Columbia Sets 2027 Test Requirement, Capping Ivy League's Return to Mandatory SAT/ACT

The era of widespread test-optional admissions at the most selective universities is officially ending, with Columbia University's announcement solidifying a near-universal return to mandatory standardized testing across the Ivy League. Columbia stated it "will require standardized testing starting in August 2027," while remaining test-optional for the current 2026-2027 admissions cycle, according to its official admissions page.

This decision makes Columbia the last of the eight Ivy League schools to announce a reinstatement, following a wave of similar policy reversals. For students applying in the 2026-2027 cycle (for Fall 2027 entry), six of the eight Ivies—Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania—already require test scores, as noted by admissions consultants Collegewise. Princeton remains the sole Ivy League institution with a confirmed test-optional policy for that cycle.

The shift is not confined to the Ivy League. Major public flagships are also moving back to requiring scores. The Ohio State University announced the reinstatement of the ACT/SAT requirement "for all new first-year undergraduate applicants to the Columbus campus" beginning with the 2026 admissions cycle, as reported by the university's news service. This reflects a broader, data-driven trend where elite institutions argue that test scores, when considered in context, provide valuable predictive information about college readiness, especially for identifying high-achieving, lower-income applicants.

For families navigating this changing landscape, the critical takeaway is the importance of checking individual university policies well in advance. The policy for the 2026-2027 cycle is now largely set, but deadlines for the last acceptable test dates vary. Students targeting Columbia and other Ivies for entry in Fall 2028 must now plan to take and submit SAT or ACT scores as a mandatory component of their application.