Study in US: Johns Hopkins University reinstates SAT/ACT requirement

Following Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Caltech, Harvard University, and Stanford University reinstating the SAT/ACT requirement, Johns Hopkins University has now reinstated these scores for admission to the 2025-2026 admissions cycle.

Johns Hopkins University has announced that it will resume the requirement of ACT or SAT scores for its Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering and Krieger School of Arts. The scores will be required for undergraduate admission for the Fall 2026 semester.

For those who are seeking admission to Hopkins in Fall 2025, the SAT/ACT requirement is not mandatory as they may face time constraints to prepare for these exams but the students are encouraged to submit the scores if they can.

"Hopkins adopted a temporary test-optional policy in 2020 due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, including severely limited access to testing. The submission of standardized test scores was made optional for applicants through the entering class of fall 2026," reads the official statement of Johns Hopkins University.

Application deadline for admission to Johns Hopkins University is November 1

The deadline for early-decision applications for the university is November 1, regular decision applications' last date is January 2, 2025.

The university has decided to reinstate the scores after having a comprehensive review last year where they analyzed the university's data related to its test-optional admissions experience in the last three years. The review took inputs from the faculty colleagues and found that the test scores serve as a significant predictive metric to understand the student's likelihood of success at Johns Hopkins University. The holistic approach to admission suggests that not considering the scores during the admission has discouraged some deserving candidates from less-advantaged or underrepresented backgrounds who could have proved their additional merits through these scores.

"Johns Hopkins has long utilized a holistic approach to its admissions process and will continue to do so. This approach examines students' academic character, impact and initiative, and personal contributions through a multifaceted lens that considers the entirety of their high school career. Test scores and GPA are two components of the overall process, and considered in context with multiple other factors, including an applicant's circumstances and environment," added the university.

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