Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth.
SAT Scores Are Back.
Essential reading if you are applying to US universities
The pandemic gave universities a reason to try something new. Test-optional admissions arrived in 2020 as a temporary emergency measure. Four years later, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Penn, and Cornell have all reversed course. MIT never left. If a selective US university is on your list, this changes your strategy.
“Test-optional was a workaround. The Ivy League just reminded everyone what they actually use to compare applicants from 200 countries.”
What changed and why
In February 2024, Dartmouth published research alongside its reinstatement. The finding was striking: test-optional policies had not improved access for first-generation or low-income students. They had made things worse.
The statistic that changed the argument
A significant share of applicants chose not to submit scores during the test-optional era, and Dartmouth's analysis found that many of them would have helped their own application by submitting. Students with scores below 1400 assumed their score would hurt them. In many cases, the opposite was true.
Harvard cited the same equity logic in April 2024. Yale moved to a test-flexible policy requiring SAT, ACT, AP, or IB scores. The direction of travel was clear.
The full timeline of reinstatements
MIT (2022)
The first major university to reverse its test-optional policy, MIT reinstated its SAT and ACT requirement in March 2022. It cited internal research showing that scores were among the strongest predictors of academic success across all student groups.
Dartmouth (February 2024)
The first Ivy League school to reinstate. Dartmouth published a detailed research paper showing that test-optional admissions had failed to produce the equity gains originally hoped for, and that scores in context actively helped identify high-achieving students from low-income schools.
Yale (March 2024)
Yale adopted a test-flexible approach. Applicants must submit at least one standardised score from the SAT, ACT, AP, or IB examinations. A strong SAT score remains the most straightforward option.
Harvard (April 2024)
Harvard reinstated for the Class of 2029 onward, citing the same research conclusions as Dartmouth. Harvard noted that below-average scores from students at high-challenge schools can still support an application. A missing score cannot.
Brown, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania (2024 to 2025)
All three reinstated requirements through 2024 and early 2025, completing the shift across the majority of Ivy League institutions.
Check every university individually
Princeton has remained test-optional more recently, and Columbia has said its test-optional policy is permanent. Policies at individual universities are still moving, so treat any list as a snapshot. Requirements change. Always check the official admissions page of each university before you apply.
The score you actually need
Score ranges vary by university and by programme. Competitive applicants to Ivy League schools typically submit scores of 1500 or above. But the research Dartmouth published makes one thing clear: a below-average score submitted with strong context is far better than no score at all.
The universities that reinstated were not acting against access. They were acting on data that showed the opposite of what they expected. Test scores, interpreted in context, help admissions teams spot exceptional students from schools with few resources and little name recognition.
The key insight from the Dartmouth research
A 1350 from a student at a low-income, under-resourced school reads very differently from a 1350 from a student at an elite prep school. Admissions teams know this. Submitting a score gives them something to work with. Not submitting one gives them nothing.
What to do right now
Your action plan if you are applying this cycle
- Check the admissions requirements on each target university's official website, not third-party guides
- If your current SAT score is below your target school's published range, sitting the test again is almost always worth it
- At test-flexible schools like Yale, strong AP or IB scores can also satisfy the requirement
- Build your test prep timeline around your earliest application deadline, not the test registration deadline
- Do not assume a low score will hurt you more than no score at all. In most cases, submitting is the better move
The bigger picture
Selective universities are not using test scores because it is convenient. They are using them because comparing a student from Lagos to a student from London to a student from Los Angeles requires some shared reference point. A 1500 in Texas and a 1500 in Tokyo are the same number.
That is the logic behind the reinstatement. Understanding it will change how you think about your own preparation.
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About the author
Sadia
Co-founder, WizardTeacher · Marketing and student experience
Sadia is co-founder of WizardTeacher and heads marketing, operations, and student experience. Her articles draw on official exam board documentation, student feedback data, and extensive research into how students prepare and improve under test conditions.