Princeton Admissions Will Again Require Standardized Tests in 2027

In the fall of 2027, Princeton’s undergraduate applicants will again be required to submit SAT or ACT scores, according to an Oct. 9 announcement from the Office of Admission.  

The University reviewed data from five years of test-optional admissions and “found that academic performance at Princeton was stronger for students who chose to submit test scores than for students who did not,” the announcement said.  

Princeton made standardized testing optional in June 2020, after spring tests were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Dean of Admission Karen Richardson ’93 told PAW she did not think the policy would continue permanently, calling testing “an important piece of the overall holistic process” of reviewing applicants. But Princeton remained test-optional well after the pandemic’s effects on access to testing had dissipated — and after Dartmouth, Yale, Brown, Harvard, and other peers reinstated testing requirements in 2024 and 2025. The move by Princeton will leave Columbia as lone Ivy League school that is test optional.

The requirement applies to first-year and transfer applicants with one exception: Active military personnel will not be required to submit scores due to potential logistical issues such as limited access to testing facilities.