UT Austin will again require standardized test scores for admission

UT Austin will once again require students to submit their SAT or ACT test scores for admission, the university announced Monday. UT put the requirement on hold in spring 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The requirement will go into effect for the fall 2025 semester. UT President Jay Hartzell said reinstating the requirement is part of the university’s goal to attract top students and ensure they’ll be successful in college. He said UT has found the test score is a key predictor of student success. "But also a predictor of where we need to be more diligent, supportive of the students that come our way and do all we can to position them to succeed," he said. "If we're going to get to where we believe we can go in terms of graduation rates and success this is an important tool for us to get there." He said UT had been looking at the impact of the test-optional policy.

"After a year we found that students who did not submit their scores were less likely to perform as well," he said. UT is not alone in reinstating standardized test requirements. While many colleges and universities stopped requiring scores during the pandemic, several elite institutions have changed course on their test-optional policies. So far this year, selective universities such as Yale, Brown and Dartmouth shared plans to require standardized test scores again. Other schools in Texas are still test-optional. Texas State does not require SAT or ACT scores for first-time applicants. Texas A&M does not require them for freshmen but encourages students to submit scores if they have them. UT had a record 73,000 applicants last year, and the university estimates that about 90% took a standardized test. Forty-two percent of freshman applicants for the fall 2024 semester asked for their SAT or ACT scores to be considered as part of their application. Nearly half of the students applying under Texas’ auto-admit rule — because they’re in the top 6% of their high school class — also asked that their standardized testing scores be considered. Some current UT students said they are wary of the test scores being required again.