Research · States · October 2026

New York College Admissions in 2026: Test Policy, Excelsior, and Regents Leaders

As of October 2026: All 6 New York public universities we checked are test-optional in 2026, so a score is considered if sent but not required. The state mean SAT is 1045 with 62% of the class of 2025 taking it, and the Excelsior Scholarship covers SUNY or CUNY tuition for families under $125,000 AGI with no GPA or test gate.

A plain guide to test rules at SUNY and CUNY, what New York scores look like, what Excelsior asks for, and which high schools lead on the Regents.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

Does each New York public university require the SAT or ACT in 2026?

These are the 6 New York public universities we checked, with the policy each campus publishes and the terms it applies to. The quote column is the campus's own wording.

Source: Reach's 2026 Public University Test Policy Report, drawn from each university's own page. CLT status is listed as unknown for all 6 campuses.

What are New York's SAT and ACT averages for the class of 2025?

State means move with how many students test, so read the participation column next to the score.

Source: College Board state report and the ACT state table for the graduating class of 2025. A state's mean moves with participation.

What does the Excelsior Scholarship require?

New York's main state award is listed below with its own rules kept word for word.

GPA and test cells are null, which means not reported as a requirement on the program page.

Which New York high schools have the highest Regents pass rates?

These 30 schools lead the state on the share of students scoring 65 or higher on five core Regents exams, averaged.

Source: NYSED School Report Card 2024-25, share scoring 65 or higher on five core Regents exams, averaged. The list shows leaders, not a ranking of school quality.

Does any New York public university require the SAT or ACT in 2026?

No. All 6 New York public universities we checked are test-optional: a score is considered if sent, but not required. That group includes Stony Brook University, the University at Buffalo, Binghamton University, Brooklyn College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the University at Albany.

The wording each campus uses is plain. The University at Buffalo says it "does not require SAT and ACT test scores for admissions and scholarship consideration." Binghamton University says it "is test optional which means standardized test scores are not required." Brooklyn College goes a step further and says the absence of a score "cannot be used to deny a student admission."

New York has no state rule forcing these campuses to take one side or the other. Each system set its own course. The CUNY campuses in our table follow a system-wide policy that came from a Board of Trustees resolution. The SUNY campuses publish their own pages.

For a family, this means the test is a choice, not a toll gate. If your child tests well, sending the score can still help, since campuses say they will read it. If testing goes badly after honest practice, an application without a score is still a full application at these 6 campuses.

Are there any New York campuses that still require a score?

Yes, but only inside two special programs. Stony Brook University is test-optional overall, and its note names an exception: SAT or ACT scores are required for its Scholars for Medicine and Scholars for Dental Medicine programs.

The University at Albany carries a second kind of exception. Its note says homeschooled applicants must submit ACT or SAT scores for admission and scholarship consideration. The general policy there still reads, "Standardized test scores, while helpful, are optional."

These two lines matter more than they look. A student aiming at the medical path at Stony Brook plans testing in junior year, not senior year. A homeschooled student in New York plans testing no matter which campus is first on the list, because at least one campus in our table asks for it.

Everything else in the table is open. No campus on this list lists a required policy for general first-year admission. Our table also lists CLT status as unknown for all 6 campuses, so we do not claim any of them take that test.

How long do these test-optional policies last?

It depends on the campus, and four of the 6 list a term. Stony Brook University states its policy for the Fall 2027 and Spring 2027 entry terms, as stated on the source page. Brooklyn College and John Jay College of Criminal Justice both list Fall 2023 through Spring 2027 entering terms.

The University at Buffalo lists its current policy as published, for fall and spring admission terms, with no end date stated. Binghamton University also lists a current policy with no end date stated. The University at Albany lists a current policy and cites the Fall 2025 entering class in its admitted-student profile section.

A term window is not a promise past that window. The two CUNY campuses here run through Spring 2027, which covers students applying now for near-term entry. What comes after that date is not stated in our data.

The practical read for a sophomore or junior family is simple. Plan as if the current policy holds for your child's entry term, and read the campus page again in the fall of senior year. Policies shift, and the term line in our table is where the shift will show up first.

What is a good SAT score in New York?

The state mean total for the class of 2025 was 1045, built from 527 on reading and writing and 518 on math. A score above 1045 puts a New York student above the middle of the state pool.

That mean sits next to high participation. 62% of graduates in the class of 2025 took the SAT during high school, and 127,054 students tested. When most of a class tests, the mean drops toward the middle of the whole group, not just the college-bound group.

So treat 1045 as a floor marker, not a target. Students aiming at the SUNY university centers in our table will want a score that clearly clears the state mean, since a sent score only helps when it is stronger than the rest of the file suggests.

There is a second use for the state mean. It tells you whether a first practice test is in normal range or far behind. A junior scoring near 1045 on a practice run has room to grow with steady work. A junior far under it may get more out of grade repair than from test prep.

Should my child take the ACT instead of the SAT in New York?

Only 8% of New York graduates in the class of 2025 took the ACT, and their mean composite was 25.9. The SAT is the default test in this state by a wide margin.

The high ACT mean does not mean the ACT is easier. It reflects who signs up. When just 8% of a class tests, those students are often the ones who chose the test on purpose and prepared for it. A state mean moves with participation, and that is the clearest case of it on this page.

Both tests are accepted wherever a score is accepted at the 6 campuses in our table. Each one says SAT or ACT, not one or the other. So the choice is about fit, not about which door opens.

A fair way to decide is to try one timed practice section of each at home, then stay with the test that felt steadier. Since every campus in our table is test-optional, a student can also start this process late and still drop the score if it does not land where they hoped.

What does the Excelsior Scholarship require?

The Excelsior Scholarship covers SUNY and CUNY tuition as a last-dollar award of up to $5,500 a year, for households with AGI of $125,000 or less. The GPA and test cells in our table are null, which means no GPA or test gate is reported.

Last-dollar is the term to understand. It means Excelsior fills what is left after other grants are applied, not that a check arrives on top of them. Families who already receive large federal or state grants may see a smaller Excelsior amount.

The conditions come after the award, not before it. A student must stay on track at 30 credits per year. That is a full load every term, and some students need summer credits to catch up, which is more than they may plan on at first.

There is also a residency promise. A graduate must live and work in New York afterward for the same number of years the award was received. A family planning an out-of-state move or an out-of-state job should read that line closely before counting on the money.

Does my child need a high GPA or test score for New York state aid?

No. The Excelsior Scholarship lists no GPA requirement and no test requirement in our table, and both of those cells are not reported as rules. The gate is income, set at household AGI of $125,000 or less.

That makes New York different from merit-based state programs elsewhere. A student does not chase a score to qualify. The family either meets the income line or does not.

What replaces a GPA gate is the on-track rule. Excelsior asks for 30 credits a year, which pushes students to carry a full load from the first term. A student who drops a class in October can fall off pace quickly.

So the preparation that matters for Excelsior is not test prep. It is picking a SUNY or CUNY campus where your child can carry a full schedule and finish on time. Our table lists 1 state program, and this is it, so families should not assume a second large award is waiting behind it.

Which New York high schools have the highest Regents pass rates?

Five schools in our table hit 100.0 on the average share scoring 65 or higher across five core Regents exams: Stuyvesant High School, High School Mathematics Science and Engineering at Ccny, Bronx High School of Science (The), High School of American Studies at Lehman College, and Staten Island Technical High School.

Brooklyn Technical High School follows at 99.8 and Brooklyn Latin School (The) at 99.6. Those seven are all New York City schools, and most of them admit students by exam or by application.

Garden City High School at 99.4 is the first school on the list outside the city. Suburban districts fill much of the rest of the top 30, including Edgemont Junior-Senior High School at 98.6, Jericho Senior High School at 98.2, and Scarsdale Senior High School at 98.0.

One rural school breaks the pattern. Keene Central School, in Keene Valley, posts 96.0 with a 100 in English and a 100 in US History. That is a reminder that a small school can match large, well-known districts on the state exams.

Which Regents exam separates schools the most?

Algebra I spreads the widest in our table, from 100 at the top schools down to 82 at Syosset Senior High School. English and Global Studies stay tightly packed near the high 90s across almost every row.

Look down the Algebra I column for the pattern. Herricks High School posts 86 in Algebra I while scoring 97 in English, 99 in Global, 98 in Living Environment, and 99 in US History. Blind Brook High School shows 88 in Algebra I next to 99 in English.

Living Environment also moves more than the humanities exams. Cold Spring Harbor High School posts 90 in Living Environment while holding 99 in both Algebra I and English.

For families, this is a planning signal rather than a verdict on a school. Algebra I is often taken in eighth or ninth grade, so the gap can reflect when students sit for it, not how well they are taught. If math is the shakiest column at your child's school, that is the subject to shore up early, before the course load gets heavier in junior year.

Do high Regents scores line up with high graduation rates?

Mostly, yes, but not exactly. Queens High School for the Sciences at York College posts 98.6 on the Regents average and a 100 graduation rate, while Stuyvesant High School posts 100.0 on the Regents average and a 99 graduation rate.

Several schools lower on the Regents list carry higher graduation rates than the leaders. Scarsdale Senior High School shows 98.0 on Regents and 100 on graduation. Millennium Brooklyn High School shows 95.2 and 100. Edgemont Junior-Senior High School shows 98.6 and 100.

Brooklyn Technical High School is the other direction. It posts 99.8 on the Regents average and 97 on graduation.

The two numbers measure different things. The Regents average captures exam results in five subjects. The graduation rate captures how many students finish at all. A family comparing two schools should read both columns, since a school can test well and still lose students along the way.

How should a New York family plan testing in 2026?

Start with the fact that all 6 public universities in our table are test-optional, then decide whether a score adds anything to your child's file. The state mean of 1045 gives you the marker to measure a practice score against.

A clean sequence works for most families. Take one practice SAT in the spring of sophomore year. Compare it to the 1045 state mean. If the score is near or above that, schedule a real sitting in junior year and prepare between the two. If it is far below, spend junior fall on coursework first.

Keep the exceptions on the calendar. Stony Brook University requires scores for Scholars for Medicine and Scholars for Dental Medicine, and the University at Albany requires them from homeschooled applicants. Those students should test by the spring of junior year, with room for one retake.

Also note the clock. Brooklyn College and John Jay College of Criminal Justice list policies through Spring 2027 entering terms. Stony Brook names Fall 2027 and Spring 2027. Families with a younger child should plan for the chance that the rules read differently by then.

What should a New York family do first this year?

Three steps cover most of it: check the income line for Excelsior at $125,000 AGI, compare a practice score to the state mean of 1045, and read the policy term for each campus on your child's list.

The money step comes first because it shapes the list. If your household falls under the AGI line, SUNY and CUNY campuses move up, since tuition can be covered as a last-dollar award of up to $5,500 a year. If not, the full price of each campus belongs in the comparison from the start.

The test step is second because it is the one you control. With all 6 campuses test-optional, a score is a tool your child can choose to use. Our table shows that only two narrow programs take that choice away.

The third step is the one families skip. Each row in our policy table names the terms the policy covers, and those terms differ by campus. Write your child's entry term next to each campus, then match it against the applies-to column. That one pass catches most surprises before senior year begins.

Related: New York test policy page · State merit scholarships · New York high schools · Family Decision Report