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Brown University will reinstate standardized testing requirements for first-year applicants, beginning with the next admission cycle to admit the Class of 2029, the university announced Tuesday.
A committee convened last fall by President Christina Paxson made the recommendation to end Brown’s pandemic-era test-optional policy after studying the university’s admissions practices for six months.
“Our analysis made clear that SAT and ACT scores are among the key indicators that help predict a student’s ability to succeed and thrive in Brown’s demanding academic environment,” Provost Francis J. Doyle III said in the announcement. “Consideration of test scores in the context of each student’s background will advance Brown’s commitment to academic excellence and the university’s focus on ensuring that talented students from the widest possible range of backgrounds can access a Brown education.”
The committee also recommended that Brown maintain its early-decision option but demurred on the complex question of whether legacy applicants should be given admissions preference, according to an executive summary of the findings.
The report suggested that deeper analysis of legacy practices is needed, noting that Brown’s share of such applicants has declined by one-fourth over the past six years, even as the alumni pool has steadily grown more diverse.
Brown’s highly selective peer institutions have adopted a range of approaches to the post-pandemic testing landscape. Dartmouth College reinstated a testing requirement last month; Yale University followed with a middle-of-the-road “test-flexible” policy, mandating applicants submit test scores while broadening the list of acceptable exams beyond the SAT and ACT. Meanwhile, Cornell and Vanderbilt Universities vowed to extend their test-optional policies, following in the footsteps of Columbia University, which made its test-optional policy permanent last year.
