Columbia University Reinstates Standardized Testing for Incoming Students

If you’re eyeing Columbia next year, there’s a new twist: the university will once again require SAT or ACT scores.

Columbia announced that, starting with the 2027‑2028 admissions cycle, both Columbia College and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science will mandate that all first‑year and transfer applicants submit a standardized test score. The change takes effect in August 2027, meaning students who plan to enroll in Fall 2028 must have their SAT or ACT results in hand.

For the current 2026‑2027 cycle, however, the school remains test‑optional. Applicants who choose to skip the exam will still be considered; the scores will simply be one of several factors reviewed alongside grades, coursework, and the overall rigor of their high‑school curriculum.

So why the sudden flip‑back? A multi‑year faculty review concluded that test scores are a useful indicator of potential student success. The review was part of Columbia’s broader effort to reassess admissions practices after the university suspended its test‑optional policy in 2020—an action originally taken in response to the COVID‑19 pandemic, which limited many students’ access to testing. In 2023 the university extended the test‑optional status with no specified end date, while pledging ongoing evaluation of student outcomes.

Columbia is the last Ivy League institution to reinstate a mandatory standardized‑testing requirement. The move arrives amid a national debate over the role of SAT and ACT scores in college admissions.

Political context also looms. A letter from the Trump administration, released last year, urged universities to bring back testing as part of a broader push against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The letter warned that it would be unlawful for an educational institution to eliminate standardized testing in order to achieve a desired racial balance or to increase racial diversity.

Those who champion the test‑optional approach argue that standardized exams don’t fully capture a student’s academic abilities—especially for those who lack access to expensive tutoring and test‑preparation resources. Critics, on the other hand, contend that scores can help talented students from low‑income and underrepresented backgrounds stand out in a fiercely competitive admissions process.

The debate isn’t confined to Columbia. Professors across the University of California (UC) system have called for the reinstatement of SAT and ACT requirements for STEM programs. A letter initiated by UC Berkeley mathematicians and signed by more than 1,500 professors was addressed to the UC system. The letter cites a November report from the University of California San Diego Senate‑Administration Workgroup on Admissions, which found that the number of first‑year students with math skills below a middle‑school level increased nearly 30‑fold since 2020. About 70 % of those students performed below middle‑school standards, representing roughly one in twelve members of the entering cohort.

Despite Columbia’s new requirement, many other colleges across the United States continue to waive standardized tests for admission. The university’s decision may influence how other institutions balance the desire for objective academic metrics with concerns about equity and access.

Columbia’s reinstatement of mandatory standardized testing reflects the ongoing national conversation about the purpose of SAT and ACT scores, the fairness of admissions practices, and the readiness of incoming students for rigorous academic work.