Several more colleges are reinstating SAT and ACT requirements for Fall 2026. As the admissions landscape shifts again, students should make sure to keep up to date on individual school policies and consider preparing for standardized testing . 

While the vast majority of institutions in our coverage universe still offer some form of test-optional admissions, a number of institutions have reinstated standardized testing requirements after going test-optional during the pandemic.

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of schools who have reinstated requirements for the 2025-26 cycle. For your convenience, we've included admit rates and links to each school's standardized test policy details to help you find suitable candidates for your college list.

For College Kickstart subscribers, this information is automatically updated and visible as part of the requirements view.

Brown will no longer require the essay component to the SAT and ACT.  

This is one of several initiatives taken by the institution to expand access to low income families.

For applicants planning not to take the SAT/ACT essay, inclusion of a graded paper from a humanities or social science class is recommended.

Click here for the article.

For those of you wondering about the new SAT, here's an excellent article from Jed Applerouth that details the differences between the current and new formats, as well as the ACT.  

Read the article here.

Citing better ways to evaluate academic quality and expand diversity, a new wave of colleges and universities are moving to test-optional admissions.  Institutions making the move recently include Wesleyan University, Temple University and Bryn Mawr.

Click here for the article.