Stanford University will reinstate the SAT or ACT as a requirement for undergraduate admission, joining a push by other selective schools to bring back standardized testing after a pause during the pandemic.
The new policy will apply to students applying for the Class of 2030 next fall, Stanford said in the report. statement Friday, citing an interval review that found the tests were “an important indicator of academic performance.” Testing will remain optional for students applying this year.
Stanford joins come back to standardized testing at schools including Harvard University, Yale University and the California Institute of Technology, amid a changing landscape for admitting top students. Many schools say the tests can give them better information about whether applicants from less privileged backgrounds can succeed in college.
“The updated testing requirements will allow Stanford to consider the most comprehensive body of information to support each student’s application,” the Palo Alto, California-based school said.
Stanford said it is delaying testing until fall 2025 to give potential applicants time to prepare.
Opponents of testing have long argued that the requirement favors wealthier students who can afford tutoring and prep courses. Prestigious colleges began bypassing testing when it became impractical during the height of the pandemic as testing centers closed.
However, some of the most elite schools in the US have since become concerned that the lack of tests is making it difficult to identify talented students from less privileged backgrounds. Colleges also have rethought their application procedures after the Supreme Court ruled last year that schools cannot consider race in admissions.
Two years ago, MIT reinstated the test requirements.
Stanford ranks among the most selective colleges in the United States, admitting 3.9% of its applicants to the Class of 2027, according to the university. Its acceptance rate was lower than all Ivy League schools except Harvard, which had an acceptance rate of 3.4% for the same group.