AdmissionSight

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Cornell University is test-optional, but not for long. For Fall 2025 applicants, Cornell remains test-optional, giving students the choice to submit SAT or ACT scores. However, this policy will change for Fall 2026 admissions, when standardized test scores will once again be required.

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AdmissionSight

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

Not everyone feels confident when it comes to taking tests. You’re not alone— around 40 to 60% of high school students experience test anxiety, a type of stress that makes it tough to focus and perform well during exams. As a high school student, you’re probably no stranger to big tests like AP exams, the PSAT, or the SAT and ACT.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 9, 2025

Youll need exceptional grades, strong test scores, and distinctive extracurriculars that show depth and originality. Scores Yale requires test scores from all applicants, and while the policy is test flexible , that doesnt apply to you, legacy. Dont give them a reason to reject you! No shortcuts, no exceptions.

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Spark Admissions

APRIL 11, 2023

In March 2023, Columbia University announced that it would permanently drop the SAT/ACT requirement for undergraduate admissions. The decision by Columbia to abandon the SAT/ACT requirement represents a significant milestone in the ongoing debate around standardized testing in higher education and in the overall future of college admissions.

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Spark Admissions

APRIL 11, 2023

In March 2023, Columbia University announced that it would permanently drop the SAT/ACT requirement for undergraduate admissions. The decision by Columbia to abandon the SAT/ACT requirement represents a significant milestone in the ongoing debate around standardized testing in higher education and in the overall future of college admissions.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 6, 2025

This has been their policy for a long time for at least two decades, and up to 50+ years and they have no intention of switching things up. Legacy at MIT Legacy admissions policies have been critiqued harshly following the Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action. However, MIT does not subscribe to this norm.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 10, 2025

The top five majors at Duke are Computer Science, Economics, Biology, Public Policy, and Psychology, and students are drawn to the university by the strong community culture paired with exceptional research opportunities. Scores Students who want to get into Duke should also have very strong test scores.

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Top Tier Admissions

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

The landscape of college admissions continues to shift as universities re-evaluate the role of standardized testing in the application process. In a major policy change, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) has announced that it will reinstate its standardized testing requirement for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle.

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Top Tier Admissions

MAY 20, 2024

Test-optional? Test-flexible? Test-blind? Test-neutral? Test-recommended? Test-aware? While many universities have announced post-pandemic admissions policies that re-instate mandatory standardized test scores, there is still no consensus.

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BestColleges

JULY 18, 2024

Students will have the option to take the science portion of the ACT, similar to the optional writing portion. The math, reading, and English core test will be reduced from three hours to two hours to curb test-taking fatigue. The new ACT will roll out online in spring 2025 and in school in spring 2026.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 5, 2025

Class Rank of the Class of 2028 Scores: Like most colleges and universities, Dartmouth suspended mandatory submission of standardized test scores as a part of the application process during the Covid pandemic. It was later announced that standardized testing was once again going to be required beginning with the Fall 2025 admissions cycle.

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BestColleges

OCTOBER 12, 2023

The average composite ACT score dropped from 19.8 More students in the class of 2023 took the ACT test from the previous year. More students met none of the ACT benchmarks, compared to the previous year. The average composite score on the ACT dropped for the sixth-straight year from 19.8 for the class of 2023.

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Top Tier Admissions

JUNE 7, 2024

Stanford will reintroduce standardized testing requirements for undergraduate admissions starting in fall 2025 for admission to the Class of 2030. For rising seniors (students applying in fall 2024), Stanford will remain test-optional.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 1, 2025

Scores Like most universities, the Cornell testing policy has been shifting over the past few years and through the Covid pandemic. Going test optional helped students applying, but it has led to statistics that arent necessarily useful as the only students who submitted scores in recent years were those with very strong scores.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 7, 2025

Scores Harvard requires applicants to submit an ACT or SAT score to meet their testing requirements, but they dont have minimum scores to apply. For a few years over the COVID pandemic, this requirement was waived, which has resulted in some recent statistics that are not necessarily fully representative.

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AdmissionSight

JANUARY 23, 2025

One of the big questions that might be swirling around in your head is: Is Duke test-optional? Dukes Test-Optional Policy Duke SAT Scores Duke ACT Scores Duke University Admission Requirements Frequently Asked Questions Takeaways Dukes Test-Optional Policy For the 2024-2025 admissions cycle, Duke University is test-optional.

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Peterson's Blog

OCTOBER 23, 2024

ACT and SAT scores decline across the U.S. Standardized tests, like the SAT and ACT, are used to determine academic readiness and skills for entering university. This month, Peterson’s will be offering an ACT and SAT special , six months of test prep for $135—99 dollars off, so that students can walk into their test confidently.

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Ivy Coach

MARCH 23, 2023

The Ultimate List of Test-Optional Colleges The Covid-19 pandemic ushered in a new era in elite college admissions: test-optional admissions policies. With test cancelations and administrative closures due to … Read More Ivy Coach

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AdmissionSight

APRIL 3, 2025

In this blog, well talk about what a 960 SAT score really means, whether or not you should retake the test, and how you can move forward to reach your college goals. Scoring 960 on the SAT places you around the 41st percentile , meaning you performed better than about a third of test-takers nationwide. How Good Is a 960 SAT Score?

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Admissions Village

DECEMBER 1, 2022

The University of San Diego (who is test blind) has expanded tutoring services and invited all first-year students to campus a week early, at the college’s expense, for Science Lab boot camps because the students probably missed that in high school. Many other colleges might be thinking of returning to requiring test scores.

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College Kickstart

APRIL 19, 2020

In recent weeks we've seen several prominent institutions adopt test-optional admissions for the coming cycle to alleviate some of the anxiety brought on by COVID-19. Available immediately to all College Kickstart subscribers, it's a much easier way to navigate and capitalize on test-optional admissions in our current environment.

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Top Tier Admissions

AUGUST 26, 2024

Johns Hopkins University will reintroduce standardized testing requirements beginning with those seeking admission for the fall 2026 semester to the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences or the Whiting School of Engineering. Most recently, Stanford University announced it would once again require students to submit test scores.

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College Kickstart

APRIL 19, 2020

We’ve enhanced our test-optional recommendation engine to help you better handle the growing list of schools going test-blind for the 2020-21 admission cycle. Handling Test-Blind Admissions in College Kickstart. What is Test-Blind Admission? How are Test-Blind Schools Handled in College Kickstart?

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Admissions Village

JUNE 19, 2024

Historically Black College or University (HBCU): In Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, Congress officially defined HBCUs as institutions of higher learning that were accredited and established before 1964, and whose principal mission is the education of Black Americans. To understand more about this please read our blog.

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ACM College Consulting

MAY 3, 2024

Last summer, more than 1900 colleges were test optional, test-free or test-blind. Many others have stated they will not go back to requiring test scores yet, if ever, but there is still the potential for more colleges to return to requiring test scores. So, should students still take a test?

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Top Tier Admissions

JULY 22, 2024

As the school year approaches, it’s time to finalize your standardized test prep plan and mark your calendar with upcoming SAT and ACT test dates. Not sure which test is your forte? In an ideal world, we recommend beginning one-on-one test prep a few months ahead of your scheduled test date.

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Spark Admissions

JANUARY 28, 2022

When the pandemic began, nearly all colleges and universities in the United States dropped their testing requirements when it became impossible for students in some areas of the country to find a test center and date reliably. Then, as the pandemic continued, many colleges extended their policies for another year or longer.

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College Wise

JANUARY 29, 2025

As of January 2025, the landscape of standardized testing requirements in college admissions has changed. During the height of COVID-19, many schools released new policies to offer flexibility to students who may have experienced disruptions in taking the SAT or ACT exams.

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Top Tier Admissions

JUNE 4, 2024

In this ever-changing college admissions landscape, the role of standardized testing remains a hot topic (and source of confusion). Understanding how these tests fit into the broader admissions process can help demystify their purpose and highlight strategies you can use to enhance your applications.

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College Transitions

MARCH 18, 2025

In the past, prospective college applicants had just two choices regarding standardized testingtaking the SAT or sitting for the ACT. However, since COVID-19, test-optional has become a stronger-than-ever third consideration as such policies have spread rapidly.) Rather, highly selective colleges are […]

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Koodoos Learning

OCTOBER 9, 2022

The test-optional movement started almost 50 years ago at Bowdoin College, but in the past few years, more and more colleges have joined along. Recently, diversity concerns may have led to more colleges deciding to go test optional. that are now test-optional, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.”

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Discovery College Consulting

SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

Not only are today’s high school students being affected by frequent changes in colleges’ testing policies (as described in a recent blog post ), they also have another upcoming change to contend with: next year, the ACT will switch to a digital format, in addition to undergoing other alterations.

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PrepScholar

JUNE 21, 2024

In 2024, several elite colleges dropped their test-optional admissions policies and returned to requiring SAT/ACT scores as part of the admissions process. How do you know which colleges are test optional and which colleges require SAT/ACT scores? Keep reading to learn more!

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Georgia Tech Admissions Blog

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Back When Middle 50% ranges- There was a time when publishing the middle 50% GPA and SAT/ACT range of admitted students was extremely helpful. GPAs were more uniform and test scores were required of all applicants. This is exacerbated for test scores due to the test optional trend. I am not anti-test optional.

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BestColleges

APRIL 15, 2024

Harvard has reinstituted its standardized test requirement beginning next fall. Studies suggest standardized tests can help increase socioeconomic diversity. Add Harvard to the list of universities reinstating standardized test requirements. Brown soon hopped aboard the testing bandwagon, offering the same rationale. [S]trong

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Admitted

JULY 22, 2024

Baker Colleges and universities nationwide turned to test-optional admission policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Motivations for this movement included inequitable patterns in test taking, test preparation, and test scores that systematically disadvantaged racially minoritized and low-income students in the admission process.

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BestColleges

MARCH 8, 2024

Starting in fall 2024, Brown University will require students to submit SAT or ACT scores. Brown becomes the third Ivy League school, following Yale and Dartmouth, to reinstate standardized testing requirements. So did Dartmouth, which became the first Ivy to return to standardized testing.

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