Best Test-Optional U.S. Colleges
CollegeSimply ranks 976 four-year colleges that do not require SAT or ACT scores for admission. These are the highest-ranked test-optional schools in the U.S., sorted by academic quality and student outcomes. Policies can vary by applicant and year, so confirm requirements on each school's website before applying.
Princeton University leads our 2027 test-optional rankings, ranked #1 nationally. The top rated public option is University of Michigan Ann Arbor. Also highly ranked: Duke University, University of Chicago and Rice University.
Without test scores, your GPA, activities, recommendation letters, and essays carry more weight. Compare acceptance rates, tuition, and enrollment across the full list below. Filter by state or sort by selectivity to build your list. You can also explore matches by GPA on our college search by GPA. See our ranking methodology for how schools are scored.
University of Connecticut
- Public 4 Year
- Storrs, CT
-
4.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
UConn is a large public university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and engineering. Most students live on the residential campus in the college town of Storrs.
- SAT Range 1210-1440
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.74
- Acceptance Rate 52%
- Net Price $25,310
Bentley University
- Private 4 Year
- Waltham, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Bentley is a private university known for undergraduate business, accounting, and finance. The suburban campus sits in Waltham just west of Boston.
- SAT Range 1280-1430
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.75
- Acceptance Rate 45%
- Net Price $45,802
Babson College
- Private 4 Year
- Wellesley, MA
-
4.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 3 application deadline
Babson is a private college known for undergraduate entrepreneurship and business. The suburban campus is in Wellesley near Boston.
- SAT Range 1390-1530
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.79
- Acceptance Rate 17%
- Net Price $32,019
University of Wisconsin Madison
- Public 4 Year
- Madison, WI
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Wisconsin is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate business, engineering, and the biological sciences. The lakeside campus occupies an isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona in a classic college town.
- SAT Range 1380-1520
- Avg GPA 3.88
- Acceptance Rate 45%
- Net Price $14,235
Texas Christian University
- Private 4 Year
- Fort Worth, TX
-
4.8 | 4 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
TCU is a private university known for undergraduate business and communications. The residential campus sits a few miles from downtown Fort Worth.
- SAT Range 1140-1350
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.68
- Acceptance Rate 44%
- Net Price $41,848
Simmons University
- Private 4 Year
- Boston, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Simmons is a private women's university known for undergraduate nursing, social work, and health sciences. The urban campus sits in Boston's Fenway neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1220-1390
- Avg GPA 3.87
- Acceptance Rate 70%
- Net Price $28,691
University of California Santa Barbara
- Public 4 Year
- Santa Barbara, CA
-
4.7 | 3 reviews
- Nov 30 application deadline
UCSB is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate physics, marine science, and environmental studies. The oceanfront campus sits directly on the Pacific coast near Santa Barbara.
- SAT Range 1230-1460
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.82
- Acceptance Rate 33%
- Net Price $17,658
University of Tulsa
- Private 4 Year
- Tulsa, OK
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
University of Tulsa is a private university known for undergraduate petroleum engineering and energy programs. The compact urban campus sits in midtown Tulsa.
- SAT Range 1223-1530
- Avg GPA 3.97
- Acceptance Rate 62%
- Net Price $13,095
Rutgers University New Brunswick
- Public 4 Year
- New Brunswick, NJ
-
4.8 | 4 reviews
Rutgers is a large public university known for undergraduate pharmacy, engineering, and life sciences. Students take classes across multiple campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway linked by campus buses.
- SAT Range 1310-1500
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.3
- Acceptance Rate 58%
- Net Price $20,522
University of San Francisco
- Private 4 Year
- San Francisco, CA
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
USF is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate nursing, business, and international studies. The urban campus sits beside Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
- SAT Range 1190-1390
- Avg GPA 3.57
- Acceptance Rate 62%
- Net Price $45,443
Stevens Institute of Technology
- Private 4 Year
- Hoboken, NJ
-
| 0 reviews
Stevens is a private technological university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and systems engineering. The compact Hoboken campus sits on the Hudson River waterfront facing the Manhattan skyline.
- SAT Range 1380-1505
- Avg GPA 3.88
- Acceptance Rate 48%
- Net Price $46,165
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
- Public 4 Year
- Champaign, IL
-
4.4 | 5 reviews
- Jan 5 application deadline
Illinois is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate computer science and engineering. The campus spans the adjacent college towns of Champaign and Urbana.
- SAT Range 1310-1520
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.79
- Acceptance Rate 42%
- Net Price $13,973
Drexel University
- Private 4 Year
- Philadelphia, PA
-
3.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Drexel is a private university known for undergraduate engineering, design, and business. The urban campus is in Philadelphia's University City neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1240-1440
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 79%
- Net Price $42,801
Seattle University
- Private 4 Year
- Seattle, WA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Seattle University is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate nursing and business. The urban campus sits on First Hill near downtown Seattle.
- SAT Range 1200-1430
- Avg GPA 3.62
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $36,948
Texas A&M University College Station
- Public 4 Year
- College Station, TX
-
5.0 | 6 reviews
- Dec 1 application deadline
Texas A&M is a large public university known for undergraduate engineering, agriculture, and business. A large Corps of Cadets gives the College Station campus a long-standing military tradition.
- SAT Range 1150-1400
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.68
- Acceptance Rate 57%
- Net Price $21,437
Rhodes College
- Private 4 Year
- Memphis, TN
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Rhodes is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology and international studies. The collegiate Gothic campus sits in a wooded residential section of Memphis.
- SAT Range 1300-1486
- Avg GPA 3.99
- Acceptance Rate 50%
- Net Price $31,037
University of the Pacific
- Private 4 Year
- Stockton, CA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Pacific is a private university known for its Conservatory of Music and undergraduate programs in business and health sciences. Most undergrads live on the residential Stockton campus in California's Central Valley.
- SAT Range 1183-1480
- Avg GPA 3.58
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $31,670
Virginia Military Institute
- Public 4 Year
- Lexington, VA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
VMI is a public military college known for undergraduate engineering and the sciences. All students join the Corps of Cadets and live in barracks under a military regimen on the historic Lexington campus.
- SAT Range 1050-1270
- Avg GPA 3.65
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $18,825