Recently, the U.S. government sent a memo titled "Compact For Academic Excellence in Higher Education" to nine American universities, explicitly requiring that applicants must submit standardized test scores such as the SAT or ACT.
Compact For Academic Excellence in Higher Education
Reports indicate the White House has sent letters to Vanderbilt University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, Brown University, and the University of Virginia.
These universities are being asked to sign the agreement, committing to reforms in campus culture, recruitment, admissions processes, and more, in exchange for more favorable federal funding and benefits. More universities are expected to receive this memo in the future.
Source: Forbes
Among others, the agreement content relevant to international students includes:
-
Universities shall require all applicants to take a standardized test, such as the SAT, ACT, or CLT.
-
The proportion of international students in undergraduate enrollment shall not exceed 15%, and no single country shall account for more than 5%.
The American Association of University Professors has called on these nine schools to resist the agreement. California Governor Gavin Newsom also stated firmly in a recent declaration, "Any university in California that signs this radical agreement will immediately lose billions of dollars in state funding, including Cal Grants."
Currently, except for the University of Texas at Austin, which reportedly feels "honored," none of the other institutions have made public responses or statements. It is believed that the implementation of this memo's guidelines will not be smooth. If the government chooses to force implementation, it is expected to face legal challenges in court again.
But as far as standardized testing is concerned, even without special emphasis in the agreement, the full return of the SAT/ACT to U.S. undergraduate admissions has long been a foregone conclusion. Among the nine universities mentioned above, Dartmouth, UPenn, MIT, UT Austin, and Brown already require test scores, while the remaining four are test-optional.
The fact that it has now been singled out by the government further underscores the importance of standardized tests in U.S. undergraduate admissions.
U.S. Universities Fully Reinstating Mandatory Standardized Test Requirements
Currently, major American universities have been successively updating their SAT/ACT standardized test requirements for Fall 2026 undergraduate admissions:
Required Standardized Test Scores
-
Cornell University
-
Stanford University
-
Johns Hopkins University
-
Yale University
-
Harvard University
-
Ohio State University
-
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
And also:
-
Brown University
-
California Institute of Technology
-
University of Pennsylvania
-
Purdue University
-
Georgetown University
-
Georgia Institute of Technology
-
University of Florida
-
Florida State University
-
University of Georgia
-
University of Texas at Austin
-
Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science
-
Dartmouth College
-
University of Miami
-
Auburn University, etc.
Test-Optional
-
Northwestern University
-
Columbia University
-
University of Michigan
And also:
-
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
-
New York University
-
University of Southern California
-
Emory University
-
Boston College
-
University of Chicago
-
University of Washington Seattle
-
University of Wisconsin–Madison
-
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, etc.
Test-Blind (No Longer Considered)
The University of California system remains Test-blind, meaning SAT or ACT scores are not considered in the admissions evaluation process.
Source: UC Official Website
An increasing number of universities have reinstated mandatory SAT/ACT requirements. Even among test-optional schools, the stance toward standardized test scores is somewhat ambiguous, and few completely ignore them.
For instance, UNC-Chapel Hill explicitly requires students with a GPA below 2.8 to submit SAT/ACT scores, which could be seen as a test-optional policy with a "GPA threshold".
Source: UNC Official Website
For students who typically apply to 8–10 universities, having a standardized test score is undoubtedly the safer choice.
The New York Times published a feature article on "What Can Serve as an Application Advantage," mentioning that "Yale admissions office publicly acknowledges that SAT/ACT scores are less influenced by socioeconomic factors than essays or recommendation letters," and strongly questioned the effectiveness of certain essay prompts as fair measures.
Source: The New York Times
To Test or Not to Test has seen further developments in the 2026 application cycle, with more U.S. universities leaning towards the value represented by standardized test scores.
Why Universities Are Reinstating Mandatory Standardized Testing
Why are American universities eager to reinstate mandatory SAT/ACT requirements? The underlying reasons have long been evident.
Standardized Test Scores Better Predict Academic and Career Performance
Research by Opportunity Insights on Ivy Plus universities (the eight Ivy League schools plus Duke, MIT, Stanford, and UChicago) shows:
How well a student performs in college, whether they can enter top graduate schools or be hired by ideal companies, is much better predicted by standardized test scores than by high school grades.
Source: Opportunity Insights
Research findings from Skeptic also clearly indicate that standardized test scores not only predict college GPA but also predict undergraduate retention and graduation rates. Data shows:
-
The correlation between SAT scores and college GPA is 0.5
-
The average ACT/SAT score of a university's incoming class can highly predict that institution's graduation rate (correlation as high as 0.87–0.9)
In other words, higher scores mean students are not only more likely to achieve good grades but also more likely to graduate successfully.
This is why experts believe that standardized test scores are not the only criterion, but they are a powerful and reliable indicator.
Standardized Test Scores Enhance the Efficiency of the Admissions Process
Education experts state that reinstating the SAT/ACT helps improve the efficiency of the admissions process and, to some extent, ensures fairness and transparency.
Although some argue that students from high-income families typically have more resources for test preparation, recommendation letters, extracurricular activities, and personal statements are, by comparison, more susceptible to subjective bias.
Incorporating standardized test scores into admissions evaluation helps admissions officers identify promising applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds. For example, students from regions with limited educational resources or from minority groups can gain more opportunities by achieving excellent scores on exams like the SAT.
Source: Skeptic
Growing Number of Applicants Taking Standardized Tests
As standardized testing requirements have gradually returned, the number of applicants taking the SAT each year has continued to increase. Even without mandatory requirements, 56% of applicants still submitted standardized test scores in the last application cycle.
Source: College Board
At Columbia University, which has a Test-optional policy, over 70% of applicants for its most recent 2025 intake took a standardized test and submitted their scores.
Source: Ivy Coach
Some people constantly complain about standardized tests, deeming them unfair, yet still quietly strive and achieve good scores.
According to admitted student data from recent years, even at test-optional schools, more students with SAT/ACT scores are admitted. The so-called "test-blind" claim often seems like nothing more than a "politically correct" facade.
Source: IvyWise
According to application data for USC's Class of 2027, despite being a test-optional university, nearly 40% of applicants still submitted standardized test scores, and those who did had a higher admission rate than those who did not.
If so many are submitting scores anyway, why not simply reinstate mandatory requirements? Not mandating them could instead undermine fair competition. Therefore, it is only logical that more universities are restoring hard requirements.
As for test-optional schools, the policy is often nominal; students still submit scores. It is advisable not to rely too much on luck—having a standardized test score is a safer bet.
With standardized tests returning to the forefront of U.S. undergraduate admissions, preparing for the SAT/ACT is not just a choice but a necessity.
A solid standardized test score means greater flexibility in school selection. When high school experiences are similar, having strong test scores can help applicants stand out and gain an edge with top universities.
It is an acknowledged fact that U.S. undergraduate admissions are becoming increasingly difficult. CheersYou（清柚教育） advises applicants for the new cycle not to give up on the opportunity to achieve good test scores. At the same time, the application process is complex; beyond standardized tests, every component is crucial, and one must not sacrifice one aspect for another.
We hope everyone prepares diligently and receives their dream offers in the application season!
