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Test Optional and Test Required Colleges for Fall 2027: The Complete List

By Jeremy M. Fine, Founder of ConnectPrep · Updated October 2026

Last verified October 16, 2026 against official college admissions pages, university news releases and state board policies (University of California, University System of Georgia, UNC System, Florida Board of Governors). Next review January 2027.

Fall 2027 testing policies at a glance

The table below counts every college in our list by type. Public flagships include one main campus per state (for New York we list both University at Buffalo and Stony Brook). “Not verified” means the official page did not state a fall 2027 policy we could confirm on October 16, 2026; those colleges are listed in the sources section.

Counts are from this page’s table, checked October 16, 2026. A “college” here is one row; the Cal State system and the 14 other UNC System universities each appear as a single row.

The complete list: SAT and ACT policies for fall 2027 entry

Every row links to the college’s own admissions page (or, for public systems, the governing board’s policy). “Current policy since” is the first entering term the current rule applies to, only when the college publishes it. “Announced change” covers dated announcements and confirmed windows, such as a test optional policy extended through a named term. Scroll sideways on a phone to see every column.

Policy labels: Required, Required with exceptions, Test optional, Test free. See the definitions below. ACT Science “Not stated” means the official page we used does not address the Science section.

Colleges that require the SAT or ACT for fall 2027

These 32 colleges require every first-year applicant to submit an SAT or ACT score (some also accept the CLT). Florida’s 12 public universities share one statewide rule, Board of Governors Regulation 6.002.

• Auburn University
• Augusta University
• Brown University
• California Institute of Technology
• Cornell University
• Florida A&M University
• Florida Atlantic University
• Florida Gulf Coast University
• Florida International University
• Florida Polytechnic University
• Florida State University
• Georgetown University
• Georgia College & State University
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Johns Hopkins University
• Kennesaw State University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Morehouse College
• New College of Florida
• Stanford University
• United States Air Force Academy
• United States Coast Guard Academy
• United States Naval Academy
• University of Central Florida
• University of Florida
• University of Georgia
• University of North Florida
• University of South Florida
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of West Florida
• Yale University

Required with exceptions (16 colleges)

These colleges require scores from most applicants but publish a specific exception, such as a GPA threshold, a hardship waiver, alternative exams for students outside the U.S., or programs that stay optional.

• Carnegie Mellon University: Computer Science requires SAT or ACT; Engineering, Dietrich, Information Systems, Mellon College of Science and Tepper are test flexible (SAT, ACT, AP, IB, A-Level or French Bac); College of Fine Arts is test optional
• Dartmouth College: U.S. high school students must submit SAT or ACT; students at non-U.S. schools may use three AP exams, IB, A-Levels or a national exam
• Georgia Southern University: Required for traditional admission at Statesboro and Armstrong; not required for University College flexible admission
• Georgia State University (Atlanta campus): Required for Atlanta campus bachelor's admission; Perimeter College does not require scores with a 3.1 GPA
• Harvard University: SAT or ACT required; AP, IB, A-Level or national exams accepted only in exceptional cases when the SAT/ACT is not accessible; highest ACT composite evaluated
• Louisiana State University: ACT or SAT required if cumulative weighted GPA is below 3.5; optional at 3.5 or higher
• North Carolina State University: UNC System rule: scores required only with weighted GPA 2.5 to below 2.8; optional at 2.8 or higher
• Ohio State University (Columbus): Exempt if out of high school two or more years; regional campuses and ATI do not consider scores
• Purdue University: Expects SAT, ACT or CLT; accepts applications without scores in exceptional cases where the applicant could not test
• UNC System (other 14 universities, e.g., App State, ECU, UNC Charlotte, UNCW): Scores required only with weighted GPA 2.5 to below 2.8; optional at 2.8 or higher
• University of Alabama: Fall 2027: scores required if cumulative high school GPA is below 3.0; no minimum test score
• University of Alabama at Birmingham: Fall 2027: scores required if cumulative high school GPA is below 3.5
• University of Arkansas: Test optional only with a 3.2 GPA or higher; scores required below 3.2
• University of Miami: Test optional for Frost School of Music performance programs, BFA programs, School of Architecture, and graduates of high schools outside the U.S.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Scores required only if weighted GPA is below 2.8 (ACT 17 or SAT 930 minimum); not required at 2.8 or above
• University of Pennsylvania: Hardship waiver available for applicants unable to test

Test free colleges (13)

These colleges will not use SAT or ACT scores in admission decisions for fall 2027: California State University (all campuses), Pitzer College, 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 San Diego, Washington State University.

Policy changes since 2024: a dated timeline

The wave of reinstatements began before 2024 (MIT announced its return to required testing on March 28, 2022, and Purdue required scores again starting with fall 2024 entry), but most of the movement has happened since February 2024. Every date below comes from the college’s or system’s own announcement unless noted.

Several other changes are posted on official pages without an announcement date: the University of Miami began requiring scores for fall 2026 applicants (with exceptions for some arts programs and students outside the U.S.), Princeton and Claremont McKenna return to required testing for fall 2028, Vanderbilt for fall 2029, and the University of Alabama requires scores below a 3.0 GPA for fall 2027 and from all applicants for fall 2028.

Already announced for fall 2028 and later

If you are a high school junior in 2026-27, you will apply in fall 2027 for fall 2028 entry. These colleges have already published rules for your year.

For UC, the row above stands for all nine undergraduate campuses. The UC page states that applicants filing by November 30, 2026 for fall 2027 do not need scores and that no change will be made before the 2026-27 academic year ends.

Definitions: what each policy label means

• Required: Every first-year applicant must submit an SAT or ACT score (some colleges also accept the CLT). Example: Georgia Tech states that all first-year applicants must submit at least one SAT or ACT.
• Required with exceptions: Scores are required, but the college publishes a specific way around it: a GPA threshold (LSU below 3.5, Arkansas below 3.2, UNC System 2.5 to below 2.8), a hardship waiver (Penn), alternatives for students outside the U.S. (Dartmouth, Harvard in exceptional cases), or programs that stay optional (University of Miami, Carnegie Mellon).
• Test optional: You choose whether your scores are considered, and the college says applicants without scores are not disadvantaged. Some test optional colleges still require scores from certain groups, such as homeschooled students or BS/MD applicants.
• Test free (also called test blind): The college will not use SAT or ACT scores in admission decisions even if you send them. UC and CSU may still use scores for course placement after enrollment.
• Test flexible: A requirement that can be met with tests other than the SAT or ACT, such as AP, IB or A-Level results. Carnegie Mellon uses it for most colleges; Yale used it for fall 2025 and fall 2026 before returning to ACT or SAT only.
• No harm: A test optional variant where scores are considered only if they help you. University of Iowa, Franklin & Marshall, Colorado College and UH Manoa describe their policies this way.
• Superscore: Combining your best section scores from different test dates. Policies differ: UT Austin uses the highest single sitting, Georgetown requires a full single test, while Rice, Brown and many others superscore.

What “test optional” really means at selective schools

Test optional is a choice, not a signal that scores stopped mattering. Colleges that publish submission data show that many admitted students still send scores, and several test optional colleges keep testing requirements for specific groups.

Many admitted students still submit

• Boston College says that among enrolled members of the Class of 2030, approximately two-thirds submitted scores (Boston College).
• The University of Vermont reports an admitted ACT range of 31 to 34, based on the roughly 45% of applicants who submitted scores (UVM).
• William & Mary notes that 40% of the Class of 2029 applied test optional, which means most applicants did submit (William & Mary).
• Temple reports that more than 75% of last year’s applicants applied test optional, and that fall 2025 enrollees who submitted averaged a 1210 SAT and a 27 ACT (Temple).

Test optional for admission is not always test optional for everything

• Accelerated medical and law programs: George Washington (B.A./B.S.-M.D., where ACT Science is also required), Howard (BS/MD, BS/DDS, BA/JD), RPI (Physician-Scientist B.S./M.D.), Rutgers-Newark (BA/MD), Union (Leadership in Medicine and 3+3 Law), Penn State (Accelerated Premedical-Medical) and Tulane (Pathways to Medicine) all require scores.
• Scholarships: Pepperdine requires SAT, ACT or CLT for Regents Scholars, Stony Brook for Scholars for Medicine and Dental Medicine, WVU for the West Virginia Promise Scholarship, and Nevada, Reno says scores are required for most first-year scholarships.
• Homeschooled and narrative-transcript students: Villanova, Missouri, Utah, Gonzaga, George Washington and the University of Washington require scores from some homeschooled applicants.
• Scores you cannot take back: Illinois, Maryland and Minnesota say your test optional choice is final once you submit, and Oklahoma and Boston College say submitted scores cannot be removed.

The University of Washington is an instructive edge case. It permanently removed its requirement and calls itself “technically test optional,” but says scores are generally not visible to reviewers and may be considered for only a handful of students with high scores (1400 SAT or 31 ACT and above) who might not otherwise be admitted.

How to decide whether to submit your scores

This is the framework we use with families. It is guidance, not a rule any college publishes.

1. Find the college’s submitter range. Look for the middle 50% of admitted or enrolled students who submitted scores, usually on the class profile or in the Common Data Set (section C9). UConn, UVM and UH Manoa post their ranges on the same pages linked in our table.
2. Compare honestly. If your score is at or above the middle of that range, sending it usually adds information that helps. If it is below the 25th percentile, you are typically better off letting your transcript speak, unless the college describes a no harm policy.
3. Check the side doors. Merit scholarships, honors colleges, BS/MD programs and some majors still require or reward scores even at test optional colleges, as the examples above show.
4. Know the mechanics. Superscoring rules, whether the college accepts self-reported scores, and the last test date it will accept all differ. UT Austin uses the highest single sitting; Rice uses the highest section scores across all sittings.
5. Plan for the list you will actually apply to. If even one college on your list requires scores (every Ivy except Columbia and Princeton for fall 2027, MIT, Stanford, Georgetown, UT Austin, Georgia Tech, Florida’s public universities), you need a score anyway, and the question becomes where to send it.

ACT Science policies

ACT made the Science section optional in its enhanced test, which moved to a composite of English, Math and Reading. Colleges now state what they do with a Science score in different ways. Of the 190 colleges in our table that use scores and that we verified, 56 address the Science section on the page we used; the rest do not mention it.

Details that matter if you take Science: Swarthmore says a Science score you take must be included in your composite; Vanderbilt, Rhodes and Sewanee say Science can only help (Sewanee calculates superscores with and without it); Boston College and Bowdoin keep it out of the composite; UF, FAU, FIU and UCF build the ACT composite from English, Math and Reading (UCF for exams taken from April 2025 on), and FAU and FIU quote the Florida Board of Governors saying Science is not required for admission to Florida public universities. For Florida Bright Futures, UF and FAU state that Science is optional starting with the 2025-26 graduating class, while UNF’s page still describes it as required for Bright Futures, so confirm with the Florida Department of Education. Our separate list of colleges that require ACT Science goes deeper on superscoring across the old and new ACT.

ConnectPrep analysis

Planning a retake? See which of these colleges superscore the SAT and ACT, allow Score Choice or require all scores, with each college’s rule checked on its own admissions pages.

Frequently asked questions

Related resources

• Colleges that superscore the SAT and ACT: superscore, Score Choice and all scores rules for the same colleges
• SAT tutoring: one on one SAT tutoring, online or in person in Fairfield County
• ACT tutoring: one on one ACT tutoring, including the optional Science section
• SAT vs ACT comparison: how the two tests differ and how to choose
• SAT and ACT test dates: every SAT and ACT date and registration deadline
• Free SAT and ACT assessments: find out where you stand before you decide whether to submit
• College admissions counseling: college list building and application strategy

Sources and method

Every policy in this table was read on the college’s own admissions website, or for public systems on the governing board’s policy page, on October 16, 2026. We recorded the policy that applies to students entering in fall 2027 (the 2026-27 application cycle), the first entry term the current policy covers when the college publishes it, any announced change with its date, and the college’s statement on ACT Science. Where a college page and a news release differ in detail, the table follows the admissions page and links both. We did not use third-party trackers as sources. Coverage includes highly ranked national universities and liberal arts colleges, the flagship public university of every state, the service academies, and colleges that changed policy since 2024.

Not verified (6). These colleges are in the table but their official pages did not state a fall 2027 policy we could confirm on October 16, 2026: American University, Centre College, Fordham University, United States Military Academy (West Point), University of Massachusetts Amherst, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. We will update them when the college publishes a clear statement.

Primary sources used for announcements and system rules:

• University of California, Academic Senate review of admissions (July 22, 2026)
• University System of Georgia, admission requirements for 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28
• UNC System, standard test requirement (Policy 700.1.1)
• Florida Board of Governors Regulation 6.002, Admission of Undergraduate First-Time-in-College students
• California State University, first-time freshman admission factors
• Yale University news, undergraduate admissions updates testing policy (May 27, 2026)
• Columbia Undergraduate Admissions, testing policy update (June 12, 2026)
• Princeton Admission, standardized testing
• Notre Dame Admissions, testing requirement for fall 2028 (September 9, 2026)
• Vanderbilt Admissions, testing policies
• Texas A&M Admissions, freshman requirements
• MIT Admissions, reinstating the SAT/ACT requirement (March 28, 2022)
• Higher Ed Dive, Purdue reinstates admissions test requirements for fall 2024 (December 1, 2022)

Each of the 209 rows in the main table links to the specific official page used for that college. Policies change during the application season, so confirm with each college before you apply.

This is a ConnectPrep resource page. ConnectPrep is an independent test prep, tutoring and admissions counseling firm founded in 2013 and based in Westport, Connecticut. We are not affiliated with any college listed, the College Board or ACT.