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5 American Colleges with the Most Grueling Standardized Testing Requirements for First-Year Applicants

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The 2025-2026 college admissions process is almost upon us. This means it’s an important time for members of the high school Class of 2026 – especially those who want to run the gauntlet this admissions cycle – to be aware of the the five colleges with the most grueling standardized test requirements for first-year admission.

My selection is based on institutions with rigorous and in-demand STEM or academic programs, mandatory test submission policies, and high score thresholds. I’ve prioritized schools with explicit requirements for SAT/ACT scores (and in one case AP/IB exam scores) with high benchmarks for scores earned on these tests.

1. California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Standardized Test Expectations: SAT/ACT required for Fall 2025 entry. No minimum score, but admitted students typically score in the top 1% nationally (SAT: 1580+ median, ACT: 35-36). Caltech superscores SAT but not ACT, considering the highest section scores across test dates.

AP/IB Scores: Students who’ve taken AP or IB exams are asked to submit all scores by the application deadline (November 1 for Restrictive Early Action, January 3 for Regular Decision). Note that a score of 5 on AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1/2/C, or 6/7 on IB Higher Level (HL) Math, Chemistry, or Physics can also substitute for missing high school courses, with documentation of unresolvable issues (ex: course unavailability at your high school). This implies high scores are expected for competitiveness. Why Grueling: Caltech’s low acceptance rate (3.1% for Class of 2027) and STEM focus demand near-perfect scores. The expectation to submit all AP/IB scores for those who’ve taken them, combined with the need for 5s (AP) or 6/7s (IB) for course substitutions, sets a high bar. Learn more about Caltech’s switch from test-blind to test-required on steroids in my video here:

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Standardized Test Expectations: SAT/ACT required for 2025-2026. Admitted students typically score SAT 1540-1600 or ACT 35-36 (top 1%). MIT superscores both tests, taking the highest section scores across all test dates.

AP/IB Scores: Students are encouraged to self-report all AP and IB scores on the application. While not strictly required, MIT’s 2025 policy states students “should” report these scores, implying a strong expectation, especially for STEM subjects like AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, or IB HL Math/Sciences, where scores of 5 (AP) or 6/7 (IB) are typical for admitted students.

Why Grueling: MIT’s 4.1% acceptance rate and emphasis on STEM excellence demand near-perfect standardized test scores. The expectation to report all AP/IB scores, combined with the need for high scores in advanced STEM subjects, makes the testing requirements intense. The focus on integrating IB Extended Essays or AP coursework with STEM extracurriculars adds pressure.

3. Yale University

Standardized Test Expectations: Yale’s “test-flexible” policy for 2025 requires an SAT, ACT, AP, or IB score. Students with AP-designated courses are recommended to submit corresponding AP scores (even if using SAT/ACT), and those opting for AP/IB scores alone must submit all exam scores taken. Admitted students typically score SAT 1500-1580, ACT 33-35, or AP 5s/IB HL 6-7s in multiple subjects.

Why Grueling: Yale’s policy shift to require some standardized test score (including AP/IB as alternatives) and the expectation to submit all AP/IB scores for relevant courses create a high bar. The need for multiple 5s (AP) or 6/7s (IB) in rigorous subjects (e.g., math, sciences, humanities) alongside a 3.7% acceptance rate makes this quite demanding.

4. Georgetown University

Standardized Test Expectations: SAT/ACT required for 2025-2026. Admitted students typically score SAT 1410-1550 or ACT 32-35. Georgetown does not superscore but reviews all test attempts, expecting consistently high performance.

AP/IB Scores: Students in AP curricula are as of now “encouraged” to submit AP scores to supplement their application, implying an expectation for those who’ve taken AP exams, especially in core subjects like math, sciences, or history. Scores of 4-5 are competitive, with 5s preferred for selective programs like the Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Why Grueling: Georgetown’s 12.3% acceptance rate (higher than others but still selective) and requirement to submit all SAT/ACT attempts, combined with the expectation of AP scores for those in AP courses, demand strong performance across multiple tests. The focus on holistic review with high scores in relevant subjects (e.g., AP Economics for international economics) adds rigor.

5. Dartmouth College

Standardized Test Expectations: SAT/ACT required for 2025-2026. Admitted students typically score SAT 1500-1580 or ACT 33-35. Dartmouth superscores both tests, considering the highest section scores.

AP/IB Scores: Students with AP scores are “strongly encouraged” to submit them via the Common App’s Tests section, implying an expectation for those who’ve taken AP exams. Competitive scores are 5s (AP) or 6/7s (IB HL), particularly in subjects like math, sciences, or humanities, aligning with Dartmouth’s academic rigor.

Why Grueling: Dartmouth’s 6.2% acceptance rate and reinstated SAT/ACT requirement, combined with the strong encouragement to submit AP/IB scores, create a high expectation for multiple near-perfect scores. The emphasis on rigorous coursework (e.g., AP Calculus, AP Physics) and high test performance makes this challenging.

Why These Colleges?

These institutions were selected for their:

Mandatory Test Policies: All require SAT/ACT or, in Yale’s case, allow AP/IB as alternatives, with Caltech, MIT, Yale, and Dartmouth explicitly encouraging or requiring AP/IB score submission for those who’ve taken them.

High Score Expectations: Admitted students consistently score in the top 1-5% (SAT 1500+, ACT 33+, AP 5, IB 6/7), reflecting intense academic standards.

STEM/Academic Rigor: Caltech and MIT focus on STEM, requiring high AP/IB scores in math and sciences; Yale, Georgetown, and Dartmouth demand excellence across disciplines, relevant for programs like international economics.

Low Acceptance Rates: Ranging from 3.1% (Caltech) to 12.3% (Georgetown), these schools are highly selective, amplifying the importance of top scores.

Final Notes

Caltech’s Unique Policy: Caltech stands out for its explicit requirement to submit all AP/IB scores for those who’ve taken them, with a clear benchmark (AP 5, IB 6/7) for course substitutions, making its expectations particularly grueling.

Trend Toward AP/IB: Since the College Board discontinued SAT Subject Tests in 2021, top colleges have shifted to valuing AP/IB scores more heavily, especially for STEM or specialized programs.

Holistic Context: High scores alone aren’t enough; these schools expect strong GPAs (4.0-4.2 weighted), rigorous coursework, and extracurriculars, but test scores are a critical filter.

Caltech releases its 2024-2025 supplemental essay prompts for first-year applicants

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Caltech, hot on the heels of announcing that it will require first-year applicants to report ACT or SAT scores in order to be considered for Caltech’s Class of 2029, has now released its supplemental essay prompts for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle. While a number of short essays are options, Caltech also requires first-year applicants to respond to several prompts.

Located in Pasadena, California, Caltech benefits from its proximity to major research institutions, high-tech companies, and cultural attractions in the Los Angeles area. This location can provide students with amazing, varied, and unique opportunities for internships, networking, and social activities. Caltech is also known for its unique academic culture, characterized by collaboration, curiosity-driven research, and a focus on solving complex problems. Students who thrive in a challenging and intellectually stimulating environment often find Caltech to be a perfect fit. Most importantly, Caltech faculty members are leaders in their fields, and undergraduates have the opportunity to work closely with them on cutting-edge research projects. This hands-on experience can be invaluable for students looking to pursue graduate studies or enter industry.

When a first-year applicant applies to Caltech through the Common App or QuestBridge application, the student will also submit the Caltech Specific Questions (for QuestBridge applicants, these questions come if the student becomes a Match Finalist and he or she has ranked Caltech). The essays are an opportunity for first-year applicants to share more about themselves in their unique voice.  While there are no right or wrong answers, Caltech does share the following advice with prospective undergraduates before they set out to complete their supplemental writing for Caltech:

  • Remember, Caltech is an unapologetic STEM institution. Literally, there is no way to write about too much STEM in your supplemental questions. So lean all the way in on the STEMiest of STEMmy topics (yep, those are made-up words but totally appropriate). Review our What We Look For page before you get started.
  • Faculty at Caltech review files of the most competitive applicants. So don’t worry that your science won’t make sense to a lay-person because our faculty with PhDs conducting research that will change the world will understand what you’re saying. We promise.
  • If there is anything important about who you are, what you’ve done, or how you’ve experienced your life – we want to know about it. Holistic review means whole person review. We’re here for whatever you want to share.

While Caltech is of course a school that attracts the best and brightest STEM students from around the world, it’s also an institution that clearly wants such students to be able to communicate well in English in their applications. For the vast majority of applicants using the Common App to apply to Caltech, the 650-word Common App essay is already a huge challenge. The fact that Caltech gives such applicants the chance to write 1,500 more words in response to the prompts below should act as a big heads up to each first-year applicant that he or she shouldn’t just be substantively qualified to succeed at Caltech. He or she must also be prepared to make an articulate and compelling case for his or her admission to Caltech throughout his or her overall application.

All Fall 2025 applicants are also encouraged to review Caltech’s guidelines on the ethical use of AI before submitting their supplemental essays.

Required STEM Academic Interest Question

Caltech has a rigorous core curriculum and students don’t declare a major until the end of their first year. However, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore.

If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose?

*Note that you are under no obligation to follow this choice if admitted.

Why did you choose your proposed area of interest? If you selected ‘other’, what topics are you interested in pursuing? (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)

Required Short Answer Questions

STEM Curiosity Question

Regardless of your STEM interest listed above, take this opportunity to nerd out and talk to us about whatever STEM rabbit hole you have found yourself falling into. Be as specific or broad as you would like. (Min: 50 / Max: 150 words)

STEM Experiences Questions

At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We are interested in learning more about your engagement with STEM.

Please share two STEM-related experiences:

  1. Tell us how you initially found your interest and passion for science or any STEM topic, and how you have pursued or developed this interest or passion over time. (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)
  2. Tell us about a STEM-related experience from the last few years and share how and why it inspired your curiosity. (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)

Creativity Question

The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech’s students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars. But Techers also imagine smaller-scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D-print dorm decor to experimenting in the kitchen. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life? (Min: 200 / Max: 250 words)

Caltech Values Question

Caltech’s values include respect for a diversity of thoughts and ideas. How have you cultivated this value in your own life? (Min: 50 / Max: 200 words)

Optional Short Answer Questions

We know, we know … you see optional and start to wonder if we mean it. But in this section, we truly do! See these as completely optional opportunities to show us more of your personality.

Optional. We promise.

  1. If there are aspects of your life or social or personal identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please tell us about them below. (Max: 150 words)
  2. When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through coding marathons, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing, reading, yoga, playing musical instruments and theater arts, to solving puzzles, hiking, painting, and building or inventing new gadgets. We understand that everyone needs an outlet or two. What is a favorite interest or hobby, and why does it bring you joy? (Max: 200 words)
  3. Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too. Tell us about another hobby or interest! (Max: 150 words)

Optional Academic Short Answer Questions

OPTIONAL: Have you had any extenuating circumstances (such as limited course selection or disruptions), that have affected your coursework, but that are not described elsewhere in your application? If so, tell us about them here.

Caltech to require SAT or ACT scores again

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On the heels of Harvard announcing that it was reversing its decision to stay test-optional for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle, Caltech has announced that it too will again require first-year applicants to submit their SAT or ACT scores to be considered for admission.

In sharing the decision with high school counselors, Caltech’s Executive Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Ashley M. Pallie, noted that “since our test-free moratorium was put into place, we have seen an increasing number of enrolling students who have taken an exam. For fall 2021, that number was 81%. For the class that entered in fall 2023, more than 95% of students had test scores. These scores were not visible to the admissions office until after final admissions decisions were made.” This is because Caltech had decided in 2020 to be ‘test-free’ in its admissions process, whereas most other selective colleges and universities in the United States only became ‘test-optional’ in 2020. In a ‘test-free’ environment, a student’s test scores, even if a student wants to submit them, are not considered in any way, shape, or form.

Pallie also made clear that Caltech is continuing to look “for students who are unabashedly and overwhelmingly passionate about STEM and have showcased a clear alignment with our research mission. With this decision, we remain committed to our review process that seeks to identify these most promising STEM scholars. Standardized test scores provide one additional data point in our holistic review process.”

“Caltech has a distinctive approach to undergraduate admissions that involves both professional admissions staff and faculty. Our faculty are scientists and engineers who always consider all available data and in science, we would never dismiss a variable. Recognizing that more than 95% of our enrolling students have that testing variable (fewer than 10 did not), the admissions reviewers should be able to see it and use that data in the context of the unique circumstances and experiences of students.” Pallie added.

Before Caltech’s application for fall 2025 goes live in August, its admissions office will share more detailed communication around the institutions’s updated application requirements.

“We are proud of the students we’ve enrolled over the last several years and confident in the steps we’ve taken to enhance our ability to identify students who will succeed at – and beyond – Caltech,” says Provost David Tirrell.

Battle of the Tech Titans: Caltech vs. MIT

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If you are debating between applying to (or attending) Caltech (California Institute of Technology) or MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) as an undergraduate, here are some factors I would consider before making such a momentous decision.

Enjoy this latest installment of College List Deathmatch below, and good luck!

More context about Celebrity Deathmatch and College List Deathmatch can be found here. To watch past additions of this series, click on the links that interest you below.

Penn vs. Georgetown

USC vs. NYU

University of Maryland College Park vs. Penn State University Park

WashU. vs. Northwestern

Colby Working to Help Rural Students Attend College

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Colby College has announced that it has been selected as an inaugural member of the Small Town and Rural Students (STARS) College Network.

The STARS College Network is a group of sixteen colleges and universities across the United States working together to increase access, affordability, and college advising for students from rural and small-town communities. The other current colleges STARS colleges include Brown University, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Case Western Reserve University, Columbia University in the City of New York, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, The University of Chicago, The University of Iowa, University of Maryland, College Park, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.

As part of its membership, Colby will help fulfill a critical role as the sole small liberal arts college in the network, ultimately committed to helping students from small-town and rural communities enroll in, succeed at, and graduate from the undergraduate program of their choice. Events, workshops, and college access opportunities in conjunction with this new membership are in the works beginning as early as this summer.

Colby College is a private liberal arts college located in Waterville, Maine, in the northeastern United States.

With easy access to outdoor recreational activities, including hiking, skiing, and rafting, strong academic programs, particularly in the fields of environmental science, biology, and economics, a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, a commitment to becoming carbon-neutral by 2025 and large investment in sustainable infrastructure and practices on campus, a vibrant campus community with a wide variety of clubs and organizations, and a strong athletics program, Colby College offers a unique combination of academic excellence, environmental stewardship, and a dynamic campus community in a beautiful location.

Colby College has an Island Campus on Benner Island.

University of Chicago shared more about the STARS initiative as well, including the fact that it is supported by a $20 million gift from Trott Family Philanthropies, the foundation of University of Chicago trustee Byron and Tina Trott.

Caltech cuts SAT Subject Test, alters official ACT/SAT submission requirements

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Caltech’s Undergraduate Admissions office, with the support of the Faculty Committee on Freshman Admissions, has revealed that it’s eliminating the university’s long-standing requirement for submission of SAT Subject Test scores as part of the undergraduate admissions process. This change takes effect for students applying for the Caltech starting in Fall 2020.

Caltech has long required students to take and submit scores from the SAT Subject Test in Mathematics Level 2 along with at one science themed SAT Subject Test (in either ecological biology, molecular biology, chemistry, or physics).

“In reviewing our admissions requirements, we have come to the conclusion that the requirement for submission of SAT subject test scores creates an unnecessary barrier to applying for a Caltech education,” announced Nikki Chun, director of undergraduate admissions, noting that only a small percentage of high school students take the SAT subject tests. “We are guiding our focus back to long-term academic STEM preparedness based on coursework and grade performance.”

Of course, SAT Subject Tests do assess students’ depth of knowledge in advanced high school sciences.

Chun added that the Caltech admissions process has always focused, and will continue to focus, on seeking students who will approach the Institute’s core curriculum with as much enthusiasm and interest as they do classes in their specific major.

“This move will definitely widen the door for talented candidates we may not have been able to reach in the past who deserve our consideration.” said Jarrid Whitney, Caltech’s assistant vice president for student affairs, enrollment and career services.

In related news, Caltech will continue to require submission of SAT or ACT scores for first-year admission; however, applicants will not be asked to pay ACT, Inc. or College Board for the submission of ACT or SAT results “until and unless they are accepted and decide to matriculate at Caltech, Whitney adds.” Thus, Caltech will now accept self-reported scores during the admissions process.