College Counseling Blog | The Dunham School | Private PreK-12 | Baton Rouge, LA

The "Great Reinstatement": Why Standardized Testing Is Making a Comeback

March 2026

For the past few years, the "test-optional" policy has been the golden rule of college admissions. Born out of pandemic necessity, it felt like the beginning of the end for the SAT and ACT. However, 2026 marks a definitive turning point. We are currently witnessing The Great Reinstatement, where many of the nation's most influential universities are once again making standardized tests mandatory.

For high school families, the "optional" label is becoming a strategic trap. Here is the data-driven reality of the testing landscape today.

The Data: Submitters vs. Non-Submitters

Even at schools that technically remain "test-optional," the data shows an "admission gap" between those who submit scores and those who don't. While colleges claim not to penalize students for withholding scores, the internal statistics may tell a different story.

Why are Colleges Reinstating Tests?

Institutions like Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Caltech, and UT Austin didn't return to testing because they missed the paperwork. They returned because their own data proved that tests are the best predictor of college success.

• Grade Inflation is Real: With more students than ever graduating with a 4.0 GPA, colleges need a "leveling" metric to distinguish between a 4.0 at a high-performing private academy and a 4.0 at a rural public school.
• STEM Readiness: Schools like MIT and Caltech found that SAT Math scores were the single most accurate predictor of whether a student would pass their first-year calculus and physics sequences.
• The "Great Equalizer": Surprisingly, Dartmouth’s research found that test scores helped them identify high-potential students from lower-income backgrounds whose "raw talent" might be hidden by a lack of expensive extracurriculars or "polished" essays. 

Who has Reinstated Requirements for 2026?

The list of "Required" schools is growing monthly. If these schools are on your list, a score is no longer a choice—it is a prerequisite:

• The Ivy League: Harvard, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, and UPenn.
• Elite Tech & Private: MIT, Caltech, Georgetown, Stanford, and Purdue.
• State Systems: The entire public university systems of Florida (UF, FSU) and Georgia (Georgia Tech, UGA), as well as UT Austin.

Strategy for Families

If you are a parent of a sophomore or junior, the "Wait and See" approach is now a risk.

1. Assume you will need a score: Even if your "dream school" is optional, your "likely" school or your "scholarship" school might not be.
2. Aim for the 75th Percentile: To truly benefit from submitting a score, aim for the top end of the school’s middle-50% range. For most Ivy-plus schools, this means a 1540+ on the SAT or a 34+ on the ACT.
3. Use it for Merit Aid: Many mid-tier private and large public universities still tie their largest automatic scholarships to a combination of GPA and test scores.

*Please Note: On Friday, February 27, the LSU Board of Supervisors voted to reinstate the requirement of standardized test scores as part of LSU's comprehensive admissions review process. This requirement will be implemented in two phases, starting with those applying for any 2027 entry term. Students applying for Summer or Fall 2026 are not affected by this requirement.

Phase 1
Beginning in August 2026, students applying as first-time freshmen to the flagship campus for any 2027 term whose cumulative weighted high school GPA is lower than 3.5 will be required to submit either an ACT or SAT score to be considered for admission and merit-based scholarships.

Phase 2
Beginning in August 2027, all students applying as first-time freshmen to the Baton Rouge campus for any 2028 term will be required to submit either an ACT or SAT score to be considered for admission and merit-based scholarships.