Yale Reinstates Mandatory Standardized Testing Admissions Policy

Yale University is mandating standardized testing (SAT/ACT) scores for all first-year and transfer students after a 6-year test-optional hiatus, the university announced Wednesday.

Read more Bribery Allegations For Scandal-Prone DC Politician Get Even Worse

Beginning in the fall admissions cycle, all undergraduate applicants must submit standardized testing scores from either the SAT or the ACT. 

The office of undergraduate admissions dropped its mandatory requirement of scores in 2020 following the COVID-19 school shutdowns. Over a thousand other American universities did the same. (RELATED: Vast Majority Of Americans Say 4-Year College Just Not Worth It, Poll Shows)

Yale moved to a test-flexible admissions policy in 2024, allowing applicants to submit scores from either the SAT, ACT, Advanced Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate. The university’s reinstated policy marks a return to its pre-2020 requirements.

President Maurie McInnis formed a Presidential Council on Yale College Admissions in 2025, composed of various deans and alumni of the college. The body aimed to “review relevant policies and procedures and make recommendations to assure continued compliance with all laws, integrity of applications, and academic excellence in the years ahead.”

The council was formed as a response in part to the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in two college admissions cases, in which the court handed down a definitive stance against affirmative action. The ruling declared that the consideration of race in the admissions process was unconstitutional. (RELATED: Group That Pushed SCOTUS To End Affirmative Action ‘Gravely Concerned’ Elite Colleges Aren’t Complying With Ruling)

Read more INGERSOLL: STEM Professors In California Tired Of Teaching Stupid Kids For ‘Equity’

Yale’s admissions council recommended at the end of their year-long study that the university return to mandating standardized testing scores, noting that they are “less subject to bias than other elements of an application.”

Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis praised the university’s decision, saying that “SAT and ACT scores are strong predictors of a student’s future Yale academic performance” and “can help identify well-prepared candidates, especially those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.”

Yale’s action follows a recent national reactionary trend in favor of mandatory testing. Hundreds of faculty from the University of California signed an open letter earlier this week demanding mandatory mathematical standardized testing in the admissions process, citing an alarming decline in college students’ basic math capabilities.

Yale joins six other Ivy League universities that have returned to mandating test scores since COVID-19 test-optional policies, according to Cosmic College Consulting. Columbia adopted a permanent test-optional policy in 2023. Princeton University will return to requiring SAT or ACT scores in the 2027 to 2028 application cycle.

The Office of the President and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions did not respond immediately to the Daily Caller’s requests for comment.

Read more DUKE: GOP Unites Around Paxton, Setting New Target On ‘Talafreako’