College admissions work more-or-less the same each year, but there are multitudes contained within that statement. Especially amongst top colleges, admissions officer frequently tweak their priorities and how they evaluate students. Now, many of these are internal discussions we never get to hear about, policy or institutional shifts which don’t make the news. Other changes, however, impact students directly in terms of what’s offered and what’s required of them. In this article, we’re going to go through top colleges, and see which have significant new admissions policy updates for the 2026-27 admissions cycle. We will only be able to discuss those updates these colleges publicize, but our goal is to let you know exactly what your options are, and stop you from getting caught off guard by what’s asked of you.
Admissions Policy Updates
We’re going to list colleges in alphabetical order. If atop college isn’t listed, then we couldn’t find any published admissions policy updates. We will only be covering top-ranked colleges in this article; there are thousands of schools in the US, and we simply don’t have space to discuss them all. If you have a question about a specific college you want answered, please reach out to us, we’re always happy to speak with you.
Amherst College
Amherst has added a new not-quite essay response on research you may have done. Specifically, they offer this optional prompt to students:
- If you have engaged in significant research in the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences or humanities that was undertaken independently of your high school curriculum, please provide a brief description of the research project. (75 words, optional)
As more and more students pursue research, more and more colleges see an advantage in asking them to elaborate about what exactly they did, and how they did it. This is briefer than some schools, but is a nice addendum, a way for admissions officers to gain important context on what you’ve done.
You don’t need to have conducted original research to apply to Amherst, or any other top college. It does look impressive on your resume, but is in no way obligatory. If you are looking to pursue one of these projects and are looking for help doing so, then check out Ivy Scholars’ Research Mentorship program. We help students approach research the right way, and produce results they can call their own.
Brown
Brown officially allows for three letters of recommendation, two from teachers and one from a counselor. Now, however, if you have a true need for an additional letter, they will allow it. They used to allow for two, this has dropped to one, and is only recommended in truly unique circumstances. Brown does want to get to know it’s applicants well, but there is a sense that admissions officers are sometimes overwhelmed by the volume of material they receive.
We advise only submitting this additional letter of recommendation to Brown if some aspect of your experience truly can’t be described in any other way. If you completed novel research, then a letter from your research mentor may fit here, but is not truly necessary unless there are some aspects of what you did which cannot be clearly expressed through your essays and activities list.
Carnegie Mellon
Carnegie Mellon has made a minor change, in that they have updated their standardized test policies. Unlike most schools, standardized test policies at CMU are set by colleges and programs within the university, rather than by the university as a whole. Here are their current testing requirements for each school:
- The school of computer science requires you to submit an SAT or ACT score.
- Most other colleges are test flexible; they do require some test scores, but they accept the SAT, ACT, IB exams, AP exams, British A-Levels, and French Baccalaureate exams. You may submit any of these scores to fulfill the testing requirement for these colleges. Note that for the IB, A-Levels, and French Baccalaureate you only need to submit scores if you are admitted; though extremely poor performance on the exams may cause your acceptance to be rescinded.
- The College of Fine Arts remains test optional, but requires a portfolio or audition submission.
They do accept SAT and ACT scores from multiple sittings, but prefer test scores from exams you sat for in your junior year, as they believe earlier results do not fully encapsulate the extent of your learning.
Cornell University
Cornell has made a single change to their applications this cycle, in that they are once again requiring standardized test scores, ending their test-optional policy begun during the pandemic. This is unsurprising; they announced well in advance that they planned to do this, but it is worth being aware of, especially if a school’s test-optional stance is something you are considering when building your college list.
Georgetown
Georgetown has made a major change to their admissions policies, as they have joined the Common App for the first time this admissions cycle. This is a remarkable change, as they were one of only two top colleges who had until now resisted being on the Common App; now the sole hold out amongst top schools is MIT. This will make applying to Georgetown far easier, but is also going to make it much more competitive.
While we don’t know the exact impacts this will have, historically a school joining the Common App sees a significant increase in the number of applicants. This has held true for both private colleges like UChicago, and public universities for UT Austin. It just got much easier to apply to Georgetown, and this will in turn encourage students to apply who might otherwise have been dissuaded by the barrier of making another account.
Georgetown is also updating their testing policy for this fall. They will no longer require students to send in every test score, but will now allow for students to only send in those scores they select, be it one or multiple. They are also not superscoring tests, but are adopting a practice that is superscoring in all but name, considering only the top scores sent into them by students (or simply allowing students to only send in their top scores).
This too will make Georgetown a more attractive school to apply to for many students, which will in turn increase how competitive it is even more. While we do appreciate that this will have less stress for students, with fewer accounts to juggle, we anticipate applications to Georgetown to be much more competitive for this admissions cycle.
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins is another of the colleges to update their testing policy this admissions cycle, returning to requiring all applicants submit standardized test scores. This is not a surprising shift; the majority of top colleges require students to submit these scores, but it is notable that Johns Hopkins has joined this group. We do advise all students take the SAT or ACT regardless, but if you are interested in only applying test-optional or test-flexible, then Johns Hopkins may no longer be a good fit for you.
UPenn
UPenn conveniently lists all of the changes they have implemented for this year’s admissions cycle; a mix of major and minor shifts. Minor changes include asking students to indicate whether any of their high school coursework was completed online, a new question on your level of English proficiency, and new guidelines for the use of AI in your application (they don’t want you to use it, the same as most every college which has put out an AI policy).
They have updated the program offered in the College of Arts and Sciences. This isn’t a major shift, more of an organizational one, and shouldn’t influence your decision on whether or not to apply to the school. It’s mostly just a shift in distribution requirements, those courses all students must take to graduate.
The other more major change is that the program formerly known as Digital Media Design is now called Visual and Interactive Computing, and offers a BSE degree. This is still an interdisciplinary program between their College of Engineering and the Weitzman School of Design. The application has a new prompt, but the program itself hasn’t changed much; the change of name is simply to illustrate how the field itself is changing, and to better represent the program to perspective students.
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt has announced they will begin requiring standardized test scores for applicants again beginning in the Fall of 2029. If you see announcements to this effect and you are applying this year, don’t be alarmed, you may still apply test-optional for this fall. We appreciate that they are giving students so much forewarning of this change, but don’t want any students who are applying this fall to get confused.
Yale
Yale has announced an update to their testing policy for admissions, ending their test-flexible policy and returning to requiring all applicants submit SAT or ACT scores once again. Their previous policy also allowed students to submit AP, IB, and A-Level results. This shift was motivated in large part by the fact that most applicants chose to submit SAT and ACT scores anyway under the test flexible policy; 90% of students did so during the last admissions cycle. If you are planning to apply to Yale this fall, you too will need to have these scores.
Final Thoughts
Colleges don’t try to confuse students, but they do update their policies, procedures, and offerings quite regularly, adapting to keep up with changing times. These updates are usually in place in August, though ideally schools announce them sooner. We do advise students begin their applications prior to August if possible, but an extra check of the schools you’re applying to around this time is also a good idea, just to make sure no seismic shifts have occurred, or you’re suddenly missing needed test scores.
We hope that this article has given you solid insights into how top colleges have shifted their admissions policies this year. Not every college changes every year, but we help students apply to colleges across the board, and always keep up with the latest developments. If you’re looking for advice on your own applications, or want help with any aspect of your admissions journey, then Ivy Scholars can help. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you.
