The University has extended its test-optional admission policy for another year, according to the University’s admission website.
All eight members of the Ivy League [Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell University, Brown, Dartmouth, and the University of Pennsylvania] will remain test-optional through the 2022–23 admissions cycle. Columbia and Cornell University formally extended their test-optional policy through the Fall 2024 application cycle. Harvard announced its test-optional policy would be effective for four years through the Fall 2026 cycle.
All eight have cited the pandemic and the resulting disruptions and lack of accessibility to testing as a reason for extending their test-optional policies.
The University first announced its test-optional policy for the 2021 admissions cycle in the summer of 2020, citing the challenges students, particularly those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, faced in testing during the pandemic. At that time, the University was last in the Ivy League to adopt a test-optional policy.
When this test-optional policy took effect in the Fall 2021 admissions cycle, there was a substantial increase in applicants to Ivy League colleges.
The Daily Princetonian spoke with students about the change in the University’s admission policy for the upcoming year.
“I believe ACT and SAT preparation is necessary for a good score which creates an even bigger gap between those with resources and those without,” Alaa Omer ’25 said, referring to the economic barriers associated with standardized testing.
Mina Quesen ’23 said that dropping the testing requirement will re-orient Princeton’s admission criteria for the better.
“Princeton’s dedication to students shouldn’t depend on a test score, and dropping this piece from the application puts greater importance on the student as a person, not a number,” she said.
Fardowso Shidad ’25 told the ‘Prince’ that her concerns for required standardized testing extend beyond the 2022–23 admissions cycle.
“For me, it’s not really about Class of ’27 getting test-optional,” Shidad said. “I just feel as though standardized testing has many flaws.”
The ‘Prince’ also reached out to the University Office of Communications for further comment and was referred to the standardized testing policy listed on Princeton’s website.
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“Students who opt to apply to Princeton without an ACT or SAT will not be at a disadvantage in our process. We will continue with a holistic evaluation of each application and will continue to assess testing requirements for students applying after next year’s cycle,” the website reads.
Mikayla Merin is a news contributor at the ‘Prince.’ She can be reached at or @mickyyyyyyy__.
Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Penn, Dartmouth, and Stanford have all recently announced that they will remain test optional through the high school class of 2023, with Cornell going a step further remaining test optional through the high school class of 2024, and Harvard through 2026! We expect most every other highly selective institutions to follow suit [with the exception of MIT which recently announced it will require tests].
Our assessment is that Test Optional is here to stay, and we are thrilled! At this point, we are recommending that the high school class of 2023 [current 11th graders/rising seniors] still consider taking the ACT or SAT, but whether or not they submit their scores should depend on test availability and personal performance. Our advice is that: 1. Students should not be engaged in herculean efforts to take a test [e.g., travel great distances to find a test or sacrifice your mental/physical health]; 2. If your test score does not fall within the upper 50% range of your desired school OR it doesn’t reflect your academic school performance, you have the option not to submit; 3. You must enter the college admissions cycle with your eyes wide open. Remember, if you decide not to submit your test score, everything else will matter more in the admissions process. Rigor and grades will matter the most supported by a compelling story.
We are encouraged by the number of schools that already have announced a test optional policy through high school class of 2023 and beyond. Combined with the schools that have been traditionally [and permanently] test optional, there are more test optional choices than ever for the high school class of 2023 and we anticipate more to come.
Since the start of the pandemic, The College Curators have successfully advised 100s of students on navigating the test optional environment. We expertly guide our students to build a balanced college list supported by an authentic and verifiable application.
To set up a complimentary consultation click HERE.
List of SAT and ACT Test Optional Colleges for 2022-2023
Allegheny College*
American University*
Amherst
Adelphi University
Babson University
Bard College*
Barnard College
Bates College*
Baylor University
Binghamton University
Bennington College*
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Bucknell University
Brandeis University*
Brown University
Bryn Mawr College*
Bucknell University*
California Institute of Technology
Cal State System [Test Blind through Spring 2023 with 2.5]
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Chapman University
Clark University*
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College*
Colgate University
Colorado College*
Colorado School of Mines
Columbia University
College of Charleston
College of William & Mary
Connecticut College*
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Davidson College
Denison University*
Dickinson College*
Drexel University
Duke University
Earlham College*
Elon University
Emerson College
Franklin and Marshall College*
Furman University*
George Washington University*
Gettysburg College*
Gonzaga University
Hamilton College
Harvard University
Harvey Mudd
Haverford College
Hobart and William Smith Colleges*
Howard University
Indiana University – Bloomington
Johns Hopkins University
Knox College*
Lafayette College
Lawrence University*
Lehigh University
Lewis and Clark College*
Loyola Marymount University
Macalester College*
Marquette University
Michigan State University
Middlebury College
Mount Holyoke College*
Muhlenberg College*
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College and Conservatory
Occidental College
Oglethorpe University
Penn State University
Pepperdine University
Pitzer College
Princeton University
Providence College
Pomona College
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rhodes College
Rhode Island School of Design
Rutgers University
Santa Clara University
Sewanee – The University of the South
Smith College
Soka University of America
Southern Methodist University
St. Louis University
Stanford University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stony Brook University
Swarthmore College
Syracuse University
Temple University
Texas A & M University-College Station
Trinity University
Tufts University [3-year pilot]
University of Alabama
University of California System [all campuses test blind]
University of Chicago*
University of Connecticut
University of Maryland
University of Miami
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
University of Southern California
University of Pennsylvania
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Texas at Austin
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Vassar College
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Williams College
Yale University
*Colleges with Permanently Test Optional Policy
**Go to fairtest.org for complete list