Yale University Reverses Its Test-Optional Policy That Was Implemented During Covid-19 Pandemic

Once more, Yale University will mandate that applicants for admission in 2025 include standardized test scores.

On Thursday, the Ivy League university declared its decision to discontinue its test-optional policy, initially implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic due to severe disruptions in testing options. Henceforth, Yale will demand that prospective students submit scores, such as those from the ACT or SAT, along with their applications.

“The experience, originally necessitated by the pandemic, has been an invaluable opportunity to think deeply about testing policy and to generate new data and analyses,” the university said. “With testing availability now fully restored for prospective applicants around the world, we have reevaluated our policy with the benefit of fresh insights.”

Additionally, the university has announced that, for the first time, it will permit applicants to submit Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam scores instead of more commonly recognized tests. Yale Admissions revealed that it had evaluated the test-optional policy in place from 2020 to 2024 but ultimately opted to revert to its test-required policy.

“The task of selecting students from an applicant pool containing tens of thousands of highly qualified students — many more than we can admit — requires an open mind and a healthy dose of humility about our ability to predict the future. For our standardized testing policy, we have tried to take the same approach,” the school continued. “Test scores provide one consistent and reliable bit of data among the countless other indicators, factors, and contextual considerations we incorporate into our thoughtful whole-person review process.”

Nevertheless, the admissions department clarified that it “has not, does not, and will never” base its approval or rejection of candidates solely on test scores. Instead, they utilize this information to “paint a picture of a student’s strengths.”