What Colleges Are Test-Optional for 2023?

Written By Kevin Yao

Test-optional admissions standards have increased in popularity since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. Some colleges are beginning to reverse this standard, while others plan to make the change permanent. Still, other colleges have plans to extend test-optional standards for another year or two. 

That said, which colleges are test-optional for 2023? 

In this article, we will provide two lists to help you stay organized. The first list is composed of permanently test-optional colleges. The second list is composed of colleges that are extending their test-optional admissions standards for at least one more year. So if you’re wondering what schools are test-optional for 2023, read on for further facts and insights.

Understanding test-optional admissions standards

During this time of shifting admissions standards, many students find themselves pondering the following questions: What colleges are test-optional? How many colleges are test-optional? And what percent of colleges are test-optional? If you’ve been asking yourself any of these questions, we’re here to clear things up for you.

While test-optional admissions standards help encourage greater accessibility, it’s important to realize that if you don’t submit standardized test scores, the rest of your college application will have to be that much more compelling. Thankfully, many colleges embrace holistic college admissions standards, so there are plenty of ways to put together a competitive college application without submitting test scores. 

If you don’t submit test scores, make sure you give extra care and attention to your:

  • High school GPA

  • Course rigor

  • Extracurricular activities

  • Volunteer hours

  • Letters of recommendation

  • Personal statement

  • Supplemental essays

The differences between test-optional, test-flexible, and test blind

“Test-optional” means that students can choose whether or not to submit standardized test scores as a part of their college application. Students who choose not to submit test scores will not be penalized, but students who submit test scores (especially if these scores are impressive) may receive an advantage.

“Test-flexible” means that students don’t have to submit test scores, as long as they meet a qualifying GPA. Likewise, some schools require test scores for students applying to particular academic programs, as well as for those who are interested in being considered for merit-based scholarships. Homeschooled students are often required to submit standardized test scores as well.

“Test-blind” means that a college will not look at standardized test scores, even if they are submitted. Test scores are simply not an admissions factor. 

Are Ivy League colleges test-optional?

At the beginning of the pandemic, all of the Ivy League colleges adopted test-optional admissions policies, but is this still the case? Let’s take a look at each of the Ivy Leagues and what their current testing admissions policies are: 

  • Brown University: Test-Optional for 2023

  • Columbia University: Test-Optional for 2023 and 2024

  • Cornell University: Test-Optional for 2023 and 2024

  • Dartmouth College: Test-Optional for 2023

  • Harvard University: Test-Optional for 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026

  • University of Pennsylvania (UPenn): Test-Optional for 2023

  • Princeton University: Test-Optional for 2023

  • Yale University: Test-Optional for 2023

Notable International Universities

  • Waseda University: Required for 2023

  • Keio University: Required 2023

  • University of Toronto: Test-Optional for 2023

List of 2023 test-optional colleges

  • University of California (UC): Test-Optional for 2023

  • Pepperdine University: Required 2023

  • University of Toronto: Test-Optional for 2023

List of permanently test-optional colleges

If you’re interested in applying to 2023 test-optional colleges, peruse the following list. Remember, these colleges are permanently test-optional. (The colleges included in the next list are extending their test-optional admissions standards for a minimum of one year). 

  • Agnes Scott College

  • Albertus Magnus College

  • Allegheny College

  • American University

  • Andrews University

  • Arcadia University

  • Arizona State University-Tempe

  • Assumption College

  • Augustana College

  • Austin College

  • Azusa Pacific University

  • Ball State University

  • Bard College

  • Bates College

  • Becker College*

  • Bellarmine University

  • Belmont University

  • Beloit College

  • Bennington College

  • Berklee College of Music

  • Berry College

  • Bethel University*

  • Birmingham-Southern College

  • Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

  • Bowdoin College

  • Bradley University

  • Brandeis University*

  • Bridgewater State University

  • Bryant University

  • Bryn Mawr College

  • Butler University

  • California College of the Arts

  • California Institute of the Arts

  • California Lutheran University

  • California State University system

  • Cazenovia College

  • Champlain College

  • Chapman University

  • Chatham University

  • Clark University

  • Coastal Carolina University*

  • Coe College*

  • Colby College

  • Colby-Sawyer College

  • College of Saint Rose

  • College of St. Benedict

  • College of the Atlantic

  • College of the Holy Cross

  • College of Wooster

  • Colorado College

  • Colorado School of Mines

  • Colorado State University

  • Columbia College Chicago

  • Concordia College-Moorhead

  • Concordia College-New York

  • Connecticut College

  • Cornell College

  • Creighton University

  • Curry College

  • Davidson College

  • Dean College

  • Delaware Valley University

  • Denison University

  • DePaul University

  • DePauw University

  • Dickinson College

  • Drake University

  • Drew University

  • Drexel University

  • Drury University

  • Duquesne University

  • Earlham College

  • Eastern Connecticut State University

  • Eastern University

  • Elmira College*

  • Elms College

  • Elon University

  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

  • Emerson College

  • Emmanuel College

  • Endicott College

  • Evergreen State College*

  • Fairfield University

  • Fairleigh Dickinson University

  • Farmingdale State College-SUNY

  • Fashion Institute of Technology

  • Fisher College

  • Flagler College

  • Fort Lewis College

  • Framingham State University

  • Franklin and Marshall College

  • Furman University

  • George Mason University

  • George Washington University

  • Gettysburg College

  • Gonzaga University

  • Gordon College

  • Goucher College

  • Grinnell College

  • Grove City College

  • Guilford College

  • Gustavus Adolphus College

  • Hampshire College

  • Hanover College

  • Hartwick College

  • Hendrix College

  • High Point University

  • Hilbert College

  • Hillsdale College

  • Hobart and William Smith Colleges

  • Hofstra University

  • Hollins University

  • Hood College

  • Houghton College

  • Immaculata University

  • Indiana State University

  • Indiana Tech

  • Indiana University of Pennsylvania

  • Indiana University-Bloomington

  • Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis

  • Iona College

  • Iowa State University of Science and Technology

  • Ithaca College

  • James Madison University

  • Johnson & Wales University

  • Juniata College

  • Kalamazoo College

  • Kansas State University*

  • Keene State College

  • Kent State University

  • Keystone College

  • King’s College

  • Knox College

  • La Roche University

  • La Salle University

  • Lake Forest College

  • Lamar University

  • Lander University

  • Lasell College

  • Lawrence University

  • Le Moyne College

  • Lesley University

  • Lewis and Clark College

  • Linfield College

  • Loras College

  • Loyola University Chicago

  • Loyola University Maryland

  • Loyola University New Orleans

  • Lycoming College*

  • Lynn University

  • Macalester College

  • Manhattanville College

  • Marist College

  • Marlboro College

  • Marquette University

  • Maryland Institute College of Art

  • Maryville University of St. Louis

  • Massachusetts College of Art and Design

  • Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

  • McDaniel College

  • MCPHS University

  • Mercyhurst University

  • Meredith College

  • Merrimack College

  • Messiah College

  • Michigan State University

  • Mills College

  • Millsaps College

  • Minnesota State University-Moorhead

  • Mitchell College

  • Monroe College

  • Montana State University

  • Montclair State University

  • Moravian College

  • Mount Aloysius College

  • Mount Holyoke College

  • Mount St. Mary’s University

  • Muhlenberg College

  • Nazareth College

  • New England College

  • New England Institute of Technology

  • New York Institute of Technology

  • Niagara University

  • Nichols College*

  • North Dakota State University

  • Northern Illinois University

  • Northern Michigan University

  • Norwich University

  • Notre Dame of Maryland University

  • Ohio University

  • Ohio Wesleyan University

  • Oklahoma State University

  • Old Dominion University

  • Oregon State University

  • Otis College of Art and Design

  • Pace University

  • Pacific University

  • Paul Smith’s College

  • Pennsylvania College of Technology

  • Pitzer College

  • Post University

  • Presbyterian College

  • Providence College

  • Purchase College-SUNY

  • Queen’s University (Canada)

  • Queens University of Charlotte

  • Quinnipiac University*

  • Ramapo College of New Jersey

  • Reed College

  • Regis University

  • Rhode Island School of Design

  • Rider University

  • Ripon College

  • Roanoke College

  • Roberts Wesleyan College*

  • Rochester Institute of Technology

  • Roger Williams University

  • Rollins College

  • Rowan University

  • Russell Sage College

  • Rutgers University-Newark

  • Sacred Heart University

  • Saint Anselm College

  • Saint Joseph’s University

  • Saint Louis University

  • Saint Mary’s College

  • Saint Michael’s College

  • Saint Vincent College

  • Salem College

  • Salisbury University

  • Salve Regina University

  • Sarah Lawrence College

  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  • School of Visual Arts

  • Scripps College

  • Seattle University

  • Shenandoah University

  • Siena College

  • Skidmore College

  • Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

  • Smith College

  • South Carolina State University

  • Southern Connecticut State University

  • Southern Illinois University-Carbondale*

  • Southern New Hampshire University

  • Southwestern University

  • Springfield College

  • St. Bonaventure University

  • St. Edward’s University

  • St. Francis College

  • St. John Fisher College

  • St. John’s College

  • St. John’s University (MN)

  • St. John’s University (NY)

  • St. Joseph’s College (ME)

  • St. Lawrence University

  • St. Mary’s College of California

  • St. Mary’s College of Maryland

  • St. Olaf College

  • Stetson University

  • Stockton University

  • Stonehill College

  • Suffolk University

  • SUNY Brockport

  • SUNY College of Technology-Delhi

  • SUNY College-Potsdam

  • SUNY-Geneseo

  • Susquehanna University

  • Sweet Briar College*

  • Temple University

  • The Catholic University of America

  • The New School

  • The University of the South

  • Thomas College

  • Thomas Jefferson University

  • Transylvania University

  • Trinity College

  • Union College (KY)

  • Union College (NY)

  • United States Coast Guard Academy

  • Unity College

  • University of Arizona

  • University of Chicago

  • University of Colorado-Boulder

  • University of Colorado-Colorado Springs

  • University of Colorado-Denver

  • University of Dayton

  • University of Delaware

  • University of Denver

  • University of Dubuque

  • University of Hartford

  • University of Illinois-Chicago

  • University of Iowa

  • University of Kansas

  • University of La Verne

  • University of Maine-Augusta

  • University of Maine-Farmington

  • University of Maine-Fort Kent

  • University of Maine-Presque Isle

  • University of Mary Washington

  • University of Massachusetts-Boston

  • University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

  • University of Massachusetts-Lowell

  • University of Minnesota-Duluth

  • University of Missouri-Kansas City*

  • University of Montana

  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln*

  • University of Nevada-Las Vegas*

  • University of Nevada-Reno*

  • University of New England

  • University of New Hampshire

  • University of New Haven

  • University of New Mexico

  • University of Oregon

  • University of Puget Sound

  • University of Redlands

  • University of Rochester

  • University of San Francisco

  • University of Scranton*

  • University of St. Joseph

  • University of St. Thomas

  • University of the Pacific

  • University of Washington

  • University of Waterloo

  • Ursinus College

  • Vermont Technical College

  • Virginia Commonwealth University*

  • Wagner College

  • Wake Forest University

  • Warren Wilson College

  • Washington and Jefferson College

  • Washington College

  • Washington State University

  • Wells College

  • Wentworth Institute of Technology

  • Wesleyan University

  • Western Connecticut State University*

  • Western Michigan University

  • Western New England University

  • Westfield State University

  • Westminster College (PA)

  • Westminster College (UT)

  • Wheaton College (MA)

  • Whitman College

  • Whittier College

  • Willamette University

  • William and Mary

  • Wofford College

  • Worcester State University

  • Xavier University

  • Yeshiva University

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