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What Is a Reach School? What Is a Match School? What Is a Safety School? SAT test. JC559 / Getty Images By Allen Grove College Admissions Expert Ph.D., English, University of Pennsylvania M.A., English, University of Pennsylvania B.S., Materials Science & Engineering and Literature, MIT Dr. Allen Grove is an Alfred University English professor and a college admissions expert with 20 years of experience helping students transition to college. our editorial process Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter Allen Grove Updated April 01, 2020 If you got low SAT scores or low ACT scores, or if you simply didn't take the exam in time for application deadlines, realize that hundreds of test-optional colleges do not require standardized test scores as part of their admissions requirements. Fast Facts: Test-Optional Admissions Over 1,080 colleges are now test-optional.Test-optional admissions does not mean you don't need to submit SAT or ACT scores. Some colleges require scores for scholarships, placement, or NCAA reporting.Some colleges are test-optional only for students who meet certain criteria. Students with low grades or low class rank may need to submit scores.International and home-schooled students sometimes need to submit test scores even if a college is test-optional. The list below is just a sampling of more than 1,080 four-year colleges that do not require the SAT or ACT. The list includes most of the highly selective schools that don't require scores. To see a complete list, visit the FairTest website. Also be sure to check out our list of 20 Great Colleges for Students with Low SAT Scores. Colleges don't use test scores for many reasons. Some technical schools, music schools and art schools don't see the ACT and SAT as good measures of the types of skills they require. Other colleges recognize that the SAT and ACT limit their applicant pools and give an unfair advantage to students from schools or families that can afford test prep courses. You will also see from the FairTest list that many schools with strong religious affiliations do not require standardized tests. Admissions policies change frequently, so check with each school for the latest testing guidelines. Also, realize that some of the schools below are test-optional only for students who meet certain GPA or class rank requirements. Other schools are "test-flexible," so they require some kind of standardized test score, those scores need not be from the ACT or SAT. AP, IB, or SAT Subject Test scores can fulfill the requirement. Schools that don't require the ACT or SAT for some or all applicants American UniversityArizona State University at TempeArkansas State UniversityAustin Peay State UniversityBard CollegeBates CollegeBennington CollegeBoston UniversityBowdoin CollegeBrandeis UniversityBryn Mawr CollegeCalifornia State University at Bakersfield, Chico, Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Fresno, Fullerton, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Northridge, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Marcos, and StanislausClark UniversityClarkson UniversityColby CollegeCollege of the AtlanticCollege of the Holy CrossColorado CollegeConnecticut CollegeCreighton UniversityDavidson CollegeDenison UniversityDePaul UniversityDickinson CollegeDrew UniversityEarlham CollegeEast Tennessee State UniversityEastern Kentucky UniversityFairfield UniversityFranklin and Marshall CollegeFurman UniversityGeorge Mason UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityGettysburg CollegeGoucher CollegeGuilford CollegeGustavus Adolphus CollegeHampshire CollegeHendrix CollegeHobart and William Smith CollegesHofstra UniversityIllinois CollegeIndiana State UniversityIthaca CollegeJames Madison UniversityJuniata CollegeKalamazoo CollegeKansas State University (scores required for out-of-state applicants)King's CollegeKnox CollegeLake Forest CollegeLawrence UniversityLewis & Clark CollegeLoyola University MarylandMarist CollegeMarquette UniversityMiddle Tennessee State UniversityMiddlebury College (SAT2 required if SAT1 is not used)Minnesota State UniversityMount Holyoke CollegeMuhlenberg CollegeNazareth CollegeNew School (scores required for some programs)Northern Arizona UniversityOhio State University at ATI Wooster, Mansfield, Marion, Newark (scores required for out-of-state applicants)Oklahoma State University, StillwaterOld Dominion UniversityPitzer CollegePresbyterian CollegeProvidence CollegeRhode Island School of DesignRobert Morris UniversityRoger Williams UniversityRollins CollegeSt. John's College (Annapolis and Sante Fe)St. John's University (scores required for some programs)St. Lawrence UniversitySarah Lawrence CollegeScripps CollegeSewanee: The University of the SouthSkidmore CollegeSmith CollegeSouth Dakota State UniversityState University of New York at PotsdamStetson UniversityStonehill CollegeSusquehanna UniversityTemple UniversityTrinity CollegeTufts UniversityUnion CollegeUniversity of Alaska at Anchorage, Fairbanks and SoutheastUniversity of ArizonaUniversity of Arkansas at Fortsmith, Little Rock, Monticello and Pine BluffUniversity of ChicagoUniversity of Idaho at MoscowUniversity of Kansas at LawrenceUniversity of Maine at Augusta, Farmington, Ft. Kent and Presque IsleUniversity of Mary WashingtonUniversity of Minnesota at Crookston, Duluth and MorrisUniversity of MississippiUniversity of Montana at Missoula and WesternUniversity of Nebraska at Kearney and LincolnUniversity of Nevada at Las Vegas and RenoUniversity of RochesterUniversity of Texas at Arlington, Brownsville, Dallas, El Paso, Pan American, San Antonio and TylerUrsinus CollegeWake Forest UniversityWashington CollegeWashington and Jefferson CollegeWesleyan UniversityWheaton College (MA)Whitman CollegeWittenberg UniversityWhitworth UniversityWorcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) When applying to schools, be sure to read their policies carefully. Some state schools on the list do require scores from out-of-state applicants. Other schools don't require scores for admissions, but they do use the scores for awarding academic scholarships. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Grove, Allen. "Low SAT or ACT Scores? Check Out These Test-Optional Colleges." ThoughtCo, Oct. 29, 2020, thoughtco.com/low-test-scores-test-optional-colleges-788711. Grove, Allen. (2020, October 29). Low SAT or ACT Scores? Check Out These Test-Optional Colleges. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/low-test-scores-test-optional-colleges-788711 Grove, Allen. "Low SAT or ACT Scores? Check Out These Test-Optional Colleges." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/low-test-scores-test-optional-colleges-788711 (accessed February 26, 2021). copy citation Watch Now: How to Score Higher on the SAT and ACT