Columbia University to Require Standardized Testing Starting August 2027
The final Ivy League institution announces return to test-required policy, completing the league's full reversal from pandemic-era test-optional approaches.
August 2, 2026 · 1 min read
Columbia University announced it will require standardized testing for undergraduate applicants starting in August 2027, becoming the final Ivy League institution to reverse its pandemic-era test-optional policy. The university confirmed the change on its official admissions website, stating that Columbia College and Columbia Engineering "will reinstate a standardized testing requirement, effective August 2027 for the 2027-2028 admission cycle" (Columbia Undergraduate Admissions).
According to the announcement, Columbia will remain test-optional for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle, giving current high school juniors one final year to apply without submitting scores. The decision follows similar reversals by six other Ivy League schools over the past two years, with Dartmouth, Yale, Brown, Harvard, Cornell, and Princeton having already reinstated testing requirements for various future application cycles.
The Columbia Spectator reported in June 2026 that "Columbia will once again require standardized test scores for undergraduate applicants, beginning in August 2027," noting this makes Columbia "the final Ivy League school to reinstate test score requirements, which most universities made optional in 2020" (Columbia Spectator). This completes a significant policy shift across the Ivy League, where all eight institutions will once again require standardized test submissions, though implementation timelines vary by school.
For families targeting elite universities, this announcement underscores the renewed importance of standardized testing in highly-selective admissions. While Columbia's requirement won't affect students applying this fall, those planning to apply in fall 2027 (current high school sophomores) should prepare accordingly. The university's testing policy page confirms that "Columbia will require standardized testing starting in August 2027" while maintaining test-optional status for the upcoming cycle (Columbia Undergraduate Admissions).
This analysis may include estimates and projections compiled from public and primary sources. Figures can change — verify deadlines and policies with each school before acting on them.