Cornell Reinstates Standardized Testing Requirement for Fall 2026 Applicants

Cornell University has officially reinstated standardized testing requirements for undergraduate admissions, effective for first-year applicants seeking entry for Fall 2026 and beyond. According to the university's admissions office, all applicants must now submit SAT or ACT scores, ending the test-optional policy that had been in place during the pandemic era.

The policy change, detailed on Cornell's official admissions website, states: "Effective for Fall 2026 and beyond, first-year applicants are required to submit the SAT or ACT" (Cornell Office of Undergraduate Admissions). This reversal follows findings from a university Task Force that examined the role of standardized testing in admissions decisions.

The move places Cornell among a growing number of highly selective institutions returning to testing requirements. According to admissions experts, six of the eight Ivy League schools—including Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell, and the University of Pennsylvania—now require standardized test scores for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle (Oriel Admissions). Stanford University and Caltech have also reinstated testing requirements, signaling a broader trend among elite institutions.

This policy shift comes as selective colleges report record-low acceptance rates and record-high applicant numbers for the Class of 2026. The return to testing requirements may represent an effort by admissions offices to manage increasing application volumes while maintaining academic standards. For families targeting elite institutions, this development underscores the renewed importance of standardized test preparation in the competitive admissions landscape.