Over the course of this past month and as a result of the pandemic, a record number of colleges and universities have announced that they will be dropping the requirement that students applying to enter as freshmen in fall 2021 submit an SAT or ACT test score. In addition, according to the Washington Post, some of these universities have also decided to use this decision as a pilot to determine whether to eliminate the requirement altogether- an action that would completely shift college admissions processes and the college landscape as a whole.

This news comes as a great relief to many incoming seniors who are dealing with multiple test cancellations and a lack of access to the free testing that was offered in certain school districts. In fact, a coalition of student groups led by Student Voice created a petition that called on all colleges and universities to make a test-optional policy for incoming 2021 freshmen. This petition was formed out of fear that coronavirus testing disruptions would harm students’ college applications.

Of course, the universities who have recently dropped this requirement are not part of the already 1,000 plus universities who make the ACT/SAT scores optional according to Fairtest, which is the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.

Here is a list of all of the universities which have gone test-optional in direct response to student’s testing challenges during this time in an attempt to create peace of mind:

Adelphi College (New York)
Alabama State University Albion College (Michigan)
Alma College (Michigan) – previously test-optional only for applicants with HSGPA of 2.75 or higher    Amherst University (Massachusetts)
Auburn University at Montgomery (Alabama)
Bethany College (Kansas)
Bismarck State College (South Dakota)
Brigham Young University (Idaho)                                                                                                                      Boston University
Cleveland State College (Ohio)
Clarion University (Pennsylvania)
Cottey College (Missouri)                                                                                                                                          Case Western Reserve University                                                                                                                  California State University (CSU system)                                                                                                                      Cornell University (New York)                                                                                                                                        Davidson College (North Carolina)
Fairmont State University (West Virginia)                                                                                                  Fairbanks University of Dayton (Ohio)
Franklin College (Indiana)                                                                                                                                Harvard University (Massachusetts)
Indiana University Kokomo (other Indiana University campuses are fully test-optional)
Indiana University Northwest (other Indiana University campuses are fully test-optional)
Indiana University Southeast (other Indiana University campuses are fully test-optional)
Indiana Wesleyan University (Indiana)
Iowa Wesleyan University (Iowa)
Kent State University (Ohio)
Lamar University (Texas)
Limestone College (South Carolina)
Lock Haven University (New York)
Longwood University (Virginia)
Malone University (Ohio)
Mansfield University (Pennsylvania)
McMurry University (Texas) – for applicants with high school GPAs of 3.0 and above
Midway University (Kentucky)
Millersville University (Pennsylvania) – previously test-optional only for local applicants
Newberry College (South Carolina)
Northern Kentucky University                                                                                                                          Northeastern University (Boston)                                                                                                                                  Oregon State University                                                                                                                                                    Ohio University                                                                                                                                              Pepperdine University (California)
Pomona College (California)                                                                                                                                  Rhodes College (Tennessee)
St. Mary’s University (Texas)
St. Thomas Aquinas College (New York)
St. Thomas University (Florida)
Savannah College of Arts and Design (Georgia)                                                                                                    Saint Vincent College (Pennsylvania)
Schreiner University (Texas)                                                                                                                                  Scripps College (California)
Southwest Baptist University (Missouri)
Thiel College (Pennsylvania)                                                                                                                                  Texas Christian University
Trinity University (Texas)
Tulane University  (Louisiana)                                                                                                                                        Tufts University (Massachusetts)
University of Akron (Ohio)
University of Alaska                                                                                                                                          University of California (UC system)
University of Southern California (USC)
University of Mount Union (Ohio)
University of Nevada – Las Vegas
University of Nevada – Reno
University of North Dakota – Grand Forks                                                                                                University of Washington
University of Oregon
University of Pittsburgh Regional Campuses (Bradford, Greensburg, Johnstown, and Titusville)
University System of Georgia (all public campuses except Georgia Tech and UGA)
University of Virginia                                                                                                                                            Vassar College (New York)                                                                                                                               Washington State University                                                                                                                                    West Virginia State University                                                                                                                                        Westminster College (Pennsylvania)
Winthrop University (South Carolina)                                                                                                                    Williams College (Massachusetts)