More than three years after adopting test-optional admissions, Columbia University is reversing course and will once again require standardized test scores from prospective students.
Columbia announced on June 13 that, beginning in fall 2027, first-year and transfer applicants will have to submit either SAT or ACT scores to be considered for admission. The university will remain test-optional for the upcoming 2026–27 admissions cycle.
University officials said the decision follows a “multiyear faculty review” that found “test scores, among other factors, were a useful indicator of potential student success.”
“Standardized testing is one of many elements that can demonstrate a foundation of academic excellence; others include your performance in your secondary school coursework and the rigor of your curriculum,” the university stated on a webpage outlining its new policy.
As Bill Pan reports for The Epoch Times, Columbia was among the first elite universities to suspend testing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, when widespread school closures and testing disruptions limited students’ access to the SAT and ACT. In 2023, the university extended its test-optional policy indefinitely, becoming the first Ivy League institution to make the change permanent.
It was also the last of the eight Ivy League schools to maintain a test-optional admissions policy.
Princeton University reinstated standardized testing requirements in October 2025, leaving Columbia as the sole Ivy League holdout.
The debate over standardized testing has intensified in recent years as some of the nation’s most selective institutions have restored testing requirements. Like Columbia and Princeton, many of those schools have cited internal data showing that test scores are a strong predictor of academic performance and graduation outcomes.
When Princeton announced its decision, university officials said data collected during five years of test-optional admissions showed that “academic performance at Princeton was stronger for students who chose to submit test scores than for students who did not.”
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which reinstated its testing requirement in 2022, also said that considering SAT and ACT scores—particularly math scores—“significantly improves” its ability to predict whether applicants will succeed in the institute’s highly demanding mathematics and math-based science courses.
Critics of standardized testing, however, argue that emphasizing those scores may disadvantage students from low-income and historically underrepresented backgrounds who lack access to expensive tutoring, test-preparation courses, and other educational resources.
Columbia’s move also comes amid renewed interest in standardized testing from the Trump administration.
Administration officials have argued that test-optional admissions policies allow colleges to rely more heavily on subjective criteria, such as personal statements, potentially serving as illegal proxies for race in admissions decisions, a practice the U.S. Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional.
“The persistent lack of available data—paired with the rampant use of ‘diversity statements’ and other overt and hidden racial proxies—continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in admissions decisions in practice,” President Donald Trump wrote in an August 2025 memorandum to the secretary of education.
In a proposed compact offered to nine institutions in exchange for preferential access to certain federal funding opportunities, the Trump administration also demanded that they require standardized test scores as part of the admissions process.
The proposal further urged schools to publicly release anonymized admissions data, including applicants’ GPAs, standardized test scores, and other academic measures, broken down by race, national origin, and sex.
Despite the revival of testing requirements at some elite institutions, test-optional admissions remain widespread nationwide.
According to FairTest, an advocacy group opposing the use of standardized testing in college admissions, more than 90 percent of ranked four-year colleges and universities in the United States will not require applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores for fall 2026 admissions. The organization’s survey covered approximately 2,000 four-year institutions.
Tyler Durden Mon, 06/15/2026 - 18:50By West Garrett of Industrial Sage
Summary:
Power transformer lead times have reached levels that are now dictating the pace of industrial expansion across the United States. According to Wood Mackenzie’s second quarter 2025 survey, standard power transformers average 128 weeks for delivery. Generator step-up transformers, which connect large power generation assets to the grid, average 144 weeks. Some orders extend to four years.
For plant operators, energy developers, and infrastructure planners, that math has a direct consequence: a facility that breaks ground today cannot energize its electrical systems on a standard timeline. Equipment availability has become the gating factor for industrial growth, replacing capital availability and permitting as the primary project constraint.
Power Transformer Lead Times: What the Numbers Actually Mean128 weeks is nearly two and a half years of wait time before a transformer ships. That figure comes from actual utility and developer order data, not theoretical capacity projections. Generator step-up transformers, which are larger and more specialized, run even longer at 144 weeks. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation reported lead times crossing 120 weeks in 2024, and the trend has continued upward into 2025.
The cost pressure is equally significant. Power transformer prices have risen 77% since 2019, according to industry sourcing data. Distribution transformer prices have climbed 78% to 95% over the same period. The underlying material drivers are straightforward: grain-oriented electrical steel prices have roughly doubled since 2020, and copper prices have risen more than 50%. Both materials are core inputs in every transformer manufactured.
The demand surge is not temporary. Generator step-up transformer demand has grown 274% since 2019. Power transformer demand has grown 119% over the same period. AI data center construction, large-scale electrification of industrial processes, and grid modernization programs are all pulling from the same constrained supplier base simultaneously.
The Cleveland-Cliffs Bottleneck: One Domestic Supplier for Critical SteelThe transformer shortage is not simply a volume problem. It has a structural bottleneck at the material level. Transformer cores require grain-oriented electrical steel, a highly engineered material that gives the steel specific magnetic properties needed for efficient power transformation. In the United States, Cleveland-Cliffs is the only domestic producer of this material, operating plants in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
That concentration means that every U.S. transformer manufacturer drawing on domestic steel supply draws from a single source. When that source faces capacity constraints, pricing pressure, or supply disruptions, the effect ripples through the entire domestic transformer manufacturing base immediately. Roughly 80% of large power transformers used in the U.S. are imported, primarily from Mexico, South Korea, and other international manufacturers, creating additional exposure to global trade conditions.
The Biden administration awarded Cleveland-Cliffs $500 million to upgrade its electrical steel plants under the CHIPS and Infrastructure framework. Key elements of that grant have since been reviewed under the current administration, adding uncertainty to the domestic steel expansion timeline.
Who Is Driving the Demand SurgeThree distinct demand categories are converging on the same equipment market at the same time:
These three demand categories do not share a common peak cycle. They are all active simultaneously, and none shows signs of near-term deceleration.
What Industrial Leaders Should Do NowThe strategic implication for any organization with capital projects in the pipeline is straightforward: equipment procurement planning must now precede, not follow, project financial approval. Waiting until a project clears its budget and permitting phase to begin transformer sourcing can add two to four years to a project timeline before the first piece of steel is bent on site.
Long-term supply agreements with transformer manufacturers are becoming a competitive tool. Organizations that lock in delivery slots years in advance gain a scheduling advantage that cannot be bought at spot pricing once a project is ready to execute. Similarly, projects with flexibility on grid interconnect timing may benefit from engaging utilities earlier in the planning process to understand equipment delivery realities.
The domestic manufacturing response is underway: nearly $2 billion has been directed toward North American transformer production expansion, with new capacity from Hitachi Energy, Siemens Energy, and others projected to come online by 2028. However, that capacity does not solve the current shortage. Projects executing between now and 2028 face the current market as it exists today.
IndustrialSage tracks domestic infrastructure investment and supply chain constraints through the US Manufacturing Investment Tracker. For additional context on grid infrastructure and industrial power, visit the IndustrialSage news section. This story was covered on IndustrialSage Headlines Episode 23.
Frequently Asked Questions: U.S. Power Transformer Shortage How long are power transformer lead times right now?As of the second quarter of 2025, standard power transformers average 128 weeks for delivery. Generator step-up transformers average 144 weeks. Some specialized orders are extending to four years. These are verified order-based averages from Wood Mackenzie’s industry survey, not theoretical estimates.
Why are transformer lead times so long?Demand has outpaced manufacturing capacity across all transformer categories simultaneously. Generator step-up transformer demand grew 274% since 2019. Power transformer demand grew 119%. Meanwhile, domestic manufacturing capacity has not scaled proportionally, and the sole U.S. producer of the required grain-oriented electrical steel faces its own capacity limits.
How much have transformer prices increased?Power transformer prices have risen 77% since 2019. Distribution transformer prices have risen 78% to 95%. Generator step-up transformer prices have risen 45%. The increases reflect both raw material cost inflation and the pricing power that comes with constrained supply against surging demand.
Who makes grain-oriented electrical steel in the United States?Cleveland-Cliffs is the only domestic producer of grain-oriented electrical steel, operating facilities in Pennsylvania and Ohio. This concentration creates a single point of supply constraint for all U.S. transformer manufacturers relying on domestic steel. Approximately 80% of large power transformers used in the U.S. are imported, reflecting the limited domestic manufacturing base.
What is driving the surge in transformer demand?Three concurrent demand waves are driving the surge: AI data center construction requiring massive power delivery infrastructure, industrial electrification converting fossil-fuel processes to electric systems, and grid modernization replacing aging transmission infrastructure. These three categories do not share a common peak cycle, and all are active simultaneously.
What should industrial planners do about transformer lead times?Equipment procurement planning must precede project financial approval. Waiting until a project clears budget and permitting to begin transformer sourcing can add two to four years to the execution timeline. Long-term supply agreements and early utility engagement on grid interconnect timing are the two most effective tools available in the current market.
Tyler Durden Mon, 06/15/2026 - 18:25