The SAT/ACT is back at top schools. What to do this summer if you haven't tested.

Penn closed the loop in 2025. Six of the eight Ivies now require SAT or ACT scores, along with MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Johns Hopkins, and Georgetown. Duke, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Princeton, and Columbia remain test-optional for the current cycle, so the picture is not uniform. But the test-optional era at the very top is no longer something students can assume.

If you're a rising senior who's been treating the SAT as optional, you have a problem and a short summer to solve it.

I went through this from Sydney when international test access was its own challenge. The thing nobody tells you about standardized tests at top schools: they're not the most important part of the application. But failing to submit one at a school that requires them is the same as not applying at all.

Where each Ivy stands for Fall 2026 applications

• Harvard: Required (SAT or ACT)
• Yale: Required (SAT or ACT)
• Brown: Required (SAT or ACT)
• Dartmouth: Required (SAT or ACT)
• Cornell: Required (SAT or ACT)
• Penn: Required (SAT or ACT)
• Princeton: Still test-optional for the current cycle; standardized testing returns for applicants seeking fall 2028 enrollment
• Columbia: Test-optional

MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Johns Hopkins, and Georgetown also require SAT or ACT scores. Duke, Vanderbilt, and Notre Dame remain test-optional for the current cycle. Columbia, Princeton, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Notre Dame are now exceptions students should verify school by school, not proof that testing can be ignored everywhere.

Yale is worth flagging because its policy changed recently. Yale's prior test-flexible policy allowed AP or IB scores to satisfy the testing requirement; its current policy requires ACT or SAT scores for first-year and transfer applicants.

Why this happened

The test-optional era started during COVID. The data from that era surprised everyone. Schools found that test scores predicted college performance better than they'd expected, especially for first-generation and low-income applicants. The argument that tests identify talent missed by other measures won out.

Harvard's own internal research, released alongside their reinstatement announcement, was the loudest version of this. Yale and Brown followed with similar language. Once the top of the pyramid moved, everyone else followed.

That's where we are in 2026: tests are back, and they matter.

What scores you actually need

Middle 50% ranges (25th to 75th percentile) for admitted students at recent cycles:

• Harvard SAT 1510-1580, ACT 34-36
• Penn SAT 1500-1570, ACT 33-35
• MIT SAT 1530-1580, ACT 35-36
• Stanford SAT 1500-1580, ACT 33-35
• Yale SAT 1500-1580, ACT 33-36

If your score is below the 25th percentile at your reach schools, the rest of the application has to do significant work to compensate. If it's at or above the median, it's not what gets you in. It's also not what holds you back.

The honest rule: 1500+ SAT or 34+ ACT puts you in the academic pool at most top schools. Below that, your reach list needs adjustment.

Score choice and superscoring (the part nobody explains clearly)

Two policies you should know about, because they change how to think about retakes:

Score choice: You decide which test dates to submit. If you take the SAT three times and your second sitting was your best, you can submit only that one. Almost every school allows this for the SAT. A small list (including Georgetown) requires all attempts.

Superscoring: The school combines your best section scores across multiple test dates. If you got 720 Reading in March and 770 Math in August, your superscored total is 1490, even though you never scored that on a single date. Most Ivies superscore the SAT. Yale, Brown, Penn, Cornell, and Dartmouth do. Harvard says it considers your highest scores. Practically, you should retake if your section breakdown shows you could realistically lift one section.

For the ACT: superscoring is less common, but most top schools now do it. Check each school's policy.

What this means for your summer plan: one strong August attempt followed by a targeted retake in September or October is the usual right move. Don't waste effort cramming for a third date unless you're materially closer to a 1500 with one more shot.

Summer 2026 timeline for rising seniors

If you have a strong score already (1500+ SAT or 34+ ACT), skip this section. Go work on essays.

If you don't, here's the plan:

June 2026: Register for the August or September SAT and the September or October ACT. Don't wait for September registration deadlines. Pick one test as your primary and prep for it intensively for eight weeks.

July 2026: Daily prep. Students who jump 100+ points typically do 90 minutes a day for six to eight weeks, not a marathon over two weekends.

August 2026: Take the SAT (last admin before fall apps) or the ACT if that's your test.

September 2026: Get August scores back. Retake if needed. This is your last realistic shot before ED deadlines.

October 2026: One more retake possible if you're applying RD only. Beyond this, you're submitting whatever you have.

What if you can't test

There are real cases where testing is genuinely difficult. Accommodations not yet approved. Location access issues. Financial hardship.

Apply for SAT/ACT fee waivers if you qualify. They're free for many low-income students. If testing is not realistic for you, focus your list around schools that remain test-optional for this cycle, including Columbia, Princeton, Duke, Vanderbilt, and Notre Dame, and verify each school's current policy before you apply.

For international students who can't access testing centers reliably, the most important move is list discipline. Some schools still let you apply without SAT or ACT scores; others do not. Do not rely on an outdated article or a Reddit thread. Check the admissions page for every school on your final list.

What rising juniors should do

If you're entering 11th grade this fall, you have more runway. Take the PSAT in October to baseline your starting point. Plan for an SAT or ACT attempt in spring of junior year. You'll have time for a retake in summer 2027.

The general rule: prepping in spring of junior year is the standard for students aiming at top schools. Earlier doesn't help much because content overlaps with junior year coursework.

How to know if your score is in range for specific schools

The middle 50% ranges I listed are averages. What matters more is your score relative to admits with similar profiles. A 1480 SAT might be below Harvard's range but well-positioned at a school that values your specific extracurricular profile.

The AdmitYogi School Matcher pulls from 6,000 real accepted applications. Plug in your stats and intended major, and it gives you school-specific reach/target/safety reads based on actual admits, not generic middle 50% data. Worth running before you finalize your list, especially now that scores matter again.

One last thing

If your reach list includes schools that now require testing and you haven't taken the SAT or ACT, this isn't a problem you can solve in September. Check the next SAT and ACT registration deadlines this week and reserve a seat before local test centers fill.

The test-optional era gave a lot of students a way to apply to top schools without a score. That window is closed for most. Make the call now about whether you're testing or shifting your list.