More than 1,200 colleges and universities, including seven of eight Ivy League institutions, are suspending requirements for a standardized-test result as part of an admission application following the College Board's cancellations and delays of testing dates due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Penn all have waived the mandate for 2021 admission along with 85% of the top 100 four-year liberal arts schools – as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, CNBC reported quoting the advocacy group FairTest.
Other notable schools deferring the requirement include Cal Tech and the University of California system.
Of the Ivy League schools, only Princeton near Trenton, New Jersey, has not rescinded its requirement.
However, Crimson Education, an organization that helps students get into notable schools, said the Ivy League sports conference still will require potential athletes to take the test.
Many transfers also will be required to submit a test score with their application.
In March, the College Board, which administers the SAT – originally known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, cancelled all exams through the end of May.
About 2.1 million students take the SAT each year, many near the end of their junior year so they can submit the results with applications by January.
The ACT, another test administered by American College Testing, also canceled its testing dates.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.