Columbia Completes Ivy League Return to SAT/ACT Requirements for Class of 2028

Columbia University has reinstated standardized testing requirements for undergraduate admissions, making it the final Ivy League institution to return to requiring SAT or ACT scores. The June 12, 2026 announcement, which followed a quiet June 8 update to the university's application guidance, means every Ivy League school will require standardized tests for the high school Class of 2028 applying in fall 2027 [Oriel Admissions, 4 days ago].

This development completes a dramatic reversal from the test-optional policies adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Columbia's official admissions page, "Columbia College and Columbia Engineering will reinstate a standardized testing requirement for first-year applicants beginning with applicants to the Class of 2028 (entering fall 2027)" [Columbia Undergraduate Admissions]. The policy shift follows Yale University's May 27, 2026 announcement ending its test-flexible policy and returning to requiring ACT or SAT scores [Yale News].

The Ivy League's unified return to testing represents a significant shift in elite admissions strategy. With Columbia's decision, all eight Ivy League institutions—Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale—now require standardized test scores for admission, marking the end of pandemic-era flexibility that began in 2020. This development comes amid a broader national trend of selective universities reinstating testing requirements, though Columbia's announcement specifically affects applicants for the 2027-2028 admissions cycle [Higher Ed Dive].