Yale reinstitutes prepandemic policy of requiring SAT, ACT score for admissions – New Haven Register

Students walk through an entrance to Yale University’s Old Campus in New Haven on March 5, 2020. Yale announced it will again require applicants to submit either an SAT or ACT score as part of the admissions process. 
Yale University has restored its prepandemic policy of requiring applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores, the university announced this week.
The change marks a move away from the test-optional and test-flexible policies that Yale and other universities put in place in recent years, and a return to the testing policy that was found at the Ivy League university before 2020.
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The updated testing policy is based on the recommendations of Yale’s presidential council for undergraduate admissions, which Yale President Maurie McInnis formed in the fall of 2025 to assess academic policies and procedures, according to a press release. The council recommended reinstituting the ACT or SAT score admissions requirement.
“These test scores are strong predictors of a student’s future Yale academic performance, and there is evidence that they are less subject to bias than other elements of an application,” according to the council website page. “A standardized test provides only one window into a student’s academic potential, and no one factor perfectly predicts success at Yale; test scores are considered in the context of whole-person review of all applications.”
For four years, Yale had a fully test-optional policy. The COVID-19 pandemic had prompted many colleges and universities across the country to scratch their standardized testing requirements for admissions amid canceled testing sessions and criticism that the tests put low-income students at a disadvantage.
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Yale moved to a stricter “test-flexible” policy in 2024, which gave applicants four options for submitting scores: the ACT, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or the SAT.
But starting with the next admissions cycle, first-year and transfer applicants will be required to submit scores from the ACT or SAT, according to the press release.
“Academic strength is the admissions committee’s first and most important consideration when evaluating candidates. This central pillar of our work has remained constant, even as our policy on tests has changed in recent years,” said Jeremiah Quinlan, dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid, in the press release.
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In Yale’s two most recent undergraduate admission cycles, more than 80% of applicants opted to include ACT or SAT scores, according to the press release.
“Academic excellence is the foundation of the Yale College experience, and, likewise, is the core component of our admissions process,” said Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis, who also served as chair of the presidential council, in the release.
“SAT and ACT scores are strong predictors of a student’s future Yale academic performance, and, when considered thoughtfully as part of a whole person review, they can help identify well-prepared candidates, especially those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds,” Lewis said. 
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Natasha Sokoloff covers K-12 and higher education news and trends across Connecticut. A southern California native and graduate of the University of Richmond, she has covered local news and public affairs in Connecticut, Virginia and internationally.
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