Updated: July 2026
If you're a parent trying to figure out whether your student needs to take the SAT or ACT, you've probably noticed that the answer keeps changing. Schools that dropped testing during COVID are bringing it back. Schools that brought it back are watching to see if others follow. And a few have decided they're done with standardized tests entirely.
It's confusing. But there's actually a clear pattern underneath all the noise, and understanding it can help your family plan ahead rather than react.
The short version: COVID forced colleges to go test-optional in 2020. Most assumed it was temporary. Then something interesting happened. Schools started studying what test-optional admissions actually looked like in practice, and they came to different conclusions.
MIT was the first to reinstate, back in 2022. Their research was straightforward: test scores were the single best predictor of academic success at MIT, and dropping them was actually hurting students from under-resourced backgrounds who had strong scores but weaker extracurriculars.
Dartmouth's economics faculty published similar findings in 2024. Brown, Cornell, Penn, Harvard, Yale, and Stanford followed, each citing some version of the same conclusion: scores, used properly, add predictive value and can support equity goals rather than undermine them.
Columbia held out the longest, extending its own test-optional policy as recently as 2023. A multi-year faculty review changed that too. In June 2026, Columbia announced it will require scores starting with students entering in Fall 2028, closing out the sweep. Every Ivy League school has now committed to requiring scores. The only real question left is timing.
On the other side, the University of California system analyzed its own data and reached the opposite conclusion: that test scores didn't add meaningful predictive value beyond GPA for their population. The entire UC system went test-free permanently.
Neither side is wrong. They're answering different questions for different student populations at different types of institutions.
One more data point, less about school policy and more about the exams themselves: in July 2026, ETS, the nonprofit behind the GRE and TOEFL, completed its acquisition of ACT Inc., ending the ACT's four years under private-equity ownership. Both tests will keep being offered and supported as separate, competing options, so this doesn't change how we'd advise a student to choose between the SAT and ACT.
Here's what matters for families planning ahead:
The trend at selective privates isn't really a trend anymore, it's a consensus. Every Ivy League school now requires scores or has committed to. Stanford requires scores. MIT requires scores. Columbia and Princeton are the last two to fall, both effective for students entering in Fall 2028. Vanderbilt just joined the list too (July 23, 2026), effective fall 2029. When schools at this level move, mid-tier selective schools often follow within a cycle or two.
Large public universities are holding steadier, but even here the ground is moving. Most flagship publics remain test-optional. The UC system, the largest public university system in the country, has been test-free since 2020, meaning scores aren't considered even when a student submits them. That policy is now under real pressure: the legal settlement that had barred UC from considering scores expired in 2025, UC faculty (including a large share of UC math professors) have published open letters pushing for reinstatement, and the UC Board of Regents is expected to vote on the policy as soon as July 2026. Cal State remains test-free with no similar review underway. We're watching the UC vote closely and will update this section as soon as there's an outcome.
Large public universities are holding steadier, but even here the ground is moving. Most flagship publics remain test-optional. The UC system, the largest public university system in the country, has been test-blind since 2020, meaning scores aren't considered even when a student submits them. That policy is now under real pressure: the legal settlement that had barred UC from considering scores expired in 2025, and more than 1,400 UC faculty, including most math department chairs, have signed open letters pushing for reinstatement. In response, the Academic Senate is running a formal, multi-year review: a faculty workgroup meets through spring 2027, reports back that May, and only then does a recommendation go to the Board of Regents. If scores are reinstated, the earliest it would apply is students applying for Fall 2028. Cal State remains test-free with no similar review underway.
Test-optional is becoming the new middle ground. Schools like UChicago, NYU, USC, and Boston University have maintained test-optional policies through multiple cycles. For these schools, "optional" is looking less like a temporary COVID measure and more like a permanent policy choice.
The landscape will likely shift again before your student applies. Here's how to plan for that:
Assume you'll need scores. Even if every school on your current list is test-optional today, that could change. Preparing for the SAT or ACT gives your student options regardless of what policies look like in 12 months.
Build your list first, then map testing policies. Don't let testing policy drive your college search. Find the right schools, then determine what each one requires. Your testing strategy follows your list.
Watch for announcements in spring. Policy changes typically get announced between February and April for the following admissions cycle. Spring of junior year is when you should re-check every school on your list.
Plan for flexibility. The students who are best positioned are the ones who have scores ready to submit where it helps and can withhold where it doesn't. That flexibility is valuable.
This isn't just about tests. The broader question is what colleges value and how they measure it. The reinstatement trend suggests that most selective institutions still believe standardized tests, for all their flaws, provide information that grades and activities alone don't capture.
For families, the practical takeaway is this: strong test scores remain one of the few things in the admissions process that you can directly control and improve. In a landscape full of uncertainty, that's worth something.
A Revolution Prep advisor can help you build a testing strategy that accounts for where policies are today and where they're likely headed. We track every change so you don't have to.
Want to get ahead of the next shift? Schedule a strategy session with a Revolution Prep advisor.
Testing policies change frequently. This guide reflects the landscape as of July 2026. For the most current information on any specific institution, verify with their admissions office or consult a Revolution Prep advisor.