After becoming test-optional for certain colleges in 2021, the University will extend this policy and remain test-optional for 2023 and 2024 applicants.
Standardized tests are typically used in the college admissions process to measure math, reading comprehension and science skills. The ability of standardized test scores to accurately measure academic capability has been called into question in recent years.
“A generation or two ago, it was believed that the SAT/ACT was able to measure innate ability and one could not effectively enhance your score through preparation,” Prof. John Sipple, global development, wrote in a statement to The Sun. “No one believes that to be true anymore.”
Sipple studies the public school system and says test prep systems “guarantee improved scores” for students with resources including time, motivation, money and transportation.
“[A test-optional policy] changes the whole ball park of what admissions is,” said Ken Gonzalez ’24. “It blurs the lines between you not getting in because you weren’t what Cornell was looking for, and you not getting in because of circumstances that you can’t control in your environment.”
Gonzalez is a student intern with the Higher Education Opportunity Programs, which supports students from low-income backgrounds, as part of Cornell’s Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives. He said his own high school offered free test-prep resources, but it wasn’t effective for raising scores.
“A lot of the ways to outsmart standardized testing come through money and being able to afford private tutoring,” Gonzalez said.
In a statement to The Sun, Vice Provost for Enrollment Jonathan Burdick, said the admissions office is working on conducting “whole-person reviews” with far fewer or no SAT/ACT scores.
“I’d say there’s significant awareness across Cornell of the challenging impacts testing policies can create in terms of assembling a diverse and well-qualified student body,” Burdick wrote. “There’s much more for everyone to learn and consider.”
Still, according to Sipple, a test-optional policy is no easy solution for equitable admissions. He voiced that, without the SAT, other factors – the essay, extracurriculars and courses – bear more weight, and they are not immune to inequities.
But even if test scores aren’t mandatory, students can still submit them – and some aren’t quiet about it. Sestak said, recently, she was in a dining hall when she overheard students compare SAT scores – someone got a 1550, another a perfect 800 for their math score.
“I’m like, ‘Oh My God, people still talk about this?’” Sestak said.
By fall of 2024, most enrolled Cornell students will have applied without mandatory standardized tests. The University has not announced if it will permanently make testing optional.
“I’ve been here for three years, and I’m surviving, I’m doing it,” Gonzalez said. “So what did the scores really mean?”
Correction, Sept. 17, 6:28 p.m.: A previous version of this article missrepresented Prof. Sipple’s quote on the accuracy of being able to improve standardized testing scores through practice. This error has been corrected.
Are you in the Class of 2023 or 2024? You may be wondering if you need a test score to apply to college. In this blog, we’ll go over the press releases from colleges and universities regarding their testing policies for the Fall 2022 and Fall 2023 application season. As of March 2022, we found that 63.5% of the top 200 schools have announced test optional, test flexible, or test suggested
policies for the next application round. Though test submission at many of these schools is strongly encouraged or likely to correlate with higher admissions rates, it is not a requirement of application. 5.5% of colleges have announced test required policies. Notable test required schools include Georgetown, UNC Chapel Hill, Georgia Tech, and Florida State University. 8.5% of top 200 universities, including all colleges in the University of California system, are currently test blind, so they
will not accept SAT or ACT scores, though some may consider AP scores or other exams such as the TOEFL. Finally, 22.5% of colleges have not announced their testing policies yet. As schools start to suggest that more students submit test scores, and fewer students have issues accessing the test, we are beginning to enter a phase where we see a difference in admit rates based on whether people submit test scores or not. While in the previous year, many students did not have access to tests,
test availability has increased greatly. If you don’t explain why you don’t have a test score, and you’re not from a context where a test score doesn’t make sense, a lack of a test score might start to hurt you. Many schools now discriminate against students without test scores. Obviously, schools can change their test policies whenever they want. But, 38.5% of the top 200 schools have already announced they will continue their test optional, test blind,
or test flexible policies through at least 2024. If you have a phobia of tests, you can still find a school that is test optional or test blind in the top 200 list. However, over half of schools have not announced their policies for the Class of 2024. So if you’re in that class, we still recommend that you prepare. Having a test score is also proving to correlate with much higher acceptance rates at many top 200 universities. Even though we’ve given the stats, please be careful about the
fine print. Some colleges may still require test scores if your GPA is below a certain level. Many schools also still use test scores to determine merit scholarships and placement in an honors college.2022-2023 Admissions Cycle
2023-2024 Admissions Cycle
CollegeSAT/ACT Required for freshman entering Fall 2023?SAT/ACT Required for freshman entering Fall 2024?Test Optional, Test Blind, or Test Flexible?Notes Princeton University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Harvard University
No
No
Test Optional
Extending Test Optional policy through Fall 2026
Columbia University
No
No
Test Optional
Extending Test Optional policy through Fall 2024
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Yes
Yes
2023 Policy has CHANGED to required [previously was stated as not required], Test Required in 2024
*Test Required in 2024
Yale University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional*
*Applicants who have successfully completed one or more ACT or SAT exams should consider including scores, even if those scores are below the middle 50% ranges listed below.
Stanford University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Chicago
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2018
University of Pennsylvania
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
California Institute of Technology
No
Test Blind
Caltech is in their last year of a moratorium on the requirement and consideration of SAT and ACT scores.
Johns Hopkins University
No
No
Test Optional
Extending Test Optional policy through 2026
Northwestern University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Duke University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Dartmouth College
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Brown University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Vanderbilt University
No
No
Test Optional
Extending Test Optional policy through Fall 2024
Rice University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Washington University in St. Louis
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional policy extended through Fall 2024
Cornell University
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional policy extended through Fall 2024
University of Notre Dame
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of California, Los Angeles
No
No
Test Blind
The UCs are Test Blind through 2024
Emory University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of California, Berkeley
No
No
Test Blind
The UCs are Test Blind through 2024
Georgetown University
Yes
Yes
Test Required
Students who cannot access a testing center will be sent a form to expalin why they did not submit test scores.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
No
Not Announced
Test Flexible*
"Students who do not wish to have SAT or ACT scores considered as part of their application review can still submit other optional forms of testing [such as AP exam scores or IB exam scores]"
University of Southern California
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Carnegie Mellon University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Virginia
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
No
No
Policy changed April 7, 2022; previously announced as test required
Wake Forest University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2008
New York University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Tufts University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of California, Santa Barbara
No
No
Test Blind
The UCs are Test Blind through 2024
University of Florida
Yes
Yes
Test Required
University of Rochester
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2019
Boston College
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Georgia Institute of Technology
Yes
Yes
Test Required
University of California, Irvine
No
No
Test Blind
The UCs are Test Blind through 2024
University of California, San Diego
No
No
Test Blind
The UCs are Test Blind through 2024
University of California, Davis
No
No
Test Blind
The UCs are Test Blind through 2024
William & Mary
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
2023 is the third year in a 3 year test optional pilot program
Tulane University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Boston University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Brandeis University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2013
Case Western Reserve University
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional through 2024
University of Texas at Austin
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Wisconsin–Madison
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional through Spring 2025
University of Georgia
Yes
Yes
Test Required
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Lehigh University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Northeastern University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Pepperdine University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Miami
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Ohio State University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Purdue University
Yes, unless test is cancelled due to pandemic
Yes, unless test is cancelled due to pandemic
Test Flexible*
*If you can take the SAT or the ACT, Purdue prefers you do so.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Santa Clara University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Villanova University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Florida State University
Yes
Yes
Test Required
Syracuse University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Maryland, College Park
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Pittsburgh
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Washington
No
No
Test Optional
Permanent since 2021 *"However, high test scores [1400 SAT/31 ACT or above] may be considered for a handful of students who may not otherwise be admitted. "
Pennsylvania State University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Rutgers University–New Brunswick
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional through 2024
University of Connecticut
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Fordham University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
George Washington University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2015
Loyola Marymount University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Southern Methodist University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Test Optional through spring 2024
Texas A&M University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Massachusetts Amherst
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
No
No
Test Blind
The Institute's Test Blind policy is an eight-year pilot program, beginning in 2020.
Clemson University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Virginia Tech
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional through Fall 2025
American University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2010
Baylor University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Will review policy after 2023
Indiana University Bloomington
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
"For future terms, some students may be required to provide SAT or ACT scores."
Yeshiva University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional
Brigham Young University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Gonzaga University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Howard University
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
Michigan State University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
North Carolina State University
No
No
Policy changed in April 2022 [previously required]
Stevens Institute of Technology
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Texas Christian University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Denver
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2019
State University of New York at Binghamton
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
SUNY is Test Optional through summer 2024
Colorado School of Mines
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Elon University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Marquette University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2020
State University of New York at Stony Brook
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
SUNY is Test Optional through summer 2024
State University of New York at Buffalo
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
SUNY is Test Optional through summer 2024
University of California, Riverside
No
No
Test Blind
The UCs are Test Blind through 2024
University of Iowa
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of San Diego
No
Not Announced
Test Blind
Auburn University
No, unless GPA is less than 3.6
Not Announced
Test Flexible*
*Applicants with less than a 3.6 GPA are ineligible to apply as Test Optional.
University of Arizona
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of California, Merced
No
No
Test Blind
Test Optional through 2024
University of California, Santa Cruz
No
No
Test Blind
Test Optional through 2024
University of Delaware
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2015
University of Utah
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Arizona State University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Clark University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2011
Miami University, Oxford
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Test Optional through Spring 2024
Saint Louis University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Temple University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of Colorado Boulder
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of Oregon
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of San Francisco
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of South Florida
Yes
Yes
Test Required
Creighton University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Loyola University Chicago
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
Rochester Institute of Technology
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of Illinois at Chicago
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Tennessee
Yes
Yes
Test Required
University of Tennessee System will now require tests
Iowa State University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
*Does not apply to Honors College or accelerated program students
Rutgers University-Newark
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently test optional
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
SUNY is Test Optional through summer 2024
University of South Carolina
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Vermont
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Chapman University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Clarkson University
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
DePaul University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Drake University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
If you choose not to submit test scores, you will be required to either submit an essay or schedule an interview.
Gallaudet University
Yes
Yes
Test Required
Illinois Institute of Technology
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
Seattle University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of Kansas
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Missouri
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
*If you choose to go Test Optional, you will need to submit 3 short essays
Drexel University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
The New School
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Seton Hall University
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional through 2026
Simmons University
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
University of Dayton
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of Kentucky
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional through 2024
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
No
Not Announced
Test Optional*
*All first-year applicants under the age of 23 are encouraged to submit an official ACT or SAT score.
University of Oklahoma
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional through 2025
University of St. Thomas - Minnesota
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of the Pacific
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional
The Catholic University of America
No
No
Test Blind
Permanently Test Blind.
Duquesne University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
George Mason University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Samford University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
San Diego State University
No
Not Announced
Test Blind
University of Alabama
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Cincinnati
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional through 2024
University of New Hampshire
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
University of Texas at Dallas
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Tulsa
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Colorado State University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Michigan Technological University
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
Oregon State University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
Quinnipiac University
No*
No*
Test Optional*
*Permanently Test Optional. However, for certain dual degree programs and the School of Nursing, test scores are recommended or even required.
Rutgers University–Camden
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional through 2024
University of Alabama at Birmingham
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Belmont University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Hofstra University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional
Mercer University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
State University of New York at Albany
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
SUNY is Test Optional through summer 2024
University of Arkansas
No
Not Announced
Test Optional/Flexible
Test optional for students with a GPA of 3.2 or higher. All admitted students are encouraged to provide test scores.
University of Central Florida
Yes
Yes
Test Required
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of Mississippi
No
Not Announced
Test Optional*
*"Although we are not requiring a standardized test score for admission for the 2022-2023 academic year, ACT/SAT scores are still very important for scholarships, some aid programs, and for academic placement."
Valparaiso University
No
No
Test Optional
Virginia Commonwealth University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Adelphi University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
test optional through Spring 2023
Kansas State University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional.
St. John's University Queens Campus
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional only for first-time freshman applicants. International students must submit test scores
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
University of Idaho
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
*Students with a GPA of 2.6 or higher don't need to submit a test score.
University of Rhode Island
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
City College of New York
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Blind in 2022
The City University of New York system is Test Blind through the Spring 2023 admission cycle.
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
Montclair State University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2015
Ohio University
No
No
Test Optional*
Permanently Test Optional for applicants to Athens campus
St. John Fisher College
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
Thomas Jefferson University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional
University of Houston
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
University of Louisville
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
University of Massachusetts Lowell
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional
University of St. Joseph
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional
Washington State University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional
Biola University
Not Announced
Not Announced
Test Optional in 2022
Chatham University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional
Florida International University
Yes
Yes
Test Required
Oklahoma State University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional. Students are still encouraged to submit scores.
Pacific University
No
No
Test Optional
Test Optional policy is extended indefinitely
Rowan University
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional. However, certain groups of students are still required to submit test scores
University of Detroit Mercy
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of New Mexico
No
Not Announced
Test Optional
University of North Carolina Wilmington
No
No
Policy changed April 2022
Bethel University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional*
*Test Optional for students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher
California State University, Fresno
No
Not Announced
Test Blind
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional since 2021
Loyola University New Orleans
No
No
Test Blind
Permanently Test Blind
Maryville University of St. Louis
No
No
Test Optional
Permanently Test Optional, except for a select few groups
Robert Morris University
No
Not Announced
Test Optional