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Cornell University announced yesterday that it would once again require standardized test scores from applicants, the latest in a wave of selective institutions to do so.
The policy change, which will take effect next application cycle, is the culmination of a two-year “period of deliberate experimental review” Cornell entered in 2022, when it extended its test-optional policy through 2024, and is based in part on internal research conducted since then.
Cornell offered a similar justification as other Ivy League colleges returning to testing requirements, including Yale and Dartmouth College: that not only are scores better indicators of academic success than factors such as GPA, but they can also help admissions officers take notice of students from under-resourced high schools who might otherwise struggle to stand out. Test-optional policies, on the other hand, “may undermine equity in admissions” by discouraging score submission among less privileged applicants, the research report concluded.
“While it may seem counterintuitive, considering these test scores actually promotes access to students from a wider range of backgrounds and circumstances,” Cornell provost Michael Kotlikoff wrote in a statement.
Last week, Harvard and the California Institute of Technology also announced returns to test requirements, a surprise reversal of their previous decisions to hold off on making the call—Harvard until 2026 and CalTech until 2025.
Cornell’s decision leaves Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania as the only remaining Ivy League institutions still operating with test-optional policies put in place temporarily during the pandemic. Columbia University decided to remain test-optional “indefinitely” last March.
