Columbia Completes Ivy League Return to Test-Required Admissions for 2027-28

Columbia University will require SAT or ACT scores from undergraduate applicants beginning with the 2027-28 admissions cycle, a move that completes the Ivy League's full return to test-required admissions. The university announced the policy shift in June 2026, according to a report from Higher Ed Dive. Columbia was the final holdout among the eight Ivy League institutions to reinstate a testing mandate after the pandemic-era suspension, as noted by the Columbia Spectator.

For the upcoming 2026-27 cycle, Columbia will remain test-optional, giving current high school juniors one final year to apply without submitting scores. The new requirement will take effect for applications submitted in August 2027, for students entering in Fall 2028. This policy aligns Columbia with peers like Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, and others in the Ivy+ cohort that have already reinstated testing mandates over the past two years.

The decision marks a significant endpoint in the elite admissions landscape, effectively concluding the widespread test-optional experiment for the most selective universities. While many other highly-ranked national universities and liberal arts colleges remain test-optional or test-recommended, the Ivy League is now unified in requiring standardized test scores, reshaping strategic planning for future applicants targeting these schools.