In 2020 with the onset of the pandemic and the many challenges that came with it, the majority of colleges instituted Test Optional and Test Blind admissions policies. These policies significantly reduced the role of standardized testing in the admissions process.
However, colleges quickly realized that with only grades and essays to look at, differentiating between tens of thousands of students was much more difficult. After 5 years of these policies, and many attempts to find alternative evaluation methods, many colleges have concluded that they need standardized tests to evaluate large applicant pools consistently.
The following colleges report they are reinstituting testing requirements this fall:
Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, MIT, CAlTech, Georgetown, University of Texas, all Florida public colleges, Georgia Tech, and Purdue.
In the coming years, this list is expected to keep growing so it’s important to start making a study plan early. At Hormel Inspired Pathways, we recommend that you use at SAT Prep program like Khan Academy’s. It was created in collaboration with College Board (owners of the SAT), is completely FREE, and the program’s algorithm tailors it to your needs as you use it–it is a really great tool.