Princeton and Yale, things are a bit more complicated. Princeton will remain test-optional through the 2026-2027 application cycle, meaning the Class of 2031 will not have to submit test scores to be eligible for admission. Once the Class of 2032 is up for admissions consideration, however, Princeton will require standardized tests. Yale’s policy is even less clear-cut: “test-flexible” means that applicants must submit either SAT/ACT scores or AP/IB exam scores, but do not need to submit both, although this is certainly allowed (and encouraged!). 

Do Test Scores Still Matter at Test-Optional Schools?

What neither Columbia, Princeton, nor Yale tells applicants is that those students who do not submit SAT and ACT scores (or AP or IB exam scores, for that matter!) are at an express disadvantage over those who do. As loyal readers of our college admissions blog know all too well, test-optional schools still love test scores. In fact, we would argue that test-optional schools love test scores even more than do test mandatory schools. And why? Because these schools still need to report test scores to US News & World Report. Test scores still impact their all-important rankings. So when a school goes test-optional, it just means a smaller pool of applicants submit scores which invariably makes applicants who submit scores bigger fish in a smaller pond of test scores. 

Moreover, schools that conduct test-optional admissions are invariably flooded with a type of applicant we at Ivy Coach like to call “squeakers,” or students who try to squeak their way into top schools they are absolutely not qualified for by declining to submit test scores. As these students are bound to find out, just because a school claims they are not at a disadvantage due to their lack of test scores does not mean they have the same chance of admission as their test-taking counterparts. But either way, the test-optional school gets to reap the benefits of a huge influx of applicants through a smaller acceptance rate and, thus, higher rankings (acceptance rate is yet another factor in the US News ranking). It’s all a numbers game, one that those who don’t sit for the SAT or ACT are bound to lose.

Only if a School Forbids the Submission of Test Scores Do They Really Not Matter

The only time when a school is really telling it like it is, that the scores won’t impact applicants’ cases for admission, is when schools outright forbid applicants from self-reporting and/or sending score reports, such as is the case with the University of California system.

So, as a rule of thumb, if a school goes test-optional, smile, nod, and submit those test scores. They still matter…big time.