Columbia University has announced that it will no longer require undergraduate applicants to submit their SAT or ACT standardized test scores, making it the first Ivy League school to permanently go test-optional.
The announcement, made on Wednesday, puts Columbia among a growing number of higher-education institutions that have also stopped requiring test scores when considering applicants.
Columbia’s decision is rooted in the belief that students are dynamic, multi-faceted individuals who cannot be defined by any single factor, the university said.
The New York City-based college has not required test scores from applicants since the 2020-2021 academic school year, when it dropped the requirement amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other Ivy League schools have extended their pandemic-era test-optional policies, but none have made the initiative permanent. For example, the University of Pennsylvania expanded its test-optional policy through the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, while Cornell has extended the program through 2024-2025.
Harvard and Princeton have continued theirs through the 2025-2026 school year, while Dartmouth, Brown, and Yale have yet to make a decision.
Columbia said in Wednesday’s announcement that its approach to applicants stresses a “holistic and contextual application review process,” and considers numerous factors.
The university’s application is designed to afford the greatest possible opportunity and flexibility for students to represent themselves fully and showcase their academic talents, interests, and goals.
Last year, just 3.7% of over 60,000 applications were accepted to the institution in New York City’s Morningside Heights neighborhood, according to admission statistics. The number of students of color increased by 4% from the previous year, and the number of first-generation students increased by 3%.
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