Breaking News: Yale University Requires Standardized Test Scores

As of this morning, Yale is the second Ivy League school to require standardized test scores, following Dartmouth’s lead and citing research that test-optional policies adversely affect high-scoring low-income students. This new policy will begin with students applying to enter in the fall of 2025.

In a written statement, Jeremiah Quinlan, the dean of undergraduate admissions at Yale, announced that Yale had determined that test scores, while imperfect, were predictive of academic success in college:

“Simply put, students with higher scores have been more likely to have higher Yale G.P.A.s, and test scores are the single greatest predictor of a student’s performance in Yale courses in every model we have constructed.”

Unlike Dartmouth, however, Yale has adopted what they call a “test flexible” policy:

Yale will again require students to include scores with their applications. But, for the first time, Yale will allow applicants to report Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) exam scores in lieu of the ACT or SAT.

For students at schools without AP or IB offerings, this policy places even more weight on the SAT or ACT and may encourage students to self-study for AP exams beyond their school curriculum. For more on Yale’s rationale and research, prospective students can review the testing webpage, read an interview with Dean Quinlan, and listen to new episodes of Yale’s podcast, Inside the Yale Admissions Office.

YALE REINSTATES STANDARDIZED TESTING: THE TOP TIER TEAM WEIGHS IN

As testing policies continue to shift at elite universities, we asked Senior Private counselors, Nellie Brennan Hall, Dr. Kristen Willmott, and Dr. Tina Brooks to weigh in:

Nellie Brennan Hall, TTA Senior Private Counselor and former Associate Director of Admissions at Brown University

The experiment in test optional admissions at highly selective schools, brought on by the pandemic, has produced some very interesting research- most interestingly that standardized testing can actually advantage lower- and middle-income students, which was widely believed to be untrue. I imagine we will see more of Yale’s peer institutions follow suit and reinstate the testing requirement in some form.

Dr. Kristen Willmott, TTA Senior Private Counselor and former Admissions & Financial Aid Officer at Harvard University:

To me, it is clear that test optional policies at colleges have negatively impacted underprivileged students. When a university states they are test optional, some students take them at their word. But, there’s a difference between what an admissions office requires vs. what accepted students submit. Even Yale, with a seemingly straightforward policy on going “test-required” this week, isn’t making things 100% crystal clear for all. They state they will require standardized tests, BUT will allow students to submit scores from subject-based AP or IB tests in lieu of SAT or ACT scores. This creates yet another confusing layer for students trying to parse through what they actually need and what top colleges really want.

We also asked Dr. Tina Brooks to weigh in on the impact this new policy might have on California students.

Dr. Tina Brooks: TTA Senior Private Counselor and former Associate Dean of Admissions at Pomona College:

Yale’s test-flexible policy was clearly designed, in part, to maintain the flow of applications from high school students in California, who are more likely to skip standardized testing, given the UC system’s adoption of a test-blind policy in 2020. California students made up 12% of Yale’s first-year class in 2020 and 13.2% in 2021–the largest percentage from any state. In the first-year classes of 2022 and 2023, New York students started outpacing those from California. By offering the option of applying with AP or IB scores rather than SAT or ACT scores, Yale is easing one application barrier for all students–but especially those from California.

The University of Michigan Doubles Down

Critics of required testing challenge the assertion that standardized tests are the best way to predict a student’s academic success in college. While MIT, Georgetown, Dartmouth, and now Yale have returned to required testing, the University of Michigan has announced that it will continue its test-optional stance indefinitely.

Cornell has likewise extended its test-optional and score-free testing policy for first-year applicants through the next application cycle, while Vanderbilt’s recent statement announced an extension of its current test-optional policy for three more years.

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