Over the past few years, efforts have been made to encourage more colleges to accept self-reported SAT and ACT scores from students during the application process and only require official reports when a student actually enrolls. Leaders of this push have included Gabrielle McColgan, James Murphy, Marie Bigham, and many other contributors.
Why the growing movement?
Among the many expenses that add up in the college admission process are application fees, test registration fees, and official score report fees. Many students are eligible to have these fees waived, but other students who don’t qualify for waivers may still find the costs to be a burden. A typical scenario might involve a student taking both the SAT and ACT once or twice, applying to 8–10 colleges, and spending a few hundred dollars simply to have official score reports sent to each college.
Colleges in the list below have stipulated that students may self-report their test scores in their applications. Click on the name of the college to visit the page on the school’s website where the policy is explained. Note that colleges may still require official scores for international and home-schooled students.
Our goal is to see this list grow and make it as comprehensive as possible. Please add a comment and provide the policy page link if you come across a school not listed. Note that only colleges that have written policies on their websites or in application materials are included here.
Please note: This is not an exhaustive list. There are nearly 4,000 colleges and universities in the country, and we have not examined the self-reporting policies at each one. The completeness of this list relies heavily on crowdsourced data.
Please note: All colleges require official test scores upon enrollment; these are application policies only. Some schools may have different requirements to be eligible for merit-based scholarships. Students should check directly with each college to confirm they have the most recent and accurate policy information.
DePauw University also accepts self-reported scores! The policy can be found here: https://www.depauw.edu/admission-aid/apply/first-year-applicants/
That’s great, Amanda. We’ve added DePauw.
Please add Whitman College!
https://www.whitman.edu/admission-and-aid/applying-to-whitman/testing-policy
Thanks, Adam. We’ve added Whitman.
Northern Michigan University publicly states we will accept test scores as official if they are provided on an official high school transcript.
http://www.nmu.edu/admissions/requirements
Thank you, Gerri. The list has been updated.
Please also add Valparaiso University to this list. Thank you!
https://www.valpo.edu/admission/undergrad/apply/
Valpo has been added. Thanks, Bart.
College of Charleston http://admissions.cofc.edu/applyingtothecollege/freshmen/partsoftheapplication.php
Erin,
College of Charleston has been added. Thanks for the information.
Thanks for creating this list. Please add The University of Tulsa. https://admission.utulsa.edu/apply/first-year-applicants/
University of Tulsa is now on the list! Thanks, Teresa.
New additions in last 24 hours via requests by college admission officers: Florida Atlantic University, George Mason University, Loyola Marymount University, Scripps College, Shenandoah University, and Valparaiso University. Let’s keep them coming!
Southern Methodist University’s Associate VP of Enrollment Management, Wes Waggoner, has reported to me that: ” Yes! SMU now allows self-reported scores on application, AND we will also superscore the ACT [in addition to the SAT]. Students who deposit will send official score reports on file for all test dates used in the superscore.” A link to this policy explanation on SMU’s website will be forthcoming.
Union College in NY also accepts self reported scores.
Thank you, David. We’ll add the link to your policy shortly: https://www.union.edu/admissions/apply/first-year
Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon also allows self-reported scores for application completion.
Erica,
We’ll add Lewis & Clark to the list shortly. Thank you. https://college.lclark.edu/offices/admissions/apply/policies/
Many thanks to Adam, Art, et. al. for this helpful information…a labor of love for sure!
Alan Haas,
President
EDUCATIONAL FUTURES
New Canaan, CT.
Pacific Lutheran University allows self-reported test scores: https://www.plu.edu/admission-first-year/apply/#test-optional
Thanks for creating this list and keeping it updated.
Thank you for the link, Melody. You’ll see Pacific Lutheran on the list shortly.
We’re happy to give encouragement to this trend.
Please add Franklin Pierce University to the list. Thank you!
https://www.franklinpierce.edu/admissions/undergraduate-rindge.htm
Melissa,
You’ll find Franklin Pierce on the list shortly. Thank you for the information.
I believe all UC’s accept self reported scores.
C,
The standard we are trying to apply is that a college or university makes it very clear that a student can self-report and that an official report is not needed until after an offer of admission. The information from the UC website and on its application materials does not, AFAIK, offer that level of clarity.
Thank you for adding Franklin Pierce University to the list, however, it only says Franklin Pierce . Can you please have it say Franklin Pierce University?
Thank you so much!
Fixed!
RIT allows students to self-report test scores on the application or through their admissions portal site (once they have submitted their application for admission). The student will be required to submit their official scores once they choose to enroll at RIT.
Thank you for the detailed information, Edward. RIT has been added to the list.
Test scores provided by the high school are considered official at Ohio University.
https://www.ohio.edu/admissions/freshman/apply (under the “Application Materials” header)
Great, Andy. I’ve updated the site with Ohio University’s policy.
Here’s the link for SMU’s self-reporting policy: https://www.smu.edu/Admission/ConnectWithUs/FAQ
Thank you, Gabrielle! We’ve updated SMU with the policy link.
Millsaps College also.
Millsaps College has been added. Thank you, Robert.
Please add University of Redlands!
Done. Thank you, Anna.
Binghamton University (SUNY) has joined the movement: https://www.binghamton.edu/admissions/info/test-policy.html
Gabi,
Added to the movement.
Sorry, Art, Wellesley is already on the list. Please ignore. 🙂
Thank you for thinking of us, Gabi. So happy to see that Wellesley finally dropped its ACT w/Writing requirement!
Oswego State (SUNY) https://www.oswego.edu/admissions/freshman-apply
Thank you for the update, Alaina. We’ve added Oswego to the list.
Marist is accepting self reported test scores.
Kent,
Could you point me to the policy on the website? I am not finding specific language on self-reporting. Thank you!
Please add Lafayette college
https://admissions.lafayette.edu/first-year-applicants/
Natalie,
We’ve updated the list to include Lafayette. Thanks!