Test Optional Colleges 2027 — Full Updated List

Last updated: April 2026

The standardized testing landscape has shifted significantly since we last updated this guide. What began as a pandemic-era accommodation has evolved into one of the most consequential and fast-moving policy debates in college admissions. For students in the Class of 2027, the rules are meaningfully different from just two years ago, and getting this wrong can have real consequences for your college list strategy.

Here is where things stand today.

Our Updated Guidance for Class of 2027 Students

At The College Curators, our position has always been clear: if your student has the capacity to prepare, they should take the SAT or ACT. That advice is now more important than ever.

The list of schools requiring scores has grown dramatically and now includes some of the most selective universities in the country. Waiting to see whether a school changes its policy is no longer a safe strategy. Here is how we advise families to think about it:

If a school on your list requires scores, there is no decision to make. Start preparing now.

If a school remains test-optional, our original guidance still applies: only submit if your score falls at or above the 50th percentile of that school’s published range. Review the section breakdown too, not just the composite. A strong overall score with a weak math section can hurt a STEM applicant more than going test-optional.

If your score does not reflect your academic ability, going test-optional is still a legitimate choice at schools where it is available. But understand that without a score, everything else in your application has to work harder: your grades, rigor, essays, activities, and letters of recommendation all carry more weight.

If you are applying to a STEM, business, or nursing program, a strong math or science score can meaningfully strengthen your case, even at test-optional schools.

Start early. Students who scramble in the fall of senior year rarely achieve their best score, and many schools are still finalizing their policies for the Class of 2028. Do not let a late announcement catch you unprepared.

Going test-optional does not mean going passive. Schools that remain test-optional are still evaluating how much you want to be there. Check our updated list of colleges that consider demonstrated interestand make sure you are showing up on their radar.

A note on the ACT Science section: The ACT Science section is now optional. For most students, skipping it is a reasonable choice. However, if you are pursuing STEM, pre-med, nursing, or engineering, we recommend completing it. A strong Science score adds a meaningful data point that reinforces your academic fit for those programs. And if you are targeting the most highly selective schools regardless of major, attempting the Science section puts your most complete, competitive profile forward. When in doubt, prepare for it. You can always choose not to submit it, but you cannot go back and add it.

Now Requiring Standardized Testing

The following schools have officially reinstated standardized testing requirements. This list reflects confirmed policies as of April 2026. Always verify directly with each school’s admissions website before applying.

Harvard University — required

Yale University — test-flexible (SAT, ACT, AP, or IB scores accepted)

Princeton University — required (reinstated for Class of 2027-2028)

Brown University — required

Dartmouth College — required

University of Pennsylvania — required (reinstated Fall 2026; hardship waivers available)

Cornell University — required (reinstated Fall 2026)

Johns Hopkins University — required

MIT — required

California Institute of Technology — required

Georgetown University — required

Stanford University — required (reinstated Fall 2026)

University of Miami — required (reinstated Fall 2026)

Ohio State University — required for all first-year applicants to the Columbus campus; superscoring policy now in effect

Purdue University — required

University of Texas at Austin — required (reinstated 2024)

All Florida public universities (University of Florida, Florida State University, University of South Florida, Florida International University, and others) — required; CLT accepted as an alternative to SAT/ACT

All Georgia public universities (University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia College, Kennesaw State, and others) — required

UNC System — test-optional for students meeting the GPA threshold; CLT now accepted alongside SAT and ACT for Fall 2027

LSU — required

Auburn University — conditionally required; students with a GPA below 3.6 must submit scores; fully required for all applicants starting Fall 2027

University of Alabama — conditionally required; students with a cumulative GPA below 3.0 must submit scores

Notable Schools Staying Test-Optional for Fall 2027

Several highly selective and well-known schools have confirmed they will remain test-optional for students entering in Fall 2027. That said, read the cautionary note below before assuming this changes your strategy.

Columbia University (permanently test-optional; the only Ivy League school maintaining this policy)

Duke University (test-optional, confirmed for Fall 2027)

New York University (test-optional through the 2026-2027 cycle)

Vanderbilt University (test-optional through Fall 2027)

Washington University in St. Louis (test-optional for Fall 2027)

Tufts University (test-optional for Fall 2027)

University of Michigan (test-optional for Fall 2027; scores are helpful given high application volume — submitting a strong score is advisable)

Northwestern University (test-optional)

Emory University (test-optional)

Rice University (test-recommended; not required, but submitting a strong score is strongly advisable)

University of Southern California (test-optional for Fall 2027)

Carnegie Mellon University (mixed by program; Computer Science requires scores; other programs are test-optional or test-flexible)

Claremont McKenna College (test-optional for Fall 2027; note that testing will be required starting with the Class of 2028 — students in younger grades should plan accordingly)

A cautionary note on schools that remain test-optional: Do not mistake a test-optional policy for a signal that scores do not matter. Make no mistake: the most competitive applicants to highly selective schools maintaining test-optional policies, including Columbia, are submitting test scores. When the strongest students in the pool are testing, choosing not to submit puts your application at a real disadvantage, even when the policy technically allows it. At schools of this caliber, test-optional is a safety valve, not a strategy.

Full List of Test-Optional Colleges for Fall 2027

The list below is updated from our original guide. Schools that have reinstated testing requirements have been removed. Permanently test-optional schools are marked with an asterisk (*).

American University*

Amherst College*

Babson College

Bard College*

Barnard College

Bates College*

Baylor University

Beloit College*

Bentley University

Binghamton University*

Boise State University*

Boston College

Boston University

Bowdoin College*

Brandeis University*

Bryn Mawr College*

Bucknell University

California Polytechnic State University — San Luis Obispo

Carleton College

Carnegie Mellon University (mixed by program — CS requires scores)

Case Western Reserve University

Claremont McKenna College (test-optional for Fall 2027; required starting Class of 2028)

Clark University*

Colby College*

Colgate University

College of Charleston

College of the Holy Cross*

College of William and Mary*

Colorado College*

Colorado School of Mines

Columbia University* (permanently test-optional; only Ivy maintaining this policy)

Connecticut College*

Davidson College

Denison University*

DePaul University*

DePauw University*

Dickinson College*

Duke University

Earlham College*

Elon University*

Emerson College*

Emory University

Fordham University

Franklin and Marshall College*

George Washington University*

Gonzaga University

Goucher College*

Grinnell College

Hamilton College*

Hampshire College*

Harvey Mudd College

Haverford College*

Hobart William Smith*

Howard University

Indiana University — Bloomington

Ithaca College*

Kalamazoo College*

Kenyon College

Lafayette College

Lehigh University*

Lewis and Clark College*

Loyola Marymount University

Loyola University Chicago

Macalester College*

Marquette University*

Michigan State University*

Middlebury College*

Mount Holyoke College*

New York University (test-optional through 2026-2027 cycle)

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

Oberlin College

Occidental College*

Ohio University — Main Campus

Pennsylvania State University

Pepperdine University*

Pitzer College*

Pratt Institute*

Providence College*

Quinnipiac University (some majors required)*

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rice University (test-recommended — submitting a strong score is strongly advisable)

RISD*

Rutgers University — New Brunswick

San Diego State University

Santa Clara University

Sarah Lawrence College*

Savannah College of Art and Design*

Scripps College*

Seattle University*

Sewanee — The University of the South*

Skidmore College*

Smith College*

Soka University of America

Southern Methodist University*

Southwestern University*

St. Andrews

St. Olaf

Stevens Institute of Technology

Swarthmore College

Syracuse University

Temple University*

Texas A&M University — College Station

Texas Christian University

The New School*

Trinity College*

Tufts University

Tulane University

Union College (some majors required)*

University at Buffalo

University of Arizona

University of California — Berkeley*

University of California — Davis*

University of California — Irvine*

University of California — Los Angeles*

University of California — Merced*

University of California — Riverside*

University of California — San Diego*

University of California — Santa Barbara*

University of California — Santa Cruz*

University of Chicago*

University of Colorado — Boulder

University of Connecticut

University of Delaware

University of Denver*

University of Hawaii — Manoa

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Kansas

University of Maryland — College Park

University of Massachusetts Amherst*

University of Michigan — Ann Arbor (test-optional through Fall 2027; scores advisable given application volume)

University of Minnesota — Twin Cities

University of Missouri

University of Notre Dame (test-optional with GPA threshold; students with GPA below 2.75 should confirm current requirements)

University of Pittsburgh

University of Puget Sound*

University of Rhode Island

University of Richmond

University of Rochester*

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco*

University of Southern California

University of St Andrews

University of the Pacific

University of Utah (some majors required)*

University of Vermont

University of Virginia

University of Washington — Seattle*

University of Wisconsin — Madison

Vanderbilt University (test-optional through Fall 2027)

Vassar College*

Villanova University

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest University*

Washington and Lee University

Washington State University (test-free)*

Washington University in St. Louis

Wesleyan University*

Western Washington University

Whitman College*

Willamette University*

Williams College

Yeshiva University (RD applicants only)

*Permanently test-optional policy

Visit fairtest.org for a complete and continuously updated list.

A Note on the Classic Learning Test (CLT)

One newer development worth knowing: the Classic Learning Test has gained meaningful traction as an alternative to the SAT and ACT. Roughly 325 colleges and universities now accept it, including the full Florida public university system and, as of February 2026, all UNC campuses. The U.S. Service Academies also began accepting CLT scores for the 2027 admissions cycle. If your student has already tested on the CLT, check whether it satisfies requirements at their target schools.

The Bottom Line

The test-optional era is not over, but it is contracting. The schools that have reinstated requirements are disproportionately the most selective, most competitive institutions in the country. For any student with meaningful college ambitions, testing is no longer optional in practice, even when it is on paper.

Testing strategy and college list strategy are not separate conversations. The schools you are targeting should directly inform how urgently your student needs a score and how strong that score needs to be. Start with a balanced college list</a> and work backward from there.

Our recommendation: prepare early, test when ready, and then decide strategically. Submit when it helps. Go test-optional when it does not, where that choice is available.

For the most comprehensive and up-to-date list of test-optional schools, visit fairtest.org and check each school’s admissions website directly.

Ready to build a testing strategy that fits your student’s profile? Schedule a complimentary consultation with our team.

Policies are updated frequently. Last verified April 2026. TCC recommends checking individual school admissions pages before finalizing any application strategy.