SAT Subject Test Policies
SAT Subject Tests, formerly called the SAT II, are sometimes an afterthought for teens who are focused on maintaining strong grades, studying for the SAT or ACT, or readying themselves for an AP exam. Yet for students who plan on applying to highly-selective schools, strong Subject Test results can constitute the difference between acceptance and rejection. The following table indicates Subject Test policies at the nation’s most selective colleges. For those who want to learn more about how to tackle the SAT Subject Tests, click here.
*Data collected from institution websites.
Table updated August 30, 2020
To view additional data columns, click the + icon to the left of the program’s name.
| Institution | Policy | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| University of California, Davis | Optional | |
| University of California, Santa Cruz | Optiona | |
| Yale University | Not considered for 2020-21 | SAT Subject Tests will not be considered during the 2020-21 admissions cycle. |
| Williams College | Optional | |
| Wesleyan University | Optional | |
| Wellesley College | Optional | |
| Washington and Lee University | Optional | |
| Washington University in St. Louis | Optional | |
| Wake Forest University | Optional | |
| Vassar College | Optional | |
| Vanderbilt University | Optional | |
| University of Virginia | Optional | |
| University of Southern California | Optional | |
| University of Rochester | Optional | |
| University of Richmond | Optional | |
| University of Pennsylvania | Optional | |
| University of Notre Dame | Optional | |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Optional | |
| University of Michigan | Optional | |
| University of Chicago | Optional | |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | Optional | |
| University of California, San Diego | Optional | Applicants to the School of Engineering and biological and physical science majors are encouraged to take Math II and one (1) science Subject Test. |
| University of California, Riverside | Optional | |
| University of California, Los Angeles | Optional | |
| University of California, Irvine | Optional | |
| University of California, Berkeley | Optional | Applicants to the College of Chemistry and College of Engineering are encouraged to take Math II and one (1) science Subject Test. |
| Union College | Optional | |
| Tulane University | Optional | |
| Tufts University | Optional | |
| Swarthmore College | Not considered for 2020-21 | SAT subject tests are not required and will not be considered for 2020-21 admissions. |
| Stanford University | Optional | |
| Scripps College | Optional | |
| Rice University | Optional | |
| Reed College | Optional | |
| Princeton University | Optional | Engineering applicants are encouraged to take Math I or Math II AND Physics or Chemistry. |
| Pomona College | Optional | |
| Oberlin College | Optional | |
| Northwestern University | Optional | |
| Northeastern University | Optional | |
| New York University | Optional | |
| Middlebury College | Optional | |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Not considered | MIT has made the decision to no longer consider SAT Subject Tests as part of the admissions process. |
| Macalester College | Optional | |
| Lehigh University | Optional | |
| Lafayette College | Optional | |
| Kenyon College | Optional | |
| Johns Hopkins University | Optional | Engineering applicants are recommended to submit Math II and one (1) science Subject Test. |
| Haverford College | Optional | |
| Harvey Mudd College | Not considered | Beginning with the high school class of 2021, Harvey Mudd will no longer require or consider SAT Subject Tests. |
| Harvard University | Optional | |
| Hamilton College | Optional | |
| Grinnell College | Optional | |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | Optional | |
| Georgetown University | Recommended (3) | Strongly recommended for all applicants. Students can submit AP exam results in place of or in combination with Subject Tests. Full Subject Test testing history is required. |
| Franklin & Marshall College | Optional | |
| Emory University | Optional | |
| Duke University | Optional | |
| Davidson College | Optional | |
| Dartmouth College | Optional | |
| Cornell University | Optional | No longer required for any college/school at Cornell. |
| Cooper Union | Optional | |
| Connecticut College | Optional | |
| Columbia University | Optional | |
| Colorado College | Optional | |
| College of William and Mary | Optional | |
| College of the Holy Cross | Optional | |
| Colgate University | Optional | |
| Colby College | Optional | |
| Claremont McKenna College | Optional | |
| Case Western Reserve University | Optional | |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Optional | |
| Carleton College | Optional | |
| California Institute of Technology | Not considered | |
| Bucknell University | Optional | |
| Bryn Mawr College | Optional | |
| Brown University | Optional | |
| Brandeis University | Optional | |
| Bowdoin College | Optional | |
| Boston College | Optional | |
| Bates College | Optional | |
| Barnard College | Optional | |
| Amherst College | Optional |
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