Best Test-Optional Eastern Colleges
There are 275 test-optional colleges in the East, ranked using the same methodology as our national list. These schools do not require SAT or ACT scores with your application.
Princeton University leads East test-optional rankings for 2027. The top rated public option is University at Buffalo. Also highly ranked: Amherst College, Williams College and Wellesley College.
Without test scores, your GPA, activities, recommendation letters, and essays carry more weight. Compare acceptance rates, tuition, and enrollment across the colleges below. Explore the regional list below or browse individual states. See our ranking methodology for how schools are scored.
Widener University
- Private 4 Year
- Chester, PA
-
| 0 reviews
Widener is a private university known for undergraduate engineering, nursing, and business. The Chester campus sits just south of Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1080-1290
- Avg GPA 3.46
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $26,778
Lycoming College
- Private 4 Year
- Williamsport, PA
-
| 0 reviews
Lycoming is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology, archaeology, and business. The residential campus sits in Williamsport along the Susquehanna River in north-central Pennsylvania.
- SAT Range 1080-1300
- Avg GPA 3.57
- Acceptance Rate 74%
- Net Price $20,492
Messiah University
- Private 4 Year
- Mechanicsburg, PA
-
| 0 reviews
Messiah is a private Christian university known for undergraduate nursing, engineering, and music. Most undergrads live on the residential campus in the Harrisburg suburbs.
- SAT Range 1110-1350
- Avg GPA 3.8
- Acceptance Rate 79%
- Net Price $29,408
SUNY at Fredonia
- Public 4 Year
- Fredonia, NY
-
| 0 reviews
Fredonia is a public university known for undergraduate music, performing arts, and education. The residential campus sits in a small college town in western New York near Lake Erie.
- SAT Range 1160-1370
- Avg GPA 3.3
- Acceptance Rate 78%
- Net Price $16,023
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
- Public 4 Year
- Buzzards Bay, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Apr 15 application deadline
Mass Maritime is a public maritime academy known for undergraduate marine transportation, marine engineering, and maritime business. Most students join a regiment of cadets on a campus along the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay.
- SAT Range 1030-1185
- Avg GPA 3.25
- Acceptance Rate 95%
- Net Price $13,546
Gordon College
- Private 4 Year
- Wenham, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Gordon is a private Christian liberal arts college known for undergraduate music, education, and psychology. Most students live on a wooded residential campus in the small North Shore town of Wenham.
- SAT Range 1130-1355
- Avg GPA 3.58
- Acceptance Rate 69%
- Net Price $25,299
Saint Vincent College
- Private 4 Year
- Latrobe, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- May 1 application deadline
Saint Vincent is a private Benedictine liberal arts college known for undergraduate business and biology. The campus shares its grounds with Saint Vincent Archabbey in a small western Pennsylvania town.
- SAT Range 1020-1230
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 62%
- Net Price $23,758
CUNY Queens College
- Public 4 Year
- Queens, NY
-
4.0 | 1 reviews
Queens College is a public CUNY college known for undergraduate music through the Aaron Copland School of Music and for education. The tree-lined campus is in Flushing, Queens.
- SAT Range 1010-1290
- Avg GPA 3.0
- Acceptance Rate 64%
- Net Price $5,728
SUNY at Purchase College
- Public 4 Year
- Purchase, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jul 1 application deadline
Purchase is a public college known for undergraduate performing arts, visual arts, and film. The suburban Westchester campus sits near New York City.
- SAT Range 1185-1380
- Avg GPA 3.37
- Acceptance Rate 74%
- Net Price $18,211
Drew University
- Private 4 Year
- Madison, NJ
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Drew is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate theater, political science, and the humanities. The forested campus sits in suburban Madison near New York City.
- SAT Range 1103-1338
- Avg GPA 3.1
- Acceptance Rate 68%
- Net Price $28,425
Pace University
- Private 4 Year
- New York, NY
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
Pace is a private university known for undergraduate business and performing arts. The urban Manhattan campus sits near New York City's financial district.
- SAT Range 1180-1340
- Avg GPA 3.4
- Acceptance Rate 76%
- Net Price $34,791
College of Our Lady of the Elms
- Private 4 Year
- Chicopee, MA
-
3.5 | 4 reviews
Elms College is a private Catholic college known for undergraduate nursing and education. The small campus is in Chicopee in western Massachusetts.
- SAT Range 1150-1320
- Avg GPA 3.42
- Acceptance Rate 85%
- Net Price $19,870
Monmouth University
- Private 4 Year
- West Long Branch, NJ
-
| 0 reviews
- Mar 1 application deadline
Monmouth is a private university known for undergraduate business, communication, and education. The suburban campus sits a short drive from the Atlantic beaches on the New Jersey shore.
- SAT Range 1140-1310
- Avg GPA 3.57
- Acceptance Rate 89%
- Net Price $34,072
Gannon University
- Private 4 Year
- Erie, PA
-
4.0 | 2 reviews
Gannon is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate engineering, nursing, and the health sciences. The urban campus sits in downtown Erie near Lake Erie.
- SAT Range 990-1250
- Avg GPA 3.59
- Acceptance Rate 74%
- Net Price $23,123
University of Massachusetts Lowell
- Public 4 Year
- Lowell, MA
-
3.5 | 2 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
UMass Lowell is a public university known for undergraduate engineering, nursing, and sciences. The urban campus sits along the Merrimack River in Lowell.
- SAT Range 1180-1370
- Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 83%
- Net Price $16,530
SUNY Maritime College
- Public 4 Year
- Throggs Neck, NY
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 31 application deadline
SUNY Maritime is a public maritime college known for undergraduate marine transportation, marine engineering, and naval architecture. The waterfront campus occupies historic Fort Schuyler on the Throggs Neck peninsula in the Bronx.
- SAT Range 1123-1288
- Avg GPA 3.4
- Acceptance Rate 72%
- Net Price $20,312
Susquehanna University
- Private 4 Year
- Selinsgrove, PA
-
| 0 reviews
Susquehanna is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate business and communications. The campus sits along the Susquehanna River in the small town of Selinsgrove.
- SAT Range 1100-1300
- Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 81%
- Net Price $26,444
Fairleigh Dickinson University Florham Campus
- Private 4 Year
- Madison, NJ
-
| 0 reviews
Fairleigh Dickinson Florham is a private university known for undergraduate business, psychology, and communications. The residential campus occupies a historic estate in suburban Madison.
- SAT Range 1040-1310
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.42
- Acceptance Rate 95%
- Net Price $25,585