IN WITH THE NEW

Columbia University, William & Mary Make Test-Optional the New Norm

The universities have cemented pandemic-era policies of not requiring students to send ACT or SAT scores, a potential trendsetter for other colleges.

Columbia University and William & Mary have extended their test-optional admission rules indefinitely after successful pandemic trial periods. More than 200 universities have suspended testing requirements through fall 2023 as a result of the pandemic, but Columbia is the first Ivy League school to make a full pivot to test-optional. “We have designed our application to afford the greatest possible opportunity and flexibility for students to represent themselves fully and showcase their academic talents, interests and goals,” Columbia said in a statement. Fellow Ivy League universities Yale, Dartmouth and Brown have yet to say if they’ll reinstate a testing policy after fall 2023. Cornell remains test-optional up to fall 2024, and Harvard won’t require testing again until fall 2026 as of now. As more colleges move away from the tests, though, the College Board maintains their importance. Many prestigious universities, including Purdue and Georgetown, have reinstated their testing policies, and many major public universities still require them.