Is the SAT Required? Test-Optional Rules Explained
"Nobody needs the SAT anymore"
In 11th grade, a student decides not to take the SAT. She has read that most colleges went test-optional, and she would rather spend the time on her grades.
In September of 12th grade she finishes her college list and checks each admissions page. Two of the colleges she likes most now require a score. The test dates that would still arrive before their early deadlines are only weeks away, and she has never taken a practice test.
Three kinds of policy
| Policy | What it means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Required | Every applicant sends an SAT or ACT score | MIT, Dartmouth, Harvard, Stanford |
| Test-optional | The student decides whether to send a score, and a score that is sent is considered | Smith, Tufts, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Columbia (until it requires scores from August 2027) |
| Scores not considered | Scores play no part in the admission decision | University of California, California State University, Hampshire College |
Policies as published on each college's own admissions site in October 2026.
Policies have been changing quickly. Several selective colleges that went test-optional have since brought requirements back. Always check the current policy on each college's own admissions page, and check it again in the summer before applying.
Why some colleges brought tests back
Dartmouth explained its decision publicly. A study by its faculty concluded that SAT and ACT scores are an essential way to identify students likely to succeed there. It also found that, under a test-optional policy, many high-achieving applicants from less-advantaged backgrounds chose not to submit scores that would have helped them.
That finding matters for every family, whatever the policy. Students often hold back scores that would have counted in their favor.
Pursiva's recommendation
Always take the test. A score keeps every door open, at every point in the process. Students change their plans often: a new college joins the list in the fall of 12th grade, a college that requires scores becomes the first choice, or a test-optional college turns out to be one where a good score would help. A student who has a score can still decide not to send it. A student without one may not have time to get one.
Then decide college by college whether to send it. Where a college is test-optional:
- Send the scoreif it is at or above the middle of the range that college reports for its admitted students, or if it strengthens the rest of the academic record.
- Consider not sending itif it is below that college's range and the grades and courses make a stronger case without it.
- If it falls in the lower half of the range,it is a judgment call. Look at the rest of the application and at how the college describes its policy.
The same score can be worth sending to one college and not to another. That is the point of a test-optional policy.
Four mistakes to avoid
- Assuming every college is test-optionalCheck each college on the list, every year.
- Skipping the test because most colleges on the list are optional todayLists and policies both change. If a college that requires scores joins the list in the fall of 12th grade, it may be too late to prepare.
- Holding back a good scoreUnder a test-optional policy, a score in or above the range usually helps.
- Thinking a test-optional college ignores scores that are sentIf you send a score, it is read.
How Pursiva helps
Pursiva's SAT coach reads the student's best official SAT score against each part of the college list (reach, target and likely) and says plainly where it stands. For each test-optional college, that tells the student whether sending the score is likely to help. It points out which colleges on the list require scores, and it plans testing early enough that a score is in hand before any of them is due. And every recommendation comes with a reminder to confirm the college's current policy on its own site.
The student from the opening did not need to send a score to every college. She only needed to have one.
Sources
Know where your score helps, college by college.
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