Admissions changes for the 2026-27 cycle at selective colleges, each confirmed on the college's own website: testing rules, new early plans, dropped supplemental essays and application changes, plus testing rules already announced for 2027-28.
Last reviewed November 5, 2026 · By the Chance-Me research team
Several selective colleges changed their admissions requirements or policies for the 2026-27 cycle: Yale now requires the SAT or ACT, USC, the University of Florida and Florida State added binding Early Decision, WashU added Early Action, Georgetown began accepting the Common App, and Cornell, UGA and Miami dropped supplemental essays. Princeton, Columbia and Vanderbilt stay test-optional this cycle but have announced when scores become required.
Short answer. Every change below is confirmed on the college's own website, checked November 5, 2026. Changes reported only by third parties are left out. The biggest shifts this cycle are new binding Early Decision plans at large selective universities and fewer supplemental essays. Testing is moving toward required: Yale ended test-flexible admissions this cycle, and Princeton and Columbia require scores from 2027-28. Chance-Me's college profiles carry each college's 2026-27 rules for 150 colleges, and Chance-Me.ai includes this cycle's changes in every read.
| College | What changed |
|---|---|
| Yale | Ended test-flexible admissions. Applicants must send SAT or ACT scores; AP and IB scores no longer substitute. |
| USC | Added binding Early Decision for nearly all programs, due November 1, 2026. Early Action remains. |
| University of Florida | Added binding Early Decision for fall 2027 entry, due October 15. |
| Florida State | Added binding Early Decision for domestic first-year applicants, due October 15. |
| WashU | Added non-binding Early Action, now considers demonstrated interest and removed its optional writing supplement. Testing stays optional. |
| Georgetown | Accepts the Common App for the first time, as a three-year pilot. Its own application remains, and the SAT or ACT is still required. |
| Cornell | No university-wide essay for fall 2027 applicants; only the essay or essays for your chosen college. |
| University of Georgia | Dropped its supplemental essay. Georgia applicants now send an official transcript instead of self-reporting grades. |
| University of Miami | No longer requires a supplemental essay for first-year applicants. |
| Georgia Tech | Its essay requirement is now the Common App personal essay only, with no Georgia Tech short answer. |
Some colleges people ask about did not change this cycle. Michigan remains test-optional, and its binding Early Decision began a cycle earlier, in 2025-26. Duke remains test-optional. Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, Penn, Brown and Dartmouth continue to require the SAT or ACT.
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Confirmed on each college's own site: Yale now requires the SAT or ACT; USC, the University of Florida and Florida State added binding Early Decision; WashU added Early Action; Georgetown began accepting the Common App; and Cornell, UGA, Miami and Georgia Tech dropped supplemental essays. Princeton and Columbia stay test-optional this cycle and require scores from 2027-28.
USC, the University of Florida and Florida State added binding Early Decision for 2026-27. Michigan's binding Early Decision started a cycle earlier, in 2025-26.
Cornell removed its university-wide essay but keeps college-specific essays. UGA and the University of Miami dropped their supplemental essays, WashU removed its optional writing supplement, and Georgia Tech now asks only for the Common App essay.
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