Posted by : Shreyasee Sarkar
Author Designation : Junior Counselor (Kolkata)
Universities that Do not Require SAT or ACT Exams
Not all schools require candidates to submit SAT or ACT scores for admission. In recent years, many admissions departments have revised their requirements, shifting to test-optional or test-blind policies. Remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated this trend. “However,” notes college admissions counselor David Clingenpeel, “we are now seeing some institutions backtracking this change and requiring applicants to submit scores.”
What is Test-Optional College?
Universities that do not require SAT or ACT from international students and grant you admission are known as Test-Optional colleges. So if you have not taken the SAT/ ACT, then these colleges are for you. However, if you are already done with taking these exams and have scored poorly, then you can just avoid sending your bad test scores to the college during application.
Even if you submit your SAT and ACT scores, your application will be evaluated based on your academic profile. Therefore, you need to have a good GPA throughout your academic life. If you think that GPA is the only thing that the college will be considering while evaluating your profile, then you are wrong. Many other factors play a vital role in your admissions process. Those factors are -
- Letter of Recommendation: Having LORs from your High School teachers, seniors, or internships (if any) proves to be highly beneficial and makes your application stand out from the rest.
- Statement of Purpose: SOP is a factor that can help you make it or break it into a college. It is the only thing where you don’t have to depend on others to represent yourself to the admission council. Even if you have a low GPA, you can still get into your dream college through a good SOP.
- The Statement of Purpose generally defines why you want to attend that college and course, why you are capable enough, and what your strong zones of interest are. So write your SOP such that it gives the admission council insight into who you are and what your passion is.
- Essay Prompts: Besides SOP, essay prompts are another factor that can help your profile is more interesting than other applicants. It is a way for the college to evaluate an applicant’s experimental thinking and proficiency. This is where you can portray the essence of ‘You’, things that other parts of the application don't cover.
- Extracurricular Activities: Getting involved in various extracurricular activities can help you earn some extra brownie points. It adds value to your application, especially when you have not applied for SAT/ ACT.
- Projects/ Internships: Being a part of a few good projects or having some experience in the field for which you are applying, i.e., your undergraduate major, is the cherry on top. Internships - not many students, especially in India, prefer to do it during their High School. So an internship certificate, if you happen to have one then be assured that your application is already way too attractive to the admissions council
More than 2,022 colleges in the US offer test-optional or test-free policies! This means you have more options than ever to find amazing schools that don't rely solely on a single test score. Below, we present our top 100 picks for this admission cycle.
- Amherst College
- Art Center College of Design
- Babson College
- Bard College
- Bates College
- Bennington College
- Boston College
- Boston University
- Bowdoin College
- Brandeis University
- Brigham Young University
- California Institute of Technology
- California State University
- Carleton College
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Case Western Reserve University
- Claremont McKenna College
- Clemson University
- Colby College
- Colgate University
- Colorado College
- Colorado School of Mines
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Davidson College
- Duke University
- Emory University
- Grinnell College
- Hamilton College
- Hampshire College
- Harvard University
- Harvey Mudd College
- Haverford College
- Johns Hopkins University
- Kenyon College
- Lehigh University
- Macalester College
- Middlebury College
- Michigan State University
- New York University
- North Carolina State University
- Northeastern University
- Northwestern University
- Oberlin College
- Ohio State University
- Pepperdine University
- Pitzer College
- Pomona College
- Princeton University
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Rice University
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Rutgers University
- Santa Clara University
- Scripps College
- Skidmore College
- Smith College
- Stanford University
- State University of New York (SUNY)
- Swarthmore College
- Texas A&M University
- The College of Wooster
- The Cooper Union
- Trinity University
- Tulane University
- Tufts University
- University of California
- University of Chicago
- University of Connecticut
- University of Illinois
- University of Maine
- University of Maryland
- University of Massachusetts
- University of Miami
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota
- University of North Carolina
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Richmond
- University of Southern California
- University of Texas
- University of Vermont
- University of Virginia
- University of Washington
- University of Wisconsin
- Vanderbilt University
- Vassar College
- Villanova University
- Virginia Tech
- Wake Forest University
- Wellesley College
- Wesleyan University
- Williams College
- William & Mary
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Conclusions
As the landscape of college admissions continues to evolve, test-optional and test-free policies offer students more flexibility and a more holistic approach to showcasing their unique strengths and potential. Remember, your academic journey is more than a single test score. It's about your passions, your perseverance, and the impact you want to make on the world.
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