Columbia University Announces Return to Test-Required Admissions for Fall 2027

In a definitive move that signals the end of an era, Columbia University has announced it will reinstate a standardized test requirement for all undergraduate applicants, effective with the admissions cycle beginning in August 2027. This decision, confirmed on the university's official admissions website, makes Columbia the last of the eight Ivy League institutions to abandon its test-optional policy, completing a near-universal return to requiring SAT or ACT scores among the nation's most selective colleges.

According to the university's [Testing Policy page](https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/process/testing), "Columbia will require standardized testing starting in August 2027." The policy clarifies that the university "will remain test optional for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle," giving current high school juniors one final year to apply without submitting scores. This announcement, reported by the Columbia Spectator in June 2026, marks a pivotal endpoint in a rolling reversal of test-optional policies that began with MIT in 2022 and swept through most of the Ivy League by 2025.

The shift solidifies a new reality for applicants targeting elite universities. As noted by admissions consultancy Oriel Admissions, [six of the eight Ivy League schools](https://orieladmissions.com/colleges-require-sat-act/) already required scores for the 2026-2027 cycle. Columbia's decision means that, starting in August 2027, all Ivies will be test-mandatory for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This institutional consensus, driven by internal research suggesting tests are a reliable predictor of academic success, creates a clear and uniform expectation for high-achieving students: competitive applications to top-tier schools will once again necessitate strong standardized test scores.