Do I have to take SAT or ACT to apply for a college in the US?

Answered

Hi @ahmedwali

Most colleges are still testing optional. But Georgetown, Gallaudet, all Public Colleges in Georgia and Florida, MIT, and all the military academies like West Point require either the SAT or ACT.

The simple answer is that as an International student if you do not have an SAT or ACT to submit, it will be more difficult to gain acceptance into a good college. The caveat is that if you are one of the smartest most accomplished students in your country, you will not need a test score to convince admissions officers. However, for most Int'l applicants, having a good test score to submit takes the risk out of the equation for the admissions officer on the question of whether your not you meet a threshold of competency to do well on their campus taking real college courses. Having a high English and Reading score ensures the admissions office can understand how to read and write well. And having a high Math or Science score means you have met the minimum standards for STEM courses. Submitting a high TOEFL, IELTS or DuoLingo English test score only helps admissions officers be aware you can converse well in English.

Without the SAT or ACT, it's much safer and more convenient for an admissions officer to admit someone from your school or town or city that has taken one or the other test. If your city doesn't offer access to an SAT or ACT test center and you can't logistically take the test or if you are too poor to take the test, then you can use the Add'l information section of the common app to explain your personal situation. Writing in a good explanation doesn't mean you are going to get special consideration but at least they will weigh your circumstances holistically against other highly qualified students from your country who are also not submitting test scores.

Historically most highly qualified applicants who also submit test scores have an advantage over someone of equal GPA, course rigor, and intellectual vitality who doesn't have test scores to submit. That bump you get from submitting good test scores for your demographic can be anywhere from 10% to 20%, depending on the college and how competitive they are.

If you are from a SWANA country that is poor or lacking in resources (Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Lebanon, or live as a refugee), NOT submitting a test score will not impact your admissions file very much. However, if you are from a wealthy family in Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, you should have the resources to do college prep, take the test(S) and submit them.

If you are from say, China or India, where there are literally hundreds of thousands of high school students vying to apply to top American colleges, then the competition is fierce and you should probably have a test score to submit.

I hope that makes things clearer for you.

Good luck.