Schools Are Requiring SAT and ACT Scores Once more — Right here’s the Full Checklist for 2027

The test-optional period in faculty admissions is quickly drawing to an in depth. What started as an emergency response to Covid-19 disruptions has was some of the vital coverage reversals in current greater training historical past.

From the Ivy League to SEC flagships, colleges are bringing again SAT and ACT necessities, and a few are actually accepting the Traditional Studying Check (CLT) as effectively. In line with Brian Eufinger, co-founder of Edison Prep, “Even at colleges that stay test-optional, scores are sometimes nonetheless required to compete for top-tier benefit scholarships.“

For the highschool class of 2027, which can start submitting functions this fall, standardized testing is as soon as once more a central a part of the faculty admissions equation.

The Ivy League Leads The Reversal

The dominoes started falling in early 2024, when Dartmouth introduced it could reinstate its SAT/ACT requirement after an inner school examine discovered that check scores remained the strongest predictor of educational success.

Harvard, Yale, Brown, Cornell, Caltech, and Stanford adopted swimsuit inside months.

Princeton was among the many final elite holdouts, however in October 2025, it introduced that check scores could be required for the 2027-28 admissions cycle.

Each Ivy League faculty besides Columbia now mandates or strongly recommends standardized testing. 

The shift has been pushed largely by information. Faculties that went test-optional discovered that the absence of scores made it tougher to establish gifted college students. And this has actual world implications for schools and their budgets. If college students drop out, it is tougher to fill switch college students than freshman.

And not using a standardized benchmark, admissions places of work leaned extra closely on grades and extracurriculars, metrics that may be skewed on account of grade inflation or might favor wealthier candidates with entry polished resumes.

SEC And Southern Flagship Faculties Comply with

The pattern is just not restricted to non-public elites. Among the largest public universities are additionally reinstating check necessities for the autumn 2027 coming into class.

LSU introduced that it’s going to as soon as once more require ACT or SAT scores. 

Auburn College is phasing out its test-optional coverage totally. For fall 2027, all candidates will likely be required to submit ACT or SAT scores, no matter GPA. 

The College of Alabama up to date its admissions course of as effectively. Beginning with the 2027 coming into class, college students with a cumulative highschool GPA beneath 3.0 will likely be required to submit a standardized check rating.

These bulletins observe earlier strikes by the whole Florida and Georgia public college programs, which had already reinstated testing necessities.

The College of Florida now requires SAT, ACT, or CLT scores for all candidates, and the College of Texas at Austin introduced again its requirement in 2024.

Extra Faculties Settle for The CLT Examination

One notable improvement on this cycle is the rising acceptance of the Traditional Studying Check (CLT), a more recent standardized examination that has gained traction. Roughly 325 schools and universities now settle for the CLT.

In February 2026, the College of North Carolina system accredited the CLT as a suitable different to the SAT and ACT for fall 2027 admissions throughout all UNC campuses. The U.S. Service Academies additionally started accepting CLT scores for the 2027 admissions cycle. Florida public universities already settle for the CLT for admissions and state scholarship eligibility.

Schools Requiring Or Preferring Check Scores

Here’s a checklist of schools which have reinstated SAT or ACT testing necessities (or now strongly desire them), sorted alphabetically:

• Allegheny Wesleyan Faculty
• Allen Faculty
• Auburn College (required beneath a GPA threshold)
• Boston College (exceptions apply)
• Brigham Younger College – Hawaii
• Brigham Younger College – Idaho
• Brown College
• California Institute of Know-how (Caltech)
• Carnegie Mellon College
• Case Western Reserve College
• Clemson College
• Cornell College
• Cumberland College
• Dartmouth Faculty
• Duke College
• Emory College
• Georgetown College
• Georgia Institute of Know-how 
• Harvard College
• Johns Hopkins College
• Kettering Faculty
• Lee College
• Louisiana State College (LSU)
• Massachusetts Institute of Know-how (MIT)
• Methodist Faculty
• Mills Faculty
• Missouri Valley Faculty
• Northwestern College
• Piedmont College
• Princeton College
• Purdue College
• Randall College
• Stanford College
• United States Service Academies
• College of Alabama (System)
• College of Chicago
• College of Florida (System)
• College of Georgia (System)
• College of Illinois
• College of Maryland
• College of Miami
• College of Michigan (check most well-liked)
• College of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (required beneath GPA threshold)
• College of Pennsylvania 
• College of South Carolina
• College of Tennessee (System)
• College of Texas at Austin
• College of Virginia
• College of Wisconsin–Madison (check most well-liked)
• Vanderbilt College (check most well-liked)
• Villanova College
• Washington College in St. Louis 
• Yale 
• York Faculty of Pennsylvania

What This Means For College students And Households

The return of testing necessities has speedy implications for households.

In line with Eufinger, “Many schools are belatedly asserting whether or not they may return to obligatory testing. Not all colleges have even finalized testing insurance policies for the Class of 2027. These timelines are just too late to be truthful.“

Households with college students within the class of 2027 and past ought to at the least take follow SAT/ACT checks to see the place their college students land, since even when a part of their checklist could also be check non-compulsory for admissions, stable scores can safe 5 and 6 figures of further benefit help even at check non-compulsory colleges.”

Highschool juniors within the class of 2027 who haven’t but taken the SAT, ACT, or CLT ought to plan to take action earlier than fall 2026 utility deadlines. 

For households weighing check prep prices, free sources are broadly accessible. The Faculty Board affords free SAT preparation by Khan Academy, and the CLT gives free follow checks on its web site.

Nonetheless, for those who’re wanting to use to a aggressive faculty, prepping for these exams wants to begin now. Households should not look forward to the universities to make up their minds relating to one thing like check prep that takes time.

Widespread Questions

Which schools are requiring SAT or ACT scores for the autumn 2027 admissions cycle?

Over 60 schools and college programs are as soon as once more requiring the SAT or ACT for the 2027 admissions cycle.

Why are schools reversing their test-optional insurance policies after only a few years?

Faculty are reversing their check non-compulsory insurance policies as a result of check scores, mixed with different admissions standards, are good indicators of scholar success. College students who fail of their faculty profession are each monetary and reputational liabilities to schools.

Does submitting check scores nonetheless matter at colleges that stay test-optional?

Sure, even many check non-compulsory schools are, in actuality, check most well-liked. For instance, Boston Faculty is check non-compulsory, however 75% of candidates submit check scores. If you wish to be aggressive, testing issues.

What ought to highschool juniors within the class of 2027 do proper now to arrange for these new testing necessities?

Now could be the time to setup a check follow schedule and even take a check to see the place you stand. That offers you time to review and enhance for those who establish gaps.

Do not Miss These Different Tales: