A source-based comparison for first-year applicants seeking Fall 2027 entry. “Accepts SAT” can mean required, recommended, optional, flexible, or test-free; this tracker preserves those distinctions and shows how policies changed after 2019.
Last source audit: September 8, 2026 · Re-check every policy before applying
Middle 50% is descriptive, not a minimum. The range usually describes enrolled or admitted students who submitted scores in a named class or Common Data Set. In test-optional years, submitters may be a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
Fall 2027 policy and the latest available score range refer to different cohorts. A university cannot yet publish an enrolled-student range for Fall 2027. Always open the linked admissions policy before applying.
Required: SAT or ACT is normally required.
Recommended or expected: scores are encouraged, with documented exceptions.
Optional: an application can be complete without SAT or ACT.
Flexible: specified alternative examinations may satisfy the requirement.
Test-free: SAT or ACT is not considered for admission.
Verify current cycle: Fall 2027 has not been stated clearly enough to infer.
| University | Fall 2027 entry | Recent institutional SAT data | Policy history and institutional sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard | REQUIRED | Recent Common Data Sets report section percentiles; use the underlying data rather than treating a summed range as a cutoff. | Required before COVID → temporary optional period → testing requirement restored from the 2024–25 application cycle. |
| Yale | REQUIRED | Recent Yale Facts data report 730–780 Reading and Writing and 740–790 Math. These separate section percentiles are not added here to invent a composite middle-50 range. | Required before COVID → optional/flexible transition → SAT or ACT required for first-year and transfer applicants in the 2026–27 admissions cycle. |
| Princeton | OPTIONAL | Consult the latest Common Data Set; submitted-score ranges from optional cohorts are not application cutoffs. | Required before COVID → optional through Fall 2027 → testing returns for Fall 2028. |
| MIT | REQUIRED | MIT Admissions reports 740–780 SAT Reading and Writing and 780–800 SAT Math for admitted students. The section percentiles are presented separately rather than summed. | Required before COVID → two-cycle suspension → SAT/ACT requirement restored from the 2022–23 application cycle. |
| Stanford | REQUIRED | 1520–1570 among Class of 2029 students who submitted SAT scores. | Required before COVID → optional through the Class of 2029 → ACT or SAT now required. |
| Caltech | REQUIRED | Caltech uses section-score buckets rather than treating every score point as distinct: 780–800 is Bucket A and 750–770 is Bucket B. | Required before COVID → test-free period → SAT or ACT requirement restored with a bucket-based review system. The Fall 2027 application instructions require SAT or ACT. |
| Brown | REQUIRED | 1470–1550 among recent admitted students who submitted SAT scores. | Required before COVID → temporary optional period → requirement restored beginning with the 2024–25 admission cycle. |
| Dartmouth | REQUIRED / FLEXIBLE INT'L | Dartmouth did not report testing profiles for classes enrolled during its optional period; consult the next comparable required cohort. | Required before COVID → optional Classes of 2025–2028 → requirement restored for Class of 2029. Applicants outside the U.S. may use specified alternatives. |
| Cornell | REQUIRED | Use Cornell's latest university-wide Common Data Set; college-level differences and submitter share must be considered. | Required before COVID → college-specific optional/test-free policies → first-year SAT/ACT requirement reinstated university-wide. |
| Columbia | OPTIONAL | 1510–1560 among Class of 2029 enrolling students who chose to submit scores; this optional-era submitter range is not a cutoff. | Required before COVID → test-optional through Fall 2027 entry → SAT or ACT required beginning with the 2027–28 application cycle for Fall 2028 entry. |
| Penn | REQUIRED / WAIVER | 1510–1560 among a recent enrolled class when testing was optional. | Required before COVID → optional through multiple cycles → testing or an approved hardship waiver required from the 2025–26 admission cycle. |
| Duke | OPTIONAL | Use Duke's current class profile and note whether the range covers submitters, admits, or enrolled students. | Required before COVID → test-optional through the 2026–27 admissions cycle, including international and merit-scholarship applicants. |
| University of Chicago | OPTIONAL | Published class profiles include a broad score distribution; compare the underlying Common Data Set before using a middle-50% claim. | Test-optional since 2018, before the pandemic; submitted SAT or ACT scores remain optional application material. |
| Northwestern | OPTIONAL | Consult the latest Common Data Set and submitter percentage; Northwestern does not present its optional policy as an admission cutoff. | Required before COVID → test-optional from the pandemic period through the current Fall 2027 cycle. |
| Johns Hopkins | REQUIRED | 1530–1570 for the Homewood Class of 2029. | Required before COVID → temporary optional period → SAT or ACT requirement restored for first-year admission. |
| Vanderbilt | OPTIONAL | Use the current enrolled-class profile and identify whether a range covers submitters or all enrolled students. | Temporary optional policy remains in place for Fall 2027 and Fall 2028; testing is scheduled to return for Fall 2029. |
| Rice | RECOMMENDED | 1510–1560 for a recent deposited-student cohort. | Testing became optional during the pandemic; Rice now recommends scores when available while continuing to consider applicants without them. |
| Washington University in St. Louis | OPTIONAL | 1490–1550 for the middle 50% reported on its incoming-class profile. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic period → optional for the current application cycle. |
| University of Notre Dame | OPTIONAL | 1460–1540 for the middle 50% of the current enrolled profile. | Required before COVID → optional from the pandemic period through the 2026–27 application cycle. |
| Georgetown | REQUIRED | Review Georgetown's current entering-class profile; its testing rules differ from many optional peers. | Required before and after the pandemic; first-year applicants must submit SAT or ACT results. |
| Carnegie Mellon | VERIFY CURRENT CYCLE | Ranges vary materially by undergraduate college; consult program-level data rather than a single university-wide cutoff. | Policies have varied by cycle and undergraduate program. Confirm the Fall 2027 rule for the intended college before applying. |
| Emory | OPTIONAL | Consult the latest Emory class profile and distinguish Emory College from Oxford College where applicable. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → optional through the 2026–27 application cycle. |
| UC Berkeley | TEST-FREE | No SAT range is relevant to admission review because scores are not considered. | Required before the UC system transition → test-free; SAT and ACT scores are not used for selection or scholarships. |
| UCLA | TEST-FREE | No SAT range is relevant to admission or scholarship review. | Required before the UC system transition → test-free; submitted scores may have limited placement or eligibility uses after admission. |
| University of Michigan | OPTIONAL | Use the latest Common Data Set and the percentage of enrolled students submitting scores. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → optional for the 2027 application cycle. |
| University of Virginia | OPTIONAL | Recent institutional data report 700–760 Reading and Writing and 710–780 Math; the sections are not summed here. | Required before COVID → optional from the pandemic period → optional for Fall 2027 first-year admission. |
| UNC–Chapel Hill | VERIFY CURRENT CYCLE | Use UNC's latest Common Data Set and note state-system rules that may change by cycle. | Testing rules have been affected by both pandemic exceptions and UNC System policy. Confirm Fall 2027 requirements directly. |
| University of Southern California | OPTIONAL | Consult the current matriculated-class profile and its score-submission share. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → optional for applicants to the 2027–28 academic year, including international applicants. |
| New York University | FLEXIBLE | NYU publishes enrolled-student testing data; campus and program context can matter. | NYU used a flexible testing policy before COVID and later adopted temporary optional provisions. Verify the current testing choices for the intended campus. |
| Tufts | OPTIONAL | Use the latest entering-class profile; optional-era ranges describe score submitters. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → continued optional policy for first-year applicants. |
| Boston College | OPTIONAL | Consult the current class profile and submission percentage before interpreting its middle 50%. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → extended optional policy; verify the precise Fall 2027 cycle language. |
| Georgia Tech | REQUIRED | Use Georgia Tech's current first-year profile; residency and intended major affect the applicant context. | Required under Georgia public-university policy after the temporary pandemic waiver. |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | OPTIONAL | UIUC publishes score ranges by college; program-level data are more useful than a campus-wide figure. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → current first-year process allows applicants to choose whether scores are considered. |
| University of Texas at Austin | REQUIRED | Use UT Austin's current Common Data Set and account for automatic-admission and major-specific context. | Required before COVID → temporary optional period → SAT or ACT requirement restored for first-year applicants. |
| University of Wisconsin–Madison | VERIFY CURRENT CYCLE | Use the latest Common Data Set; do not extend an optional-era range to a later cycle without confirmation. | Required before COVID → temporary optional policy. The Fall 2027 rule requires a fresh check when the application opens. |
| University of Washington | OPTIONAL | Scores are generally not central to admission review; consult current guidance for limited exceptions. | Required before COVID → test-optional policy adopted; high scores may be considered in a small set of circumstances. |
| Purdue | EXPECTED | Purdue publishes ranges by college and major; use the profile matching the intended program. | Required before COVID → temporary flexibility → applicants are expected to submit a score when able, with exceptions for access constraints. |
| University of Maryland | OPTIONAL | Use Maryland's latest Common Data Set and score-submission rate. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → optional policy extended across recent cycles; confirm the application-year statement. |
| Ohio State | VERIFY CURRENT CYCLE | Consult the current admitted-student profile and identify whether figures cover Columbus-campus submitters. | Required before COVID → temporary optional cycles. Confirm the Fall 2027 rule directly before relying on an earlier policy. |
| Rutgers–New Brunswick | OPTIONAL | Ranges differ across Rutgers schools; consult the school-specific admitted-student profile. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → continued score-choice policy for many first-year programs. |
| Penn State | VERIFY CURRENT CYCLE | Campus and program choice affect the relevant student profile. | Required before COVID → temporary optional cycles. Confirm Fall 2027 because published extensions are cycle-specific. |
| Texas A&M | OPTIONAL | Use current first-year statistics and account for Texas class-rank pathways. | Required before COVID → temporary optional policy → applicants may submit scores for consideration under the current process. |
| University of Florida | REQUIRED | Use UF's current freshman profile; published ranges are descriptive, not minimums. | Testing remained required under Florida public-university admission rules. |
| University of Miami | VERIFY CURRENT CYCLE | Use the latest enrolled-class profile and score-submission percentage. | Required before COVID → temporary optional policy. Confirm Fall 2027 because extension dates have changed by cycle. |
| University of Rochester | OPTIONAL | Use Rochester's current class profile; submitted-score ranges do not describe non-submitters. | Rochester adopted test-optional admission before COVID and continues to accept scores when students choose to submit them. |
| Wake Forest | OPTIONAL | Optional-era score ranges cover students who submitted testing. | Test-optional since 2008, well before COVID; scores remain optional application evidence. |
| Case Western Reserve | OPTIONAL | Use the latest first-year class profile and its submitter share. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → optional policy extended across current admission cycles. |
| Northeastern | VERIFY CURRENT CYCLE | Campus and entry pathway can affect the relevant cohort; consult the current class profile. | Required before COVID → temporary optional policy. Confirm the Fall 2027 extension and the intended campus directly. |
| Boston University | OPTIONAL | Use BU's latest Common Data Set and submission percentage. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → optional policy extended for current first-year cycles. |
| William & Mary | OPTIONAL | Consult the latest enrolled-class profile and identify the score-submitting population. | Required before COVID → optional during the pandemic → continued test-optional admission for first-year applicants. |
When scores are optional, applicants tend to submit them selectively. A reported range can rise even if the university's underlying academic standard has not changed. Compare the policy category, the population described, and the percentage submitting SAT before comparing two years.
Research rule: policy evidence comes from university admissions pages or institutional announcements; score evidence comes from a class profile, institutional research office, or Common Data Set. Third-party admissions blogs are not used as the primary source.
Dartmouth explicitly allows specified international alternatives, while Harvard documents exceptional alternatives when SAT or ACT access is not available. English-proficiency requirements are separate from SAT policy. Verify the applicant type, school curriculum, entry year, and financial-aid rules individually.
Use a full diagnostic, review recurring weaknesses, and measure progress before deciding when to take or retake the SAT.