The University of Pennsylvania or Penn has announced that students applying for undergraduate courses must submit their ACT or SAT scores.
In an announcement made by Penn Today, the university stated, “Students applying for fall 2026 admission will be required to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their admission materials.
Following the closure of standardized testing locations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn instituted a test-optional policy for the 2020–21 application cycle. Since then, Penn Admissions has extended the policy year, citing the “continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic” and the necessity to ensure that its office can conduct a responsible examination of the test-optional practice’s involvement. By reinstating the standardized test Penn hopes to eliminate any ambiguity for applicants who are unsure whether to submit their test results.
However, this does not mean that Penn will not consider the school’s academic record. The test scores will complement a student’s existing accomplishments, maintaining a comprehensive evaluation of the candidate.
The Saga so far
Prior test-optional rules caused a notable rise in applications. The Class of 2025, the first to apply under the test-optional policy, broke the record for the largest application pool in Penn’s history. A record 65,230 applications were submitted for the Class of 2028, more than 10% more than for the Class of 2027.
Penn is not the only university that has re-introduced the test policies for the class of 2025-26. Other Ivy League institutions have done the same, albeit before UPenn; these include
Although Yale University has adopted a “test-flexible” policy that permits candidates to submit Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test results in place of the SAT or ACT, the university has also resumed its requirements for standardized testing.
Although not all the Ivy League colleges have reinstated the mandatory test-optional, Princeton University and Columbia University still have test-optional policies. However, going by the trend, it is hard to say it will last.
But are there any top colleges that are still test-optional?
These include
- Stanford University
- Columbia University
- Duke University
- Boston University
- Carnegie Mellon University
What is Standardized testing?
Standardized tests are the tests colleges ask applicants to submit to evaluate them for college admission. The two major standardized tests are the SAT and ACT.
SAT
Most colleges and institutions use the SAT as an entrance exam to decide who gets admitted. The College Board developed and administers the multiple-choice, computer-based SAT, which is 2 hours and 14 minutes long.
A high school student’s preparedness for college is assessed by the SAT, which also gives universities a single piece of information to compare all applications. In addition to your high school GPA, your high school coursework, letters of recommendation from mentors or instructors, extracurricular activities, admissions interviews, and personal essays, college admissions officers will look at your results on standardized tests. Each institution has a different stance on the significance of SAT scores in the college application.
What is asked on the SAT?
There are two SAT sections, each with two modules:
There is Evidence-based reading and writing
- Module 1
- Module 2
Then there is Math, which also has two modules
- Module 1
- Module 2
You can navigate between questions in each module, but you cannot return to a prior module. This is because the SAT is an adaptive test, which means that your performance on the first module determines your performance on the second module in each section.
A score range of 200 to 800 points is used to evaluate both SAT components. 1600 is the maximum possible SAT score, the sum of your section scores. Read more about SAT here
ACT
ACT is also used to evaluate applicants for college admission. There are multiple-choice exams in four subjects on the ACT: science, math, reading, and English. The optional ACT writing test has no bearing on your overall score.
The American College Testing (ACT) exam is an online multiple-choice question (MCQ) test designed to assess candidates’ written, mathematical, verbal, and scientific abilities. Additionally, an optional writing portion is available at the time of ACT enrollment.
Each section of the ACT is scored on a 1 to 36-point scale. Your composite ACT score is the average of your four section scores on a scale from 1 to 36. If you take the ACT with a Writing Test, you will receive a separate score on the Writing Test.
Read More about ACT here.
From Rostrum’s Podium
Since nearly every college is re-introducing the SAT and ACT, it is high time that one must start preparing for these tests, and this is where our expertise lies; at Rostrum, we have helped countless students score 32 plus on the ACT and 1500 plus on the SAT.
With our experienced tutors, we can guide you, too! Contact for free consultation.
