Yale University announced on Wednesday that it would once again require prospective undergraduates to submit ACT or SAT scores as part of their applications, reversing its pandemic-era policy shift.The announcement comes one month after the university’s Committee on Trust in Higher Education released its long-awaited report, which recommended that Yale impose a testing requirement for all applicants.“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,” Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis said in a statement.
Yale’s reimposed testing requirement returns the university to its pre-2020 application requirements. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Yale pivoted after the College Board, which administers the SAT, moved exams online. The university still allowed applicants to submit test scores, though it said it did not penalize students who opted not to.
“I know that students will have many priorities when schools eventually reopen; I believe that completing standardized tests in time for an upcoming application deadline should not be among them,” Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid Jeremiah Quinlan said at the time.
