Which colleges require the SAT?
After years of test-optional admissions, a growing list of selective colleges have brought back an SAT or ACT requirement. Here's the shift, who's affected, and why you must check each school's own policy.
After several test-optional years, a growing number of selective colleges have reinstated an SAT/ACT requirement — among them MIT, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, Caltech, Georgetown and the University of Texas at Austin, with more public systems following. Many other colleges remain test-optional. Policies change every admissions cycle, so always confirm the current requirement on each college's own admissions page.
The policy pendulum has swung back
For a few years, most selective colleges were test-optional. The picture has changed for many of them — but not for all. Here's how to think about it, with the standing reminder that every name below is illustrative and can change.
Required is making a comeback.
The headline story is the reversal — selective schools moving back to required after the pandemic-era optional years. Some have announced this outright; others phase it in. Because announcements land on different dates, treat any roundup as a snapshot and verify on the school's official admissions page.
It is not universal.
Plenty of colleges remain test-optional or test-blind; required is not the rule everywhere. A school being selective does not automatically mean it requires scores — many highly competitive colleges still let you choose whether to submit. Always confirm rather than assume.
A strong SAT is back in play.
Where a school requires (or recommends) scores, a strong SAT is back to being a core part of the application. Even at optional schools, a competitive score can strengthen a file. Either way, preparing well keeps the choice — and the result — in your hands.
Whatever your list looks like, a strong score helps.
Required or optional, the work is the same: practice with real-format questions and build toward your target.
Treat every roundup as a snapshot
Testing requirements are set by each college individually, and many revisit them every admissions cycle. A school can be required one year, optional the next, then required again. That means no third-party list — including this one — is authoritative. Use lists to know who to check, then read the policy in the college's own words. The examples beside this are illustrative and will change; the only source that is current and binding is the college's official admissions or first-year-requirements page.
Examples (confirm each school)
- Require again: MIT, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Penn, Caltech, Georgetown, UT Austin
- Public systems reinstating in some states (e.g., parts of the University of Texas, University of Tennessee, Georgia publics)
- Many private and public colleges remain test-optional
- A few remain test-blind / do not consider scores (e.g., the University of California system)
- Always verify on the college's official admissions page — this list is illustrative and changes
SAT requirement questions
Which colleges require the SAT?
Do Ivy League schools require the SAT?
Is the SAT still optional anywhere?
Will more colleges require the SAT?
Where do I find a college's testing policy?
Plan around your college list.
Required or optional, a strong score keeps your options open.
Start free, answer a few real-format questions, and get a practice estimate toward your target score.