Yale’s office of undergraduate admissions this week announced a change to its standardized testing policy for first-year and transfer applicants. Beginning with the next admissions cycle, applicants will be required to submit scores from the ACT or SAT. Previously, the office’s test-flexible policy permitted applicants to fulfil the testing requirement with scores from four options: ACT, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or SAT. That policy, announced in 2024, followed four years of a fully test-optional policy, adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This week’s announcement restores the policy in place prior to 2020. The updated testing policy reflects the university’s recent review of admission processes. President Maurie McInnis formed the Presidential Council on Yale College Admissions in 2025, asking its members to “review relevant policies and procedures and make recommendations to assure continued compliance with all laws, integrity of applications, and academic excellence.” The Council recommended a return to the testing policy that was in place before the pandemic. “Academic excellence is the foundation of the Yale College experience, and, likewise, is the core component of our admissions process,” said Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis, who served as chair of the Council, “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.”Jeremiah Quinlan, dean of undergraduate admissions and financial aid, added “Academic strength is the admissions committee’s first and most important consideration when evaluating candidates. This central pillar of our work has remained constant, even as our policy on tests has changed in recent years.”The office of undergraduate admissions reported that in the two most recent admission cycles, more than 80% of applicants opted to include ACT or SAT scores. For the class that began at Yale in fall 2025, 90% of entering first-year students included ACT or SAT scores with their application. For the class that will enter Yale this fall, 92% included an ACT or SAT score.