Test-Optional in 2026–27: Decide Scores College by College

A student applying to ten colleges can face several different testing policies on the same application list.

One college may require an SAT or ACT. Another may let the student decide whether scores should be considered. A third may not use SAT or ACT scores for admission at all. A particular scholarship or academic program can create an exception to the university's general rule.

That makes the useful question for fall 2027 applicants different from “Are tests back?”

The question is:

For each college on this student's list, should we prepare, submit, or withhold scores?

There is no national answer. There should not be one score threshold that controls the entire list.

Test optional is still the national norm

Testing requirements have received considerable attention because several prominent institutions have restored SAT or ACT requirements.

That is real, but it does not describe the whole undergraduate market.

A September 2026 review of more than 2,200 colleges found that about 86% were test optional for the 2026–27 admissions cycle, with another 4% test free and about 7% requiring scores.

The practical implication is not that testing has become unimportant. It is that policy fragmentation has become normal.

Consider several current examples.

The University of Georgia, a public flagship, requires SAT or ACT scores from first-year applicants. There is no test-optional route.

The University of Washington does not require SAT or ACT scores. Its application readers generally do not see submitted scores, although the university identifies a limited circumstance in which very high scores may receive consideration.

Western Washington University, a regional public university, is test optional. Students receive full consideration for admission and merit scholarships without submitting SAT or ACT scores, although a specific education program may consider testing separately.

Howard University, a private HBCU, is test optional for first-year applicants during the 2026–27 cycle, but that policy does not extend to certain joint-degree programs.

The California State University system does not use SAT or ACT scores to determine first-year admission eligibility. Scores can still have uses after admission, including course placement.

Loyola Marymount University, a private university, allows first-year applicants to apply test optional and states that students remain eligible for institutional merit scholarship consideration without scores.

These policies lead to different decisions even before the student's actual score enters the conversation.

First decide whether you need to test at all

Before asking whether to submit a score, ask whether taking the SAT or ACT deserves time in the student's fall plan.

Testing is easier to justify when at least one serious college requires it.

If the University of Georgia is an important option, for example, the requirement settles the question. The student needs an acceptable testing plan before the relevant deadline.

The answer becomes less obvious when the current list contains only test-optional institutions.

There can still be reasons to test.

A student's college list may change. A scholarship or special academic program may have a separate requirement. An optional college may consider a strong score as additional academic evidence. Testing early enough can also preserve options that would disappear if a required-score college is added late.

But preparation has a cost.

Hours spent on repeated test preparation are hours not spent on senior-year courses, applications, paid work, family responsibilities, or other priorities.

The decision should therefore be based on the student's actual list.

A reasonable testing plan answers three questions:

1. Does any serious college or program require a score?
2. Could testing preserve meaningful options that are still under consideration?
3. Is the likely value of another test attempt worth the time and cost required?

A student with several required-score colleges has a different answer from a student whose entire settled list does not use scores in admission.

“Optional” does not mean the same thing at every college

The word optional describes what the applicant is allowed to do. It does not fully describe how the institution uses the information.

At Western Washington, submitted scores can become part of the full application review, while applicants without scores still receive full consideration for admission and merit scholarships.

At Howard, the general first-year policy is test optional, but certain joint-degree applicants face a different rule.

At the University of Washington, ordinary application readers generally do not see scores even if they are submitted, with a narrow exception the university itself describes.

These differences matter more than the label.

For every test-optional college, determine:

• whether submitted scores are actually considered in admission;
• whether applying without scores changes any required materials;
• whether merit scholarships use scores;
• whether an honors program or special academic program has a separate policy;
• whether scores must be official or can be self-reported;
• which test dates can arrive before the college's deadline.

That produces a useful testing policy.

“Test optional” alone does not.

Do not use one percentile rule for the whole list

A common shortcut tells students to compare their score with a college's reported middle 50% SAT or ACT range and submit only if the score clears a particular percentile.

That can look precise while hiding several problems.

At a test-optional institution, the published score range may describe only the students who chose to submit scores. That group can differ substantially from the full entering class.

The range can also reflect an earlier admissions cycle with a different testing policy.

A college may use scores differently from another college with a similar published range. A particular program may have its own requirements. State residency can matter to admission at some public universities even though the test range itself does not show that context.

Most importantly, a percentile describes other enrolled students. It does not tell you what a particular score will do to one applicant's admission outcome.

Use published score distributions as context, not as an automatic submit-or-hide switch.

Decide whether the score adds useful information

Once a college is confirmed test optional, ask what the score contributes to that specific application.

Suppose a student has a strong transcript with demanding coursework and a score the student does not believe adds useful evidence beyond that record. If the college permits a score-free application, withholding the score can be reasonable.

Now consider a student whose submitted score provides another strong piece of academic evidence. If the institution actually considers scores, submitting may be reasonable.

Neither conclusion requires pretending to know how many percentage points the score changes admission odds.

The question is narrower:

Does this score help represent the student's academic preparation at this college, under this college's current policy?

If the answer is unclear, look at what the institution itself says about how scores are used.

The school's explanation should outrank a generic national formula.

Check scholarships before withholding a score

Testing policy and scholarship policy do not always move together.

Some colleges explicitly state that students receive equal merit consideration without scores. Western Washington currently does so. Loyola Marymount also states that test-optional applicants remain eligible for its competitive merit scholarships.

That information makes the decision easier.

At another institution, a scholarship may have separate academic criteria or testing requirements. A state scholarship program can also operate under rules different from the college's admission policy.

Do not assume either direction.

“Test optional for admission” does not automatically mean “scores never matter for money.”

It also does not mean “submitting a score is necessary for scholarships.”

Check the scholarship that matters to the family.

If affordability depends on a particular award, its current requirements belong in the testing decision before the student skips a test or allows the last usable test date to pass.

Check the major or program, not only the university

University-wide policies can have exceptions.

Howard's current optional policy, for example, does not cover certain combined professional-degree programs.

Western Washington notes that testing can still be relevant in a particular education-program process.

Similar distinctions can arise with honors programs, specialized scholarships, placement, or other academic requirements.

This is particularly important for a student who says, “My college is test optional,” when the real plan is something more specific:

College X + nursing

College Y + honors

College Z + combined professional program

The unit that matters is the program the student actually intends to pursue.

Timing can turn an optional decision into a final one

A student can wait too long to decide.

Colleges differ in which test dates they will consider and whether scores must arrive by an application or document deadline.

Howard provides a useful current example. An applicant who completes an application without scores by the applicable document deadline can be reviewed test optional, and later scores may not create another opportunity to reopen that decision.

The lesson is broader than one institution.

For each college where submission remains under consideration, record:

• last usable SAT or ACT date;
• score-reporting method;
• score deadline;
• whether the testing choice can be changed after application submission.

That prevents a student from discovering in December that a November decision was effectively permanent.

Build three testing decisions, not one

The most useful testing plan separates preparation, taking the exam, and score submission.

Prepare and test

Use this when required-score colleges remain important, when testing preserves meaningful options, or when a current optional policy suggests that a strong score could add useful information.

Test, then decide college by college

This will fit many students.

Taking the SAT or ACT does not require sending the result everywhere. A student can preserve options and later make different submission decisions at different colleges, subject to each institution's reporting rules and deadlines.

Do not prioritize additional testing

This can be reasonable when the serious college list is settled, no relevant program or scholarship requires scores, and additional preparation has little expected value compared with other senior-year priorities.

The point is not to reward testing or avoidance.

It is to put the student's time where it can still change a meaningful college decision.

What to do next

Take the current college list and replace one generic “SAT/ACT” field with four:

Admission policy: required, optional, not used, or unresolved.

Program exceptions: none found, applies, or still needs verification.

Scholarship effect: scores required, scores optional, no effect confirmed, or unresolved.

Student action: test, submit, withhold, or decide later.

Any unresolved policy should be checked at the college itself before the relevant testing or application deadline.

Then make the submission decision college by college.

A required-score public university, a test-optional regional college, an HBCU with a joint-degree exception, and a university that does not use scores in admission should not produce the same testing plan.

That is the point of making the decision college by college.