Colleges Are Requiring SAT and ACT Scores Again — Here’s the Full List for 2027

The test-optional era in college admissions is ending at the most selective schools and the largest Southern public universities. Our updated list, checked against each school’s admissions site in October 2026, counts 72 colleges and systems that require the SAT or ACT in some form for students entering in fall 2027. Another six, including Columbia and Princeton, have set dates to require scores later. You can search the full list by school, state and policy below.

From the Ivy League to SEC flagships, schools are bringing back SAT and ACT requirements, and many now accept the Classic Learning Test (CLT) as well. According to Brian Eufinger, co-founder of Edison Prep, “Even at schools that remain test-optional, scores are often still required to compete for top-tier merit scholarships.“

The high school class of 2027 is applying now, and most of these requirements apply to them. If you’re still deciding whether to test, our SAT vs. ACT vs. CLT comparison covers which exam fits, and the rest of this page shows which schools on your list require one.

The Ivy League Leads The Reversal

Six of the eight Ivy League schools require SAT or ACT scores for fall 2027 entry: Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and Yale. Columbia and Princeton stay test-optional this cycle and require scores starting with students entering in fall 2028. Our Ivy League explainer covers how the eight schools compare on cost and admissions.

The dominoes began falling in February 2024, when Dartmouth reactivated its SAT and ACT requirement after a faculty study found that test scores helped identify high-achieving students, including those from lower-income high schools. Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Caltech and Stanford followed within months, and Penn announced its return in February 2025.

Yale tightened its policy again in May 2026. Its old “test-flexible” rule let applicants send AP or IB scores instead, but Yale’s admissions office now says every first-year applicant must include ACT or SAT scores. AP and IB results are welcome but no longer count on their own. Our AP scores explainer covers how colleges use them.

Princeton announced in October 2025 that applicants “seeking to enroll in fall 2028” must submit the SAT or ACT, according to Princeton’s testing page. Columbia, the last Ivy to act, made the same move in June 2026, but its testing page says it will stay “fully test-optional for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle.” Columbia will let applicants who can’t access a test request a waiver. Parents reading older headlines should know the difference, and our look at how admissions officers decide who to admit explains how optional scores get read.

The shift has been driven largely by data. Without a standardized benchmark, admissions offices leaned more heavily on grades and extracurriculars, metrics skewed by grade inflation that can favor wealthier applicants with access to polished resumes. A test score is one of the few measures that’s the same at every high school, which is a big part of what colleges look for in applicants this cycle.

SEC And Southern Flagship Schools Follow

The trend isn’t limited to private elites. Some of the largest public universities in the South require scores for fall 2027, and several use a GPA cutoff instead of a blanket rule. Check the GPA line carefully, because a 3.4 student and a 3.6 student can face different rules at the same school, and our college application checklist shows where test scores fit in the timeline.

Auburn University requires ACT or SAT scores from every fall 2027 applicant, regardless of GPA. Auburn’s admissions page says official scores “are required for a completed application,” and scores must arrive by December 1, 2026 for merit scholarship consideration. Our SAT prep cost breakdown helps if you’re paying for a last retake.

LSU announced it would bring testing back, and for any 2027 entry term, LSU requires an ACT or SAT score from applicants with a weighted GPA below 3.5. Students at 3.5 or above can choose. Louisiana Tech uses a similar rule at a 2.5 core GPA for in-state students, and our best ACT prep courses list covers quick score-raising options.

The University of Alabama updated its admissions process in December 2025. For a 2027 entry term, students with a cumulative GPA below 3.0 must submit a score, and every applicant for 2028 must submit one. Students on the line can compare costs in our SAT prep cost breakdown.

UAB set a higher bar of 3.5 for 2027, per UAB’s announcement. UAH stays test-optional through fall 2027 and requires scores starting in spring 2028. Our college campus tour tips include questions to ask admissions about rules like these.

All 12 Florida public universities require the SAT, ACT or CLT, because a Florida Board of Governors regulation requires a test score from first-year applicants, as Florida Atlantic’s admissions page explains. The Georgia public university system reinstated testing at its largest campuses in 2024, and the University of Georgia says “there is no test optional pathway.” Our explainer on why colleges are ending test-optional policies covers the reasoning these systems gave.

The University of Texas at Austin brought back its requirement in 2024, Ohio State requires scores for its Columbus campus, and Purdue “expects” an SAT, ACT or CLT score from applicants. The University of Tennessee’s Knoxville and Chattanooga campuses require scores, and the UNC System requires one only for applicants with a weighted GPA from 2.5 to just under 2.8. A good SAT score depends on the school, so check each one’s middle-50% range.

More Schools Accept The CLT Exam

The Classic Learning Test (CLT) is now accepted in place of the SAT or ACT at a growing number of schools on this list, including every Florida public university, Purdue, UT Austin and the Naval Academy. Roughly 325 colleges and universities accept the CLT, and our CLT explainer compares it with the other two exams.

In February 2026, the University of North Carolina system approved the CLT as an alternative to the SAT and ACT for fall 2027 admissions across all UNC campuses. Kennesaw State will accept the CLT starting with fall 2027 applicants, per Kennesaw State’s freshman requirements. Our college entrance exams comparison shows how scores convert.

The U.S. Service Academies also began accepting CLT scores for the 2027 admissions cycle, and the Naval Academy now requires the SAT, ACT or CLT from every candidate. Before you pick the CLT, confirm every school on your list takes it, since our college admissions data shows most selective private schools still list only the SAT and ACT.

Colleges Requiring Or Preferring Test Scores

Here is every college on our list, with its fall 2027 testing policy and a link to the school’s own admissions page. Search by name or state, or use the buttons to show only test-required schools, schools with GPA or program exceptions, test-preferred schools, or schools that stay optional for 2027 and require scores later. For background on what each label means, see our test-optional colleges explainer.

How to read the policy labels: “Test-Required” means every first-year applicant sends a score, aside from narrow cases like adult learners. “Required With Exceptions” means the rule depends on your GPA, program or campus, so read the Details column. “Test-Preferred” means scores are optional but the school recommends them or uses them for merit aid. Our test-optional colleges explainer covers the difference in more detail.

“Optional For 2027” means you can skip scores this year, but the school has announced a requirement for a later class. Our college application checklist shows when official score reports are due.

What changed in this update: We added Notre Dame’s September 2026 announcement, split the University of Alabama System into three campuses with different rules, added UAB, UAH, UNC-Chapel Hill and UT Chattanooga, and moved UVA to “Optional For 2027” after its admissions office confirmed fall 2027 applicants won’t be disadvantaged. Webb Institute recommends but doesn’t require scores, and Austin Peay requires them for regular admission. TCI’s coverage of the 2026-27 application changes tracks the other rule changes this cycle.

Which Big-Name Colleges Are Still Test-Optional For Fall 2027?

Most colleges are still test-optional for fall 2027. Only 5% of the Common App’s 1,146 member colleges required a test score in 2025-26, according to TCI’s analysis of the Common App’s year-end data. Well-known schools that stay optional this cycle include:

Duke University: “test-optional for both first-year and transfer applicants in the 2026-2027 admissions cycle,” per Duke Admissions. Clemson University: “Applicants are not required to submit a standardized test score,” per Clemson’s first-year page. University of South Carolina: test-optional “through the fall, spring and summer 2027 terms,” per USC’s freshman requirements. Columbia, Princeton, Notre Dame, Claremont McKenna and Vanderbilt: optional now, with requirements starting in fall 2028 or fall 2029. Our Ivy League explainer covers the two Ivies on this list. The University of California: still test-free. A faculty review of the SAT and ACT is due by about June 2027, and only the Board of Regents can restore testing, according to CalMatters.

Optional isn’t the same as ignored. Boston College is test-optional, but about 75% of its applicants submit scores. If your score sits at or above a school’s middle 50%, send it, and if it doesn’t, our best SAT prep courses list covers fast ways to raise it before December.

What This Means For Students And Families

If you’re a high school senior applying for fall 2027, the testing window is short. The remaining SAT dates this fall are November 7 and December 5, 2026, and the remaining ACT dates are October 17 and December 12, 2026, based on Penn’s posted testing deadlines. For November 1 early deadlines, the October 17 ACT is the last realistic sitting, so most students retesting now should plan around regular decision. Our college application checklist puts those dates in order.

According to Eufinger, “Many colleges are belatedly announcing whether they will return to mandatory testing. Not all schools have even finalized testing policies for the Class of 2027. These timelines are simply too late to be fair.” That’s why we recheck school sites rather than relying on older headlines, and why our admissions officers explainer is worth reading alongside this list.

Eufinger’s advice for younger students is just as direct: “Families with students in the class of 2027 and beyond should at least take practice SAT/ACT tests to see where their students land, since even if part of their list may be test optional for admissions, solid scores can secure five and six figures of additional merit aid even at test optional schools.” For juniors in the class of 2028, the October PSAT is the first practice run, and our PSAT prep options cover National Merit scoring.

For families weighing test prep costs, free resources are widely available. The College Board offers free SAT preparation through Khan Academy, and the CLT provides free practice tests on its website.

Students in the class of 2028 have more room. Columbia, Princeton, Notre Dame, Claremont McKenna, Alabama and UAB all require scores from everyone applying for fall 2028, so a junior who tests in spring 2027 keeps every option open. Record application volume means a score is one more way to stand out in a bigger pool.

Common Questions

Which Colleges Require SAT Or ACT Scores For Fall 2027?

Our list counts 72 colleges and systems that require SAT or ACT scores in some form for fall 2027 entry, including Harvard, Yale, Penn, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, MIT, Stanford, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, UT Austin, Auburn and all 12 Florida public universities. Our SAT vs. ACT vs. CLT comparison helps you pick an exam.

Is Columbia Or Princeton Test-Optional For 2027?

Yes. Both stay test-optional for students entering in fall 2027 and require the SAT or ACT for fall 2028 entry. The other six Ivy League schools require scores now, as our Ivy League explainer covers.

Will Colleges Be Test-Optional In 2027?

Most will. Only 5% of Common App member colleges required a score in 2025-26, per TCI’s Common App analysis. The schools that require scores are concentrated among highly selective private colleges and Southern public systems.

Why Are Colleges Reversing Their Test-Optional Policies?

Colleges say test scores, combined with grades and the rest of the application, help predict which students will succeed. Dartmouth’s faculty study found scores helped identify strong students from lower-income high schools who might otherwise be missed, and our explainer on why colleges are ending test-optional policies covers the other reasons.

Does Submitting Test Scores Still Matter At Schools That Remain Test-Optional?

Yes. More Common App applicants sent a score than didn’t in 2025-26 (779,300 vs. 748,028), and many schools use scores for merit aid even when admission is optional. Tulane, for example, says scores are preferred for academic merit scholarships, and our hidden admissions factors explain how they’re weighed.

What Should Seniors In The Class Of 2027 Do Right Now?

Check every school on your list against the table, then register for the November 7 or December 5 SAT, or the December 12 ACT, if you need a score or a retake. Send scores early enough to reach schools before merit deadlines like Auburn’s December 1, and use our application checklist to track the rest.

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