Columbia University is reinstating a SAT or ACT requirement for undergraduate admissions, college officials announced Friday — only a few years after the Morningside Heights school formally adopted a pandemic-era policy of dropping the tests.
It’s the latest elite university to do so as the political tides turn again on standardized testing.
The change will be effective as of the 2027-28 admissions cycle. Both undergraduate programs — Columbia College and Columbia Engineering — will remain test-optional for the upcoming admissions cycle, giving applicants more time to prepare for the tests.
College officials defended their about-face in an update posted to the Columbia admissions website.
“Standardized testing is one of many elements we consider in our application review, which starts with establishing a foundation of academic excellence and is rooted in the belief that students are dynamic, multi-faceted individuals who are best understood by careful review of all parts of the application,” read the notification.
Columbia went test-optional in 2020 as standardized testing centers temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and critics raised equity concerns.
The emergency measure was extended several times until 2023, when Columbia announced it would be the school’s policy on testing going forward. At the time, college officials said the decision was “rooted in the belief” that students “cannot be defined by any single factor.”
Three years later, the times have changed.
“Through a multi-year faculty review, it was determined that test scores, among other factors, were a useful indicator of potential student success,” Columbia officials wrote Friday.
Columbia’s statement aligns with arguments made by proponents of standardized testing, who say the SAT and ACT are valuable metrics to predict academic performance on campus and career readiness, and cut through the noise of grade inflation at some high schools.
High test scores can also put a prospective student from a low-income family on a college admissions office’s radar who may have otherwise been overlooked on account of their high school.
But opponents say the requirement may contribute to less diverse student bodies if students with the means to afford private tutors or classes and practice exams earn higher scores. The SAT and ACT also favor students who can perform in a high-stakes testing environment.
Columbia admitted 2,581 out of 61,031 applicants this year to the Class of 2030, for a total acceptance rate of 4.2%, according to school admissions data.
With Friday’s decision, Columbia has become the last Ivy League school to reinstate standardized testing. Last month, Yale University dropped its own test-flexible policy, making Columbia the final holdout.
