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.
Oglethorpe University in Atlanta accepts self-reported scores as well 🙂
Hi Whitney,
Do you have a webpage or press release that says this? All I found on Oglethorpe’s website was that they still require official test scores: https://oglethorpe.edu/admission/undergraduate-admission/how-to-apply/firstyear/
Eckerd College accepts self-reported scores:
https://www.eckerd.edu/admissions/faq/
Thank you for letting us know, Stephanie! We’ve added Eckerd.
Quinnipiac says that if you self report test scores you need to send official scores by June 1st if you plan to enroll. https://www.qu.edu/admissions/undergraduate.html
Thank you for letting us know, Andrea! We have added Quinnipiac.
Bennington College will accept self-reported scores:
https://www.bennington.edu/academics/graduate-postbac-programs/postbaccalaureate-premedical-program/frequently-asked-questions
Click into “Do you require ACT, SAT or GRE scores?”
Thank you!
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for reaching out! It looks like that section of Bennington’s website focuses on requirements for a few select graduate programs. On their regular admissions page, it doesn’t say whether or not they accept self-reported scores. However, Bennington is a test optional school, so students can always consider that when choosing to apply and/or send scores!
https://www.bennington.edu/admissions-aid/apply/common-application
RPI in Troy NY allows self reporting scores
Hi Ashar,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute does accept self-reported scores (unless you are applying to an accelerated program in law or medicine) and is already on our list!
Trinity College accepts self-reported scores starting this year.
Hi MJ,
Trinity College (in Connecticut) is a test optional school, but I don’t see on their website whether or not they take self-reported scores for students who choose to submit. Trinity University (in Texas) does accept self-reported scores beginning this year and is already on our list!
College of Wooster allows self reporting with official reports only if enrolled: https://www.wooster.edu/admissions/apply/first-year/policy/
Hi Robin,
Thanks for reaching out. The College of Wooster is already on our list!
This is a valuable resource that can save money for students – thank you for coordinating it. Please add Bentley.
Hi Veronica,
Thank you for the kind words! And thank you for letting us know about Bentley – we’ve added it to the list.
Please add Old Dominion University; they began taking self-reported testing in mid-October.
Thank you for letting us know, Erin! We have added ODU to the list.
Hello – please add Gettysburg College and Vassar College to the list!
Hi Jillian,
Thanks for reaching out! We have added Gettysburg College to the list. Vassar, however, appears to only accept scores that are included on official high school transcripts or scores that are validated by a counselor. We consider this to be a separate category from “self-report” because it relies on someone other than the student sending the scores to the college.
Here is a link from Vassar’s site that says they will accept self-reported scores: https://www.vassar.edu/admissions/apply/requirements/
Thank you for letting us know about Vassar and Wesleyan! We have added both to the list.
Please add Washington and Lee college to your list
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for letting us know about W&L – we’ve added it to the list!
Hi there,
Thank you for the list. It helped me a lot. However, i was thinking if you could look into this link as well-https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/self-reporting-ACT-and-SAT
there are some other collages too.
Hi Rezwana,
Thanks for sharing this list! I cross-referenced it with ours and only found a couple that we haven’t included because of slight variations in definitions. For example, University of Oregon accepts scores on official high school transcripts; we consider this a separate category from “self-report” because it relies on someone other than the student sending the scores to the university.
Vanderbilt allows self-reporting of scores:
https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/quickguide/
Hi Judy,
Thanks for letting us know! We’ve added Vanderbilt to the list.
My daughter filled out her University of California application and she self-reported her SAT and ACT scores.
Hi Angie,
Thank you for passing that info along! We have added the UC system to our list.
UNC Chapel Hill is self-report this year – https://admissions.unc.edu/apply/how-we-review-test-scores/#:~:text=Please%20self%2Dreport%20scores%20even,directly%20from%20the%20testing%20service.
Hi Kara,
Thanks for letting us know! We’ve added UNC Chapel Hill.
Hi, Elon allows students to self-report. Per their website: Yes, Elon will accept self-reported scores. Applicants may self-report SAT/ACT scores on the application for admission. If an applicant is offered admission and enrolls, an official copy of the SAT/ACT score will be required.
Thanks, Kathy!
University of Wisconsin Madison allows self reporting https://admissions.wisc.edu/application-materials/
Thank you for letting us know – UW-Madison is on the list!
Brandeis University should be on this list as well. “Brandeis accepts self-reported exam scores for admissions review.” https://www.brandeis.edu/admissions/apply/testing.html
Hi Susie,
Thanks for the info! We’ve added Brandeis.
Hi!
Thanks so much for compiling this list — so helpful to students/families.
Fairfield allows self-reporting on the Common App (a question within their general questions).
Thanks!
Hi Ann,
Thank you for letting us know — we’ve added Fairfield.
UMass Lowell has started accepting self-reported scores https://www.uml.edu/admissions/apply/self-reported-test-score-faq.aspx
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for this info! UMass Lowell is on the list.
Butler University is test optional and self report. https://www.butler.edu/admission/first-year-application-process and https://www.butler.edu/admission/test-optional
Thank you for letting us know! We’ve added Butler to the list.
College of Wooster is test-optional, and also allows self-reporting.
https://www.wooster.edu/admissions/apply/first-year/policy/
Hi Miranda,
Wooster is already on our list!
Morning! I’m on a webinar with Claremont McKenna, Colorado College, Connecticut College, Grinnell, Haverford, Kenyon, Macalester, and Sarah Lawrence.
FYI: all 8 confirmed they will accept self-reported scores. CMC, Grinnell, and Sarah Lawrence aren’t on your list yet.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for the info! We added CMC and SLC, however, Grinell has listed on their website that they only accept official scores from the testing agency, scores listed on an official transcript, or scores sent from a counselor. We consider that a separate category from self-report.
https://www.grinnell.edu/admission/apply/first-year/requirements
Doesn’t wesleyan unviersity let you self-report?
Hi Eliza,
Wesleyan is a test-optional school, however, we couldn’t find any official words on their site indicating whether or not they accept self-reported scores from students who choose to submit. If you see a policy on their site, please send us a link!
Here is a link from Wesleyan’s site that says they will accept self-reported scores: https://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/apply/testing.html
Michigan State allows self reporting in the application! https://admissions.msu.edu/apply/freshman/before-you-apply/test-optional.aspx
Hi Andrea,
Thank you for letting us know about MSU – we’ve added them to the list!
Denison is test optional, but allows students to self report if they choose to submit scores:
https://denison.edu/campus/admission/apply-for-admission
Hi Christy,
Thanks for letting us know about Denison! They are now on our list.