Columbia Completes Ivy League Return to Standardized Testing for 2027-28

Columbia University has reinstated standardized testing requirements for undergraduate admissions, making it the eighth and final Ivy League institution to abandon test-optional policies that proliferated during the pandemic. The university announced on June 12, 2026, that applicants for the 2027-28 admissions cycle will be required to submit SAT or ACT scores, according to reports from Higher Ed Dive and other education outlets.

The announcement completes a sweeping reversal across elite higher education that began in 2023-24 and accelerated through 2025-26. With Columbia's decision, all eight Ivy League schools—Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale—now require standardized test scores for admission. This marks a definitive end to the test-optional era that began in 2020 as a pandemic accommodation and continued at many institutions through the 2025-26 cycle.

The shift back to required testing extends beyond the Ivies to include other highly-selective institutions. According to multiple sources including Carnegie Prep and Principia Education, MIT, Caltech, Georgetown, and the entire University System of Georgia (including Georgia Tech and University of Georgia) have also reinstated testing requirements for the 2026-27 cycle or beyond. Yale has adopted a "test-flexible" policy that still requires scores but accepts alternatives like AP exam results, while most reinstatements mandate either SAT or ACT submission.

This development fundamentally reshapes the admissions landscape for students targeting elite universities. After several years where applicants could choose whether to submit scores, the return to required testing means all applicants to Ivy League and many other selective institutions must now prepare for and submit standardized test results. The timing aligns with the 2026-27 application cycle for most reinstating schools, though Columbia's requirement takes effect for the 2027-28 cycle.

Sources indicate this marks a significant policy shift with broad implications for college preparation strategies and admissions competitiveness at the nation's most selective institutions.