TOEFL and Duolingo Requirements for US Colleges

TOEFL and Duolingo Requirements for US Colleges

Harvard, Stanford and Bowdoin require no English test. Ten of the other 12 US colleges we checked require one unless you are exempt, and the exemption depends on how many years of English-medium school you have: two at Yale, Dartmouth and Rice, three at Princeton and Penn, and all of secondary school at Columbia. USC grants no waivers. Brown and Johns Hopkins recommend a test.

Our view: do not start by asking which test to take. Ask first whether you need one at each college on your list, because the rules split in ways the test brands do not tell you. A 700 on the SAT Reading and Writing section clears Columbia's requirement. A 650 clears USC's. The University of California does not accept the digital SAT Reading and Writing section for English proficiency at all. When the test plan is settled, put the saved time into the essays, which are the English an admissions reader actually reads; a Common App essay review is one way to check that writing.

Every college page quoted below was checked on October 30, 2026. Minimums and accepted tests change between cycles, so recheck each college's page before you book a test.

Contents: Do you need a test at all? · Scores by college · Is Duolingo accepted by the Ivy League? · Which test to take · International school students · Sending scores · Decision procedure · Questions

Do you need a test at all?

Three wording details change the answer for real applicants:

• Harvard's no-test rule has a second half. English tests "cannot be used to meet the standardized testing requirement." Harvard still requires the SAT or ACT. Yale says the same: English proficiency exams "will not fulfill Yale's testing requirement." For each college's SAT/ACT rule, see SAT/ACT policies at top colleges for 2026–27.
• USC means it. "We do not grant waivers or exceptions to this policy under any circumstances." But USC's approved list includes "650 on the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section" and "27 on the ACT English section." A strong SAT can still be your USC English evidence.
• UC refuses the digital SAT route. UC writes that "the digital SAT Reading and Writing section score has not been approved to meet English language proficiency." UC's full rules, including campus-level numbers, are in our UC English proficiency guide.

Scores by college (new 1-6 TOEFL scale and old 0-120)

TOEFL iBT moved to a 1–6 band scale in January 2026. Columbia, USC, Rice and Dartmouth date the switch to exams taken on or after January 21, 2026; BU dates it to score reports beginning that day. Each college publishes its own pair of old and new numbers.

Yale, Princeton, Johns Hopkins and Bowdoin publish no minimum. Stanford says there are no "minimum scores required to secure admission." Section scores matter at two of these colleges: USC asks for at least 20 per section on the old scale and 4 per section on the new one, and BU asks for 20 per section on the old scale.

Read the last column before you compare numbers. Columbia's 135 on the DET is a stated requirement. Dartmouth's 135 describes the scores of admitted applicants and is not a cut-off. By our arithmetic from this table, the colleges do not even agree on the conversion. Columbia and Brown pair 105 with 5.5, Cornell pairs 100 with 5.0, and UC pairs 80 with 4.5. If you took the TOEFL before January 21, 2026, compare your old-scale score against each college's old-scale number, not against a conversion table.

Is Duolingo accepted by the Ivy League?

Yes, at every Ivy League college that names its tests. Harvard requires no test.

Outside the Ivy League, USC is the one college in our table that treats the DET as a fallback. USC accepts it only "If you are not able to sit for one of the USC-approved examinations," and everyone admitted with the DET alone must take USC's International Student Exam on arrival.

TOEFL vs IELTS vs Duolingo: which to take

The published requirement: TOEFL and IELTS are accepted by every college in our table that names its tests. The DET is accepted by all of them except USC, where it is a fallback.

Our recommendation: if USC is on your list, take the TOEFL or IELTS. If it is not, the DET clears the test requirement at every other college we checked. Choose between the three on the format you score best in, then look at the highest IELTS bar on your list: Brown expects 8.0 and Columbia 7.5, against 7 at Penn, Rice, USC and BU.

The countercase: a DET result shows the college your speaking and writing on video. BU describes the DET as a test that "combines an English proficiency test with a brief video interview." If you are not comfortable on camera, an in-person TOEFL or IELTS sitting may suit you better, even where the DET is accepted.

Rules that apply whichever test you pick:

• Plan one strong sitting. Columbia, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, Rice and UC do not accept TOEFL MyBest scores. Rice wants "exam results from a single individual exam administration."
• Check the test date window. Penn accepts scores only "from exams taken on or after April 1, 2025." UC requires you to take the exam "no later than December of your final year."
• Check the test version. Penn does not accept "the IELTS Indicator exam, the IELTS One Retake exam or MyBest scores." UC does not accept "IELTS One Skill Retake." BU cannot accept "the IELTS Indicator, TOEFL ITP Plus, and TOEFL Essentials." USC does "not accept TOEFL ITP Plus for China." USC and Dartmouth accept IELTS Indicator. Columbia, Dartmouth, Brown, BU, Rice, USC and UC accept the TOEFL iBT Home Edition.
• Interviews are extra, not a replacement. BU recommends an optional InitialView or Vericant interview but adds that "the submission of TOEFL iBT, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test results are also required." Yale lists InitialView as one of its accepted options. See InitialView vs Vericant for when an interview is worth booking.

International school students: count your years their way

If you attend an English-medium international school, you are probably exempt somewhere and not exempt elsewhere. The colleges count differently:

• What counts: Princeton counts years "at a secondary school where English is the primary language of instruction." Penn counts "high school, college, or a combination of both." Rice counts "full-time study in an English language curriculum."
• When the count ends: Penn counts "by the time you enroll at Penn." Rice counts "prior to submitting an application."
• How strict the wording is: Columbia exempts you only if English has been your language of instruction "for the duration of your secondary school career." NYU Shanghai, a portal campus of NYU, exempts students who "have been in a school where English is the sole language of instruction for 3 years prior to applying." "Sole" is stricter than "primary." A bilingual school that teaches some subjects in Chinese may not meet it.

Two constructed cases: counting years

Two constructed cases, written by us, not real applicants:

• Context (invented): Mei moved from a Chinese-medium public school to an English-medium international school in Shanghai at the start of grade 10 and applies in grade 12. By November of grade 12 she has just over two years. That clears Yale, Dartmouth and Rice by their stated wording. It does not clear Princeton, which asks for three years, or Columbia, which asks for all of secondary school. By our reading of Penn's "by the time you enroll" wording, she would reach three years before enrollment, but she should confirm with Penn. Mei takes one test anyway, because her list includes Columbia.
• Context (invented): Joon has been at English-medium schools since grade 6 and scored 720 on SAT Reading and Writing. His SAT score alone exempts him at Columbia. His list also includes USC, which has no exemptions. His SAT section score of 720 is above USC's 650 approved-exam line, so the SAT covers USC as well. If UC is on his list, the digital SAT does not count there, and he checks UC's exemption separately in our UC guide.

Applying from India? TOEFL waivers for Indian students covers the India-specific waiver questions. Applying from Nigeria, Ghana or Kenya? See English test waivers for Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.

Deadlines and sending scores

• Self-report first. Common App's 2026–27 first-year updates say the testing fields were updated so students can "accurately self-report" Duolingo English Test, PTE Academic and TOEFL iBT results. Cornell asks admitted students for official scores. Brown and Amherst ask for them only from students who enroll.
• Official reports early at some. USC: "Official test scores from approved proficiency exams must be submitted within two weeks of your respective application deadline." Columbia wants TOEFL scores "reported directly to Columbia by the testing service, using report code 2116."
• Watch expiry. Brown wants official reports for self-reported results "in May of 2027" for fall 2027 enrollment, and it will not accept expired reports. If your score expires before then, send it before it expires.
• UC after admission. UC asks you to self-report in the UC application and, if admitted, send scores "only to the campus where you intend to enroll."
• Codes we found: Columbia 2116, Cornell 2098, BU 3087 and Rice 6609 for TOEFL.
• Use one spelling of your name. Register for the test under your passport name, and enter the same spelling on the Common App; your Chinese name on the Common App covers pinyin, name order and English names.

A six-step test plan

1. Write your college list. For each college, copy the exemption wording from the first table above.
2. Count your English-medium years the way each college counts them: secondary only or including college, and up to the application or up to enrollment.
3. Mark the colleges where you are not clearly exempt. If there are none and USC is not on your list, you may not need a test. Check Columbia's and USC's SAT and ACT routes before you decide.
4. If you need a test, pick it: TOEFL or IELTS if USC is on the list; otherwise TOEFL, IELTS or DET, whichever format you score best in.
5. Set your target from the highest number on your list, and plan for one sitting, because MyBest is refused at six colleges in our table.
6. Book a date that lands before your earliest deadline, and before December of your final year if UC is on the list. Then put your remaining time into the essays.

Questions about English test requirements

Does Harvard require the TOEFL?

No. Harvard says first-year applicants "are not required to take an English proficiency exam, but you may submit scores if you wish to do so." English tests cannot replace the SAT or ACT, which Harvard requires.

Which colleges accept the Duolingo English Test?

Every college in our table that names its accepted tests lists the DET: Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Rice, BU, UC, Johns Hopkins and Bowdoin. USC accepts it only if you cannot sit an approved exam.

Does a high SAT score replace the TOEFL?

At some colleges. Columbia accepts 700 or higher on SAT Reading and Writing, and USC lists 650 as an approved exam. UC does not accept the digital SAT Reading and Writing section for English proficiency.

Do I need the TOEFL if I go to an international school?

It depends on how many years you have and how each college counts them. Two years clears Yale, Dartmouth and Rice; Princeton and Penn need three; Columbia needs all of secondary school; USC exempts no one.

Does the English test matter if my essays are strong?

The test is a requirement to meet, not a substitute for your writing. How the two fit together is the subject of English test score vs college essay.

Get a free review of your Common App essay

Get a free Quick Review of your Common App essay against GradPilot's narrative craft rubric. It reads whether your essay carries one main moment, stays inside the scene, and uses details that change the story. For the why-this-college answers that ED and EA applicants write next, use the why us supplement rubric.

Applying early? Early decision for international students covers aid and the binding agreement.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.

• Harvard College, International Applicants: no English test required; English tests do not meet the SAT/ACT requirement.
• Stanford, International Applicants: no English proficiency exams required; no minimum scores.
• Yale College, International Applicants: two-year rule; accepted tests; English tests do not meet the testing requirement.
• Dartmouth, Is a language proficiency test required?: two-year rule; accepted tests; no minimums; scores of most successful applicants; no MyBest.
• Rice, First-Year International Applicants: two-year rule; minimum scores; no MyBest; TOEFL code.
• Princeton, International Students: accepted tests; three-year exemption.
• Penn, International Applicants: accepted tests; competitive scores; April 1, 2025 window; three-year exemption.
• Cornell, How to Submit Your English Language Proficiency: who must test; minimum competitive scores; exemption examples; TOEFL code.
• Columbia, English Proficiency Requirements: exemptions including SAT and ACT; minimums; no MyBest; report code.
• USC, International Students: no waivers; approved exams including SAT and ACT; DET fallback; reporting window.
• Boston University, International Applicants: required tests; competitive scores; DET description; interviews; waiver form; TOEFL code.
• University of California, English language proficiency: minimums; digital SAT not approved; December deadline; sending scores.
• Brown, English Proficiency: recommendation; expected minimums; official reports in May 2027; no MyBest.
• Johns Hopkins, International Applicants: tests recommended.
• Amherst, First-Year Applicants: official English test reports only from admitted students who enroll.
• Bowdoin, International Students: English tests optional; no minimum.
• NYU Shanghai, How to Apply: three-year "sole language of instruction" exemption.
• ETS, TOEFL iBT ID requirements: the registration name must match your ID.
• Common App, What's new: 2026–27 first-year app updates (May 21, 2026): updated self-report fields for English tests.