AdmissionSight

FEBRUARY 6, 2025

Cornell University is test-optional, but not for long. For Fall 2025 applicants, Cornell remains test-optional, giving students the choice to submit SAT or ACT scores. However, this policy will change for Fall 2026 admissions, when standardized test scores will once again be required.

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AdmissionSight

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

Not everyone feels confident when it comes to taking tests. You’re not alone— around 40 to 60% of high school students experience test anxiety, a type of stress that makes it tough to focus and perform well during exams. As a high school student, you’re probably no stranger to big tests like AP exams, the PSAT, or the SAT and ACT.

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AdmissionSight

APRIL 3, 2025

If you got a 960 SAT score, youre probably wondering if thats a good score and what it means for your next steps. Optimizing your SAT score is worth it since it plays a big role in your college application. Of course, SAT scores arent the only factor colleges consider, but theyre an important one. How Good Is a 960 SAT Score?

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AdmissionSight

APRIL 22, 2025

Millions of high schoolers take the SAT to boost their chances of landing in their dream school. Alongside the ACT , this test aims to give colleges a peek at how well you might handle their courses. Now, if youve received a 780 SAT score, you’re probably wondering, “Is that good enough?”

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Spark Admissions

APRIL 11, 2023

In March 2023, Columbia University announced that it would permanently drop the SAT/ACT requirement for undergraduate admissions. The decision by Columbia to abandon the SAT/ACT requirement represents a significant milestone in the ongoing debate around standardized testing in higher education and in the overall future of college admissions.

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Spark Admissions

APRIL 11, 2023

In March 2023, Columbia University announced that it would permanently drop the SAT/ACT requirement for undergraduate admissions. The decision by Columbia to abandon the SAT/ACT requirement represents a significant milestone in the ongoing debate around standardized testing in higher education and in the overall future of college admissions.

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AdmissionSight

JUNE 3, 2025

Does Stanford superscore the SAT ? This means the school will take your highest Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) scores from different test dates and combine them into one total score. How Does Stanford Superscore the SAT? You may self-report your highest test scores in the application.

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AdmissionSight

MAY 8, 2025

The SAT is now fully digital, marking a significant shift for students preparing for the exam. If youve taken the PSAT recently, youve already experienced the new format, which is administered on a laptop or tablet at testing centers or schools, instead of the traditional paper and pencil. What Is the Digital SAT?

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Top Tier Admissions

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

The landscape of college admissions continues to shift as universities re-evaluate the role of standardized testing in the application process. In a major policy change, the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) has announced that it will reinstate its standardized testing requirement for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 17, 2025

This is not a hypothesis or theory its policy. However, NYU clarified that they had not been giving legacies priority consideration before these changes and the changes were simply to make their policies more transparent to applicants. Can you get into NYU without submitting scores as long as the testing policy is test optional?

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Top Tier Admissions

JUNE 7, 2024

Stanford will reintroduce standardized testing requirements for undergraduate admissions starting in fall 2025 for admission to the Class of 2030. For rising seniors (students applying in fall 2024), Stanford will remain test-optional.

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AdmissionSight

MARCH 22, 2025

If youre aiming for Duke , youre probably wondering: Does Duke superscore the SAT? According to their admissions policy , Duke will consider the highest scores on each section, regardless of the test date, and will create a new composite score by averaging those scores. What Is an SAT Superscore? Score Choice.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 9, 2025

Youll need exceptional grades, strong test scores, and distinctive extracurriculars that show depth and originality. Scores Yale requires test scores from all applicants, and while the policy is test flexible , that doesnt apply to you, legacy. Dont give them a reason to reject you! No shortcuts, no exceptions.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 10, 2025

The top five majors at Duke are Computer Science, Economics, Biology, Public Policy, and Psychology, and students are drawn to the university by the strong community culture paired with exceptional research opportunities. Scores Students who want to get into Duke should also have very strong test scores.

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Top Tier Admissions

MAY 20, 2024

Test-optional? Test-flexible? Test-blind? Test-neutral? Test-recommended? Test-aware? While many universities have announced post-pandemic admissions policies that re-instate mandatory standardized test scores, there is still no consensus.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 22, 2025

That means top-tier grades, impressive test scores, and a set of extracurriculars that reflect real curiosity, impact, and intellectual depth. In addition to being test-optional, UChicago practices a No Harm policy for application review when considering SAT or ACT scores.

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HelloCollege

APRIL 22, 2025

A lot has changed with the ACT and SAT over the last 20 years. The SAT changed the format of the test in 2005, and again in 2016, and again in 2024. As COVID wreaked havoc on the world in 2021, the College Board moved its annual AP testing to the computer, and we quickly learned what it was to take tests online.

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AdmissionSight

JANUARY 23, 2025

One of the big questions that might be swirling around in your head is: Is Duke test-optional? Dukes Test-Optional Policy Duke SAT Scores Duke ACT Scores Duke University Admission Requirements Frequently Asked Questions Takeaways Dukes Test-Optional Policy For the 2024-2025 admissions cycle, Duke University is test-optional.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 6, 2025

This has been their policy for a long time for at least two decades, and up to 50+ years and they have no intention of switching things up. Legacy at MIT Legacy admissions policies have been critiqued harshly following the Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action. However, MIT does not subscribe to this norm.

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College Transitions

MAY 29, 2025

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the test-optional movement reached its apex with just about every prominent university, including the Ivies and dozens of other highly-selective colleges, adopting multi-year policies that made the submission of an SAT or ACT score an optional component of the admissions process.

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Top Tier Admissions

DECEMBER 23, 2024

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently highlighted the universitys automatic-admit policy, viewed as an affirmative action alternative but also a major factor in UT Austins increasing selectivity. SAT Tutoring Expert one-on-one guidance to boost your score. This decision will be communicated to applicants by January 15.

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Ivy Coach

MARCH 23, 2023

The Ultimate List of Test-Optional Colleges The Covid-19 pandemic ushered in a new era in elite college admissions: test-optional admissions policies. With test cancelations and administrative closures due to … Read More Ivy Coach

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College Kickstart

APRIL 19, 2020

In recent weeks we've seen several prominent institutions adopt test-optional admissions for the coming cycle to alleviate some of the anxiety brought on by COVID-19. Available immediately to all College Kickstart subscribers, it's a much easier way to navigate and capitalize on test-optional admissions in our current environment.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 12, 2025

Its because you, as a legacy of a Vanderbilt alum, probably attend a private school or top public school, probably have access to tutors for school and standardized tests, and generally have the privilege to become high-achieving without as many barriers. So, if you want to stand out? Submit scores. Submit perfect scores.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 13, 2025

Mich does not have a policy of giving legacies preference. With shifting policies, navigating elite college admissions can be tricky. And there is a contradiction baked into the Mich policy. Scores Mich is currently test optional, but they say that they will review the policy on an ongoing basis.

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Admissions Village

DECEMBER 1, 2022

The University of San Diego (who is test blind) has expanded tutoring services and invited all first-year students to campus a week early, at the college’s expense, for Science Lab boot camps because the students probably missed that in high school. Many other colleges might be thinking of returning to requiring test scores.

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Peterson's Blog

OCTOBER 23, 2024

ACT and SAT scores decline across the U.S. Standardized tests, like the SAT and ACT, are used to determine academic readiness and skills for entering university. This month, Peterson’s will be offering an ACT and SAT special , six months of test prep for $135—99 dollars off, so that students can walk into their test confidently.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 14, 2025

Many of these changes started before the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into the legacy admissions policy at Penn, related to the striking down of affirmative action by the Supreme Court, in January of 2024. Scores Penn cares about test scores, and they expect them to be exceptional.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 18, 2025

However, legacy policies at Princeton persist and we believe strongly in helping students to get every boost they have access to as they strive to get into their dream school. GPA Distribution of the Class of 2028 Scores When you are applying to Princeton as a legacy, your standardized test scores need to be nearly perfect.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 26, 2025

For your SAT or ACT, its basically the same kind of situation. Like with grades, there is not a minimum SAT or ACT score for consideration, but functionally there is. Stanford is, once again, requiring standardized tests as part of the application process. For your GPA, youre aiming a 4.0

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Admissions Village

JUNE 19, 2024

High School Profile: A document supplied by high schools to colleges that summarizes the school’s grading system, course offerings, standardized test score ranges, and other important data. Holistic Review : An admissions approach where colleges consider a wide range of factors about a student, not just grades, rigor and test scores.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 5, 2025

Class Rank of the Class of 2028 Scores: Like most colleges and universities, Dartmouth suspended mandatory submission of standardized test scores as a part of the application process during the Covid pandemic. It was later announced that standardized testing was once again going to be required beginning with the Fall 2025 admissions cycle.

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Top Tier Admissions

AUGUST 26, 2024

Johns Hopkins University will reintroduce standardized testing requirements beginning with those seeking admission for the fall 2026 semester to the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences or the Whiting School of Engineering. Most recently, Stanford University announced it would once again require students to submit test scores.

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The Koppelman Group

APRIL 1, 2025

Scores Like most universities, the Cornell testing policy has been shifting over the past few years and through the Covid pandemic. Going test optional helped students applying, but it has led to statistics that arent necessarily useful as the only students who submitted scores in recent years were those with very strong scores.

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PrepScholar

JUNE 21, 2024

In 2024, several elite colleges dropped their test-optional admissions policies and returned to requiring SAT/ACT scores as part of the admissions process. How do you know which colleges are test optional and which colleges require SAT/ACT scores? Keep reading to learn more!

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Grown & Flown

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

Before we even opened the computer, my daughter and I sat down and discussed her top priorities. In the beginning, we trained ChatGPT by testing it on just a few schoolsthen, when she was closer to making a decision, we used it to compare her final options. Housing Policies : Is freshman housing required?

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Spark Admissions

JUNE 9, 2023

Is the new digital SAT good? Is the new digital SAT bad? As you may know, the SAT is in the process of transitioning to a new version of the test. The process has already begun internationally, and in Spring 2024, high school students in the United States will only have the option to take the new digital SAT.

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