In a sudden reversal, Harvard College will reinstate its standardized testing requirement, meaning students will once again have to take the SAT or ACT to be accepted.
The surprise decision comes after Harvard previously said it would remain test-optional through the class of 2030. The Ivy League school first introduced the test-optional policy during the pandemic.
The new policy means any undergraduate applicants who were not planning on taking a test may have to work quickly to get their tests scheduled before the application deadlines later this year.
“Standardized tests are a means for all students, regardless of their background and life experience, to provide information that is predictive of success in college and beyond,” Harvard’s Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Hopi Hoekstra said in a statement.
“More information, especially such strongly predictive…
