General·8 min read

What Schools Require SAT in 2026-27 (Verified List)

What schools require the SAT in 2026-27: required, test-optional, and UC test-free, verified 2026-11-02 against official pages.

Larry Learns Team

September 23, 2026

Updated November 7, 2026

What Schools Require SAT in 2026-27 (Verified List)

What schools require the SAT in the 2026-27 admissions cycle is a split, not a national rule. Some colleges again require SAT or ACT scores. Some are test-optional (you choose). The University of California is test-free system-wide, across all nine undergraduate campuses (they will not use a score in admissions even if you send one). Policies are by school and by entry term. Read the school's testing page for your year. The table below is the schools we verified on 2026-11-02, with each school's official page linked so you can check it yourself. Policies change between cycles, so open that URL in the week you submit.

The definitions of required, optional, and test-blind (the term some schools use for what UC calls test-free) live on what colleges require the SAT. This URL is the named-school table for 2026-27, verified 2026-11-02. Score ranges, when you already know you must send a number, live on each school's SAT/ACT score article.

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Required, Optional, or Test-Free (Verified 2026-11-02)

School	Policy this cycle	Official page	Where we wrote it
Stanford	Required SAT or ACT for first-years and transfers. Began with Fall 2026 entry	admission.stanford.edu	Does Stanford require SAT
Harvard	Required SAT or ACT (limited inaccessibility path)	college.harvard.edu	Does Harvard require SAT
Yale	Required SAT or ACT for first-years and transfers	admissions.yale.edu	Does Yale require SAT
Princeton	Optional for fall 2027 entry. Required starting fall 2028	admission.princeton.edu	Does Princeton require SAT
Columbia	Optional for the 2026-27 cycle. Required starting with the 2027-28 cycle (fall 2028 entry), waiver available	undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu	Does Columbia require SAT
Cornell	Required for first-years. Not required for transfers	admissions.cornell.edu	Does Cornell require SAT
Brown	Required for first-years (since the 2024-25 cycle)	admission.brown.edu	Does Brown require SAT
Penn	Required SAT or ACT. Hardship waiver available	admissions.upenn.edu	Does UPenn require SAT
Dartmouth	Required. SAT or ACT for students at US high schools; other options for students abroad	admissions.dartmouth.edu	Official page only
Johns Hopkins	Required for first-years. Not required for transfers	apply.jhu.edu	Does Johns Hopkins require SAT
NYU	Test-optional through the 2027-28 cycle. One testing form if you submit	www.nyu.edu	Does NYU require SAT
USC	Test-optional. USC's FAQ names no entry year	admission.usc.edu	Does USC require SAT
UCLA	Test-free: scores not used for admission or scholarships	admission.ucla.edu	Does UCLA require SAT
UC Berkeley	Test-free: scores not used in the application process	admissions.berkeley.edu	Does UC Berkeley require SAT
UT Austin	Official SAT, ACT, or CLT required	admissions.utexas.edu	UT Austin SAT requirements
MIT	Required SAT or ACT for first-years and transfers	mitadmissions.org	MIT SAT and ACT scores
Caltech	Required SAT or ACT for first-years. ACT read section by section, not by composite	www.admissions.caltech.edu	Official page only
Georgetown	Required SAT or ACT. Official scores	uadmissions.georgetown.edu	Georgetown SAT and ACT scores
West Point	Required SAT, ACT, or CLT (superscored)	www.westpoint.edu	Official page only
University of Florida	Required SAT, ACT, or CLT for all applicants	admissions.ufl.edu	UF SAT and ACT scores
Florida State	Required: at least one ACT, CLT, or SAT score, self-reported on the FSU portal	admissions.fsu.edu	FSU SAT and ACT scores
Georgia (UGA)	Required official ACT or SAT. No test-optional pathway	admissions.uga.edu	UGA SAT and ACT scores
Georgia Tech	Required SAT or ACT. The CLT does not replace it	admission.gatech.edu	Georgia Tech SAT and ACT scores
Tennessee (Knoxville)	Required: self-report ACT or SAT by January 20, 2027, tests taken through December 2026	admissions.utk.edu	Does Tennessee require SAT
Ohio State (Columbus)	Required ACT or SAT for first-years. Not required if out of high school two or more years	undergrad.osu.edu	Does Ohio State require SAT
Vanderbilt	Optional for fall 2027 and fall 2028 entry. Required starting fall 2029	admissions.vanderbilt.edu	Vanderbilt SAT and ACT scores
Texas A&M	Optional for fall 2027. Intends to require SAT or ACT starting with spring or fall 2028 entry, if approved	admissions.tamu.edu	Does Texas A&M require SAT

Clay chart of college SAT testing policies

The University of California's Academic Senate is reviewing testing. As of the UC Academic Senate's published FAQ and the system FAQ, fall 2027 UC applicants are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores. Do not assume 2028 until the Regents vote. Source: UC Academic Senate review.

How to Use the Table Without Guessing

If the school is required, pick a test date you can actually enter. The November 7 SAT's registration has closed, so the next SAT dates you can still enter are December 5, 2026 (register by November 20, late registration through November 24) and March 6, 2027. The next ACT dates are December 12, 2026 (register by November 9, late deadline November 29) and February 27, 2027. Self-report vs official is school-specific. Stanford and Harvard will read a self-report and want official scores if you enroll. USC wants official scores during review if you choose to submit. UT Austin wants the agency file by a deadline. Read the spoke.

If the school is optional, a score in the school's published submitter range can still help. A score far below that range is often better left off. We do not print a fake cutoff here. Use the school's CDS mid-50% on its score page, then decide.

If the school is test-free, sending an SAT does not move the admission file. You can still take the SAT for other schools on the list. One test date can feed Stanford and be ignored by UCLA. That is the point of a split list.

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What This Page Will Not Do

It will not rank "best test-optional schools." It will not invent a 2028 UC policy. It will not replace College Board registration. For practice while you wait on a date, start a free practice set. The bank is 30,000+ questions on iPhone, Android, and the web with the same account. Free accounts get three quizzes a day, five questions by default. Ace at $19/month removes both daily caps.

How to Build a List That Does Not Fight Itself

Write three columns: required, optional, test-free. Put every campus in one column using that school's page, not a friend's memory. If any campus is required, you sit. The test-free campuses do not get a veto. If every campus is optional, sit only if you will send a number in range. If every campus is test-free, you can skip, and you should still check the fall 2028 rules if you are a junior. The next SAT dates you can still register for are December 5, 2026 and March 6, 2027. Agency send day is the day you register, not the day before the school's material deadline. UT Austin's regular deadline for supplemental materials is December 10, its page says official scores must arrive by the appropriate deadline, and December SAT and ACT scores come out after that date. Stanford's last SAT or ACT sitting for Regular Decision is the end of December, and Penn's latest Regular Decision dates are the December 5 SAT and the December 12 ACT. NYU's one-form rule is the menu trap. UC's test-free rule is the 'do not expect a secret read' trap. Re-read each spoke the week you hit submit. Policies move. We dated this table 2026-11-02. A counselor spreadsheet from 2024 is how people still think UCLA is test-optional. Print this table. Check the spoke the week you submit. If a school is not on this table, do not invent its policy from a forum. Open that school's testing URL.

Frequently Asked Questions About What Schools Require the SAT

What schools require the SAT in 2026-27?

Among the schools on this page: Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Penn, Dartmouth, Cornell (first-year), Brown (first-year), Johns Hopkins (first-year), MIT, Caltech, Georgetown, West Point, UT Austin, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, and Ohio State (Columbus, first-year). Princeton and Columbia are optional for fall 2027 entry and require scores for fall 2028 entry. Vanderbilt is optional for fall 2027 and fall 2028 entry and requires scores starting fall 2029. NYU, USC, and Texas A&M are optional. UCLA and UC Berkeley are test-free.

Do all Ivy League schools require the SAT?

No. Princeton and Columbia are test-optional for fall 2027 entry, and both require the SAT or ACT for fall 2028 entry. The other six (Harvard, Yale, Penn, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Brown) require it now, Cornell and Brown for first-year applicants. This page verified all eight on their own pages on 2026-11-02.

Do UC schools require the SAT?

No for fall 2027. UCLA and Berkeley will not use SAT or ACT scores in admissions. The system is reviewing testing; nothing changes for this cycle until the Regents say so.