Columbia Completes Ivy League Return to SAT/ACT Requirements for 2027-28 Cycle

Columbia University has announced it will reinstate standardized testing requirements for undergraduate applicants, becoming the final Ivy League institution to return to mandatory SAT or ACT submission. The policy change, which will take effect in August 2027 for the 2027-2028 admissions cycle, completes a sweeping reversal across the Ivy League that began in 2024 and accelerated through 2026.

According to Columbia's official admissions website, the university "will require standardized testing starting in August 2027" while remaining test-optional for the current 2026-2027 cycle. This announcement follows similar reinstatements by other Ivies throughout 2025 and 2026, with six of the eight schools—Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania—already requiring scores for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle, as reported by multiple admissions consulting sources.

The Columbia decision marks the end of the test-optional era that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and represents a significant shift in elite admissions strategy. Higher education analysts note that Columbia's move creates uniformity across the Ivy League for the first time since 2020, with all eight schools now either currently requiring or having announced plans to require standardized test scores. This development comes as other highly selective institutions like MIT, Georgetown, and the University of Florida have also maintained or reinstated testing requirements, signaling a broader trend toward renewed emphasis on standardized metrics in holistic review processes.

For students targeting elite universities, this announcement clarifies the testing landscape through the end of the decade and underscores the importance of preparing for and taking either the SAT or ACT, regardless of which specific Ivy League institution they plan to apply to.