MIT Bringing Back SAT/ACT Test Requirement
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) -- MIT is bucking the trend of colleges going test-optional, and announced Monday it is bringing back the standardized testing requirement.
Dean of Admissions Stu Schmill said the SAT/ACT test requirement will return for future admissions cycles.
MIT had suspended the testing requirement since 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Schmill wrote that student success at MIT "is significantly improved by considering standardized testing," especially when it comes to math.
"There is no path through MIT that does not rest on a rigorous foundation in mathematics, and we need to be sure our students are ready for that as soon as they arrive," he said.
Harvard University is not requiring SAT or ACT scores through 2026.
Education consultant Cathy Costa told WBZ-TV last week that test-optional schools are contributing to a more competitive and stressful college application process.
"Kids are feeling empowered to apply to schools that previously they might not have felt they were a good match for, or they were likely to get into," she said.
