Vanderbilt University has announced that they will be reinstating the ACT/SAT admissions requirement for students applying for entry in fall 2029 and beyond.
Like many other universities that have reversed their test optional policies, Vanderbilt emphasized their commitment to a holistic admissions process that treats standardized test scores as simply one part of a student’s overall application. In their statement announcing the policy change, Vanderbilt stated that “standardized testing … provides valuable information that can help identify students who are best positioned to thrive at Vanderbilt.” Despite being test optional since 2021, Vanderbilt has continued to rate standardized test scores as “important” or “very important” in evaluating their first-year applicants, suggesting that, at least internally, the university has never stopped valuing ACT/SAT scores.
Vanderbilt now joins the ever-growing list of schools that have reinstated standardized test score requirements for applicants, which includes all eight Ivy League universities, MIT, Stanford, CalTech, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Purdue, Auburn, and schools within the University of Georgia, University of Tennessee, and University of Florida systems.
To read Vanderbilt’s announcement, click here.