Guide to US Applications • Undergraduate

COVID-19 Effects: What Colleges Don’t Require the SAT for 2021

POSTED ON 04/03/2020 BY The Red Pen

COVID-19 Effects: What Colleges Don’t Require the SAT for 2021 The Red Pen

In mid-March 2020, the WHO classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, leading to school and college closures everywhere. While students are figuring out how to navigate this enforced ‘downtime’, aspiring college students are left wondering how they will appear for their standardised tests in time for college applications. As of now, College Board has cancelled the March and May SAT dates, while the ACT has rescheduled its test dates. With all the uncertainty surrounding the future, students can start looking at applying to colleges that have decided to go test-optional or cancel their standardised test requirements for this admissions cycle. Along with this, there are a whole collection of colleges that have embraced test-optional policies for quite some time.

Below is a list of colleges that have recently announced that they are going test-optional.  

Here is why you should still prepare:

While students cannot be expected to worry about situations beyond their control, it is important to note that these tests are not going away. The College Board is a 120-year-old organisation which has survived two World Wars and other pandemics. Test centres might open up or an online test version might be rolled out soon.

Remember that test-optional doesn’t mean test-exempt, so it is worth still preparing for a standardised test and taking it once centres open. Moreover, submitting a test score simply makes an admissions officer’s life easier, by providing a common benchmark that cuts across curricular and structural differences in education systems across the globe.

NOTE: This list is indicative and students should check with the institution before applying. For a full list, please visit FairTest.

College Name Notes
Amherst College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Babson College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Bates College
Baylor University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Bentley University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020/spring 2021 admissions
Boston College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Boston University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020/spring 2021 admissions
Bowdoin College
Brandeis University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Brown University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Bryant University
Butler University Starting from fall 2020
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) A two-year moratorium starting from fall 2020
California State University system Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020/winter and spring 2021 admissions
Carleton College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Carnegie Mellon University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Case Western Reserve Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Chapman University Starting from fall 2020
Claremont McKenna College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Clarkson University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Colby College
Colgate University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
College of Wooster Starting from fall 2020
Columbia College or Columbia Engineering at Columbia University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions to Columbia College or Columbia Engineering
Concordia University Temporarily policy: Only for fall 2020 and 2021 admissions
Cornell University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Dartmouth College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Davidson College Three-year period starting from fall 2020
Dickinson College Temporary test-blind policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Drury University Starting from fall 2020
Duke University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Emory University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Franklin & Marshall College
Franklin College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Georgetown University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Gonzaga University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Hamilton College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Harvard College at Harvard University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Haverford College Three-year period starting from fall 2020
Hofstra University
Indiana University Starting from fall 2020
Johns Hopkins University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Kenyon College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Limestone University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Macalester College Starting from fall 2020
Mansfield University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Only SAT Subject Tests not required
Middlebury College Three-year period starting from fall 2020
Millersville University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Mount Holyoke College
Newberry College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Northeastern University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Northwestern University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Oberlin College Three-year pilot starting from fall 2020
Oregon State University Starting from fall 2020
Penn State University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Pepperdine University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Pomona College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Princeton University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Rhodes College Three-year period starting from fall 2020
Rice University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Rutgers University – New Brunswick Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Santa Clara University Two-year period starting from 2020
Sarah Lawrence College
Scripps College Starting from fall 2020
St Thomas Aquinas College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Saint Louis University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Stanford University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Swarthmore College Two-year period starting from fall 2020
Texas Christian University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
The George Washington University
Trinity University Three-year period starting from fall 2020
Tufts University Three-year period starting from fall 2020
Tulane University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
University of California (UCs) Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
University of Chicago
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Three-year policy: Either meet GPA or SAT/ACT revised requirements
University of Notre Dame One-year pilot programme starting from fall 2020
University of Oregon Starting from fall 2020
University of Pennsylvania Temporary policy: Only SAT Subject Tests not required for fall 2020
University of Richmond Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
University of Rochester
University of Southern California (USC) Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
University of Texas at Austin Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
University of the Cumberlands Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
University of Toledo Pilot programme starting from fall 2020
University of Virginia Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
University of Vermont Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
University of Washington Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Vanderbilt University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Vassar College Pilot programme starting from fall 2020
Villanova University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Wake Forest University
Washington & Lee Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Washington University St Louis Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Wesleyan University
Wellesley College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Westminster College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
William & Mary Three-year pilot programme starting from fall 2020
Williams College Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions
Yale University Temporary policy: Only for fall 2020 admissions

If you require further assistance when making your college list, please get in touch with us.