SAT/ACT Q&A FOR CLASSES OF 2027 AND 2028

“It depends.”

The changing landscape

1. Are colleges all going to require SAT or ACT now?

Despite the headlines screaming that Harvard and MIT have returned to requiring testing for admissions, the majority of colleges remain test optional. According to FairTest, an organization that opposes standardized testing, 90 percent or more, over 2,000 institutions, are test optional or test blind as of fall 2026.

Most of the Ivies have reinstated testing. Columbia and Princeton remain test optional for the Class of 2027, but the Class of 2028 will need to submit scores at all eight Ivy League schools. Florida public universities never dropped the requirement, and the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia State now require testing, as does the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Auburn will require test scores for the Class of 2027—the class already facing this cycle’s fully mandatory policy. A narrow GPA-based exception (3.6+) existed only for last year’s applicants (Fall 2026 enrollment) but is not available going forward.

In other words, it depends.

2. Are colleges test optional, test blind, or test required this year, and how do I know what the policy is for a specific school?

Some colleges are test optional, some are test blind, and some do require submitting test scores. The best place to check is the school’s own website, not a third-party source. Search “school name” + “test policy 2027” or “test policy 2028” and make sure to choose the website that has the .edu extension, because only accredited post-secondary institutions can use .edu.

Test-optional schools let you turn in SAT or ACT scores, but you don’t have to.

Test-blind schools will not consider test scores at all. (Think the University of California and California State schools.)

Test-required means you have to turn in either SAT or ACT scores, and some institutions (Florida publics, USNA, West Point) accept the newer Classical Learning Test (CLT).

Test-flexible schools want you to turn in some form of standardized test scores, but you can decide which scores to submit, usually including AP and IB tests as a substitute for ACT or SAT.

3. Why have some schools (like MIT, Dartmouth, Yale) reinstated testing requirements after going test-optional during COVID?

Some schools will tell you that their own internal data showed that test scores were better predictors of academic success at their college than high school grades alone. Conversely, admissions representatives from George Washington University, which has been test optional since 2015, have said at counselor events that internally, GPA was a better predictor of success than test scores.

According to test prep expert Jed Applerouth, a study by Opportunity Insights found a strong correlation between higher test scores and academic success in college, particularly at highly selective institutions.

4. If a school is “test optional,” does submitting a score actually help, or could it hurt?

It depends. Schools that are truly test optional won’t count it against you for not submitting scores; they simply rely on the other parts of your application to make their admission decision. Let’s say a college considers GPA, rigor of school record, activities, letters of recommendation, and test scores. If you take out the test scores, then the other four elements carry more weight.

Generally, you want to compare your scores to the profile of the most recent class. If your scores fall below the range shown, you probably want to withhold your scores and let the school make its decision based on the stronger parts of your application.

I know what you’re thinking: How do I know they’re really not going to hold it against me if I don’t report my SAT or ACT? Check to see how many enrolled students submitted test scores. I check Section C9 of the school’s Common Data Set. Just search “School Name” + “Common Data Set” and that should take you to that school’s website, where its Common Data Set lives. Section C9 tells you what percentage of enrolled students submitted SATs and what percent submitted ACTs. Unfortunately, you can’t add the numbers together to get the percent of students that turned in any test score because some students submit both, but it will give you a rough idea of how big a role test scores played for enrolled students. According to Auburn University’s 2025 Common Data Set, 72 percent of enrolled students submitted ACTs and 19 percent submitted SATs, so it appears that Auburn valued test scores even before they formally required them. In fact, Auburn will require Class of 2027 applicants to submit a test score.

SAT vs. ACT

5. Is the SAT or ACT a better fit for my student?

The best way to find out is to take a practice test of each and then compare the scores using a concordance table such as the one on ACT’s website. If you scored higher on one of the tests, go with that. If your scores are roughly equivalent, pick the one that feels better. Both Christine Ingari at Applerouth Education and Discovery College Consulting have found fault with ACT’s digital rollout compared to the SAT, but the ACT was just bought July 1, 2026, by ETS, the company that designed and administered the SAT for decades before College Board moved on in 2016, so things may improve.

6. Now that the SAT is fully digital, is it easier, harder, or just different from before?

It’s just different. The digital SAT is shorter than the now-retired paper version—by 46 minutes—and it has about a third fewer questions. The test is “adaptive,” which means that the questions on the second half of each section (Evidence-Based Reading/Writing, Math) adapt to how well you perform on the first half of the test. If you do well on the first half, you get harder questions for the second half. If you don’t do well on the first half, then your second-half questions won’t be as hard, but you also can’t get a perfect 800 on that section.

7. Do colleges have a preference between the two, or are they treated as equal?

In this case, it’s the same for virtually all colleges: The SAT and ACT are equal.

Strategy & timing

8. When should a student take their first SAT or ACT, and how many times should they realistically plan to test?

Once you’ve finished Algebra II, you’ll have all the math you need to perform well on the SAT or ACT. I usually recommend testing begin in junior year if the student has already completed Algebra II, taking their last SAT by September of senior year (October if you don’t have October 15 deadlines). Studies have shown that the biggest increase in a test score occurs with the first retest and that gains fall off after three. However, with schools superscoring, you may want to take it more than three times to improve a weak subscore. Most students I know don’t want to sit for another test after three tries!

9. What is superscoring, and does every college use it?

Colleges that superscore take the highest score in each category from each sitting to give you the highest possible combined score.

Let’s say you took the test in March and got 670 for reading and 600 for math, 1270 combined. Then you took it again in June and got 600 for reading and 700 for math, for 1300 combined. Superscoring would take the 670 for reading and the 700 for math, 1370 combined.

Score choice means you can choose which of your test scores you want to report. Georgetown University, for example, wants to see all of your test scores.

10. Should a student prep with a tutor, a class, or self-study?

It really depends. If you’re very disciplined and will set aside a block of time each day to study with the free Khan Academy, great. If you learn better with one-to-one tutoring and your family can afford it, that should be your plan. Or if taking a class will make you treat studying for the test as a real commitment, do that. To gauge your progress, be sure to take practice tests along the way and use the feedback from those to tailor your studying.

Decision-making

11. How does testing strategy differ for students aiming for merit scholarships versus straight admission?

It depends, and you need to know that answer for each school where you’re applying if you want merit aid. Check the financial aid page of the college’s website; if it’s not there, call admissions and ask. Many colleges that are test optional for admissions are also test optional for merit aid, but that’s not necessarily true across the board.

Bottom line

Even though 90 percent of colleges remain test optional, I do recommend that students take either the ACT or SAT so that they have a score to report if they choose to. Just be strategic in deciding whether to submit if you have that choice.