Research · States · October 2026

Georgia College Admissions 2026: 7 of 9 Public Universities Require a Test Score

As of October 2026: Of the 9 Georgia public universities we checked, 7 require an SAT or ACT score for fall 2026, including Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia; 2 are test-optional. Georgia's class of 2025 averaged 1038 on the SAT and 21.4 on the ACT, and the Zell Miller Scholarship asks for a 3.7 GPA plus a single-sitting SAT 1200 or ACT 25.

Test rules by campus, state score averages, HOPE and Zell Miller rules, and the high schools that lead on the Georgia Milestones.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

Does each Georgia public university require the SAT or ACT in 2026?

All 9 Georgia public universities we checked, with the policy for fall 2026, the terms it applies to, and whether the campus will take the CLT. Rows come from each university's own page or the University System of Georgia announcement.

Georgia College & State University has about 6,800 undergraduates, below our usual enrollment bar, but it is on the required list, so we kept it. Augusta, Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State, West Georgia and Valdosta State were not confirmed on their own sites; those rows rest on the University System of Georgia page.

How did Georgia score on the SAT and ACT in the class of 2025?

Statewide means and participation for Georgia graduates in the class of 2025, from the College Board state report and the ACT state table.

A state's mean moves with participation. Georgia had 74,667 SAT test takers in the class of 2025, and ACT participation was 23 percent.

What do Georgia's state scholarships require?

The two main state merit awards, with the GPA and test rules each one carries.

HOPE also requires 4 rigor credits and a 3.0 maintained in college. For Zell Miller, 3.3 is the separate in-college maintenance GPA, and the 3.0 valedictorian or salutatorian path needs no test score.

Which Georgia high schools lead on the state test?

The 30 Georgia high schools with the highest share of students scoring Proficient or Distinguished, averaged across the core end-of-course Milestones exams in 2024-25.

Graduation rate is not reported in this data set. The list shows leaders, not a full ranking of every Georgia high school.

Does every Georgia public university require the SAT or ACT in 2026?

No. It depends on the campus. Of the 9 Georgia public universities we checked, 7 require a score and 2 are test-optional.

The 7 that require a score for fall 2026 are Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Georgia, Augusta University, Georgia College & State University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University. The 2 that are test-optional are the University of West Georgia and Valdosta State University. Both of those sit off the system's required list for the 2026-27 academic year.

This is a change from how many Georgia families remember the process. For the 2026-27 academic year, Augusta University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University all moved from test-optional back to required. That is 4 campuses. The other 3 on the list -- Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia and Georgia College & State University -- were already required in 2025-26.

What this means in practice is simple. If your student is applying to any of those 7 campuses, a test score is not a choice. It is part of the file, the same as the transcript. Families should plan a first test date early enough to allow a second try before the application goes in.

The test-optional label on West Georgia and Valdosta State is also not a promise that a score never matters. The system page says other institutions may require test scores based on the applicant's high school grade point average. A student with a lower GPA may still be asked for a score at one of those two campuses.

Does the University of Georgia require a test score for fall 2026?

Yes. The University of Georgia requires an SAT or ACT score from current first-year and dual-enrollment applicants for fall 2026 and fall 2027. Its own admissions page states that all first-year and dual enrollment applicants are required to submit official test scores from either ACT or SAT.

The pack's note on UGA says the score rule held through the 2025-26 academic year and the 2026-27 year, and will remain in place into 2027-28. That makes it one of the steadiest rules in the state.

There is one more detail that matters for 2027 applicants. UGA is one of only two University System of Georgia institutions excluded from the fall 2027 CLT substitution. The other is Georgia Tech. So a CLT score will not stand in for the SAT or ACT at either campus, even after other campuses begin taking it.

Dual enrollment is the part families miss most often. A student taking college classes through UGA while still in high school falls under the same score rule as a first-year applicant. Plan the test date around that, not just around the regular application deadline.

Our read for families: treat the SAT or ACT as a fixed step on the UGA path. The score date, the registration, and a retake window all belong on the calendar in junior year.

Does Georgia Tech require the SAT or ACT?

Yes. Georgia Institute of Technology requires a test score for fall 2026 and fall 2027. Its admissions page says all first-year applicants must submit results from at least one SAT and/or ACT in order to be considered for admission.

The phrase to read closely is "in order to be considered." A file without a score is not a weaker file at Georgia Tech. It is an incomplete one. The score is a gate, not a tiebreaker.

The pack's note says Georgia Tech kept the requirement in place the whole time. Nothing about the 2026-27 policy is new for this campus. That stability helps families plan, because the rule a sophomore sees today should be the rule a senior meets later.

Like UGA, Georgia Tech does not accept the CLT. The two schools are the only University System of Georgia institutions excluded from the fall 2027 CLT substitution allowance. A student aiming at Atlanta's tech campus needs the SAT or the ACT specifically.

For a family building a test plan, Georgia Tech sets the ceiling. If your student is applying there, the SAT or ACT prep schedule should be built around that campus, and the scores will then cover every other public university in the state.

Which Georgia public universities are still test-optional?

Two: the University of West Georgia in Carrollton and Valdosta State University in Valdosta. Both are test-optional for fall 2026 and both sit off the system's required list.

The system page describes these campuses with one sentence: all other institutions may require test scores based on the applicant's high school grade point average. That is a conditional rule, not a blanket exemption. A strong core GPA is what keeps a score from being needed.

Both campuses are also listed as accepting the CLT beginning in fall 2027. That gives students one more path, though the SAT and ACT remain the common choice across the state.

We want to be plain about a limit here. Neither West Georgia nor Valdosta State was confirmed on its own admissions site during our checks. Both sites returned errors to our automated look-up. These two rows rest on the University System of Georgia announcement page alone.

For families, the practical move is to take the test anyway if the student is also applying to any of the 7 required campuses. A score already in hand costs nothing extra at a test-optional school and may help if the GPA falls below a campus threshold.

What is a good SAT score in Georgia?

Georgia's class of 2025 posted a mean SAT total of 1038. That breaks into 532 on reading and writing and 506 on math, so any total above 1038 sits above the state average.

Participation shapes that number. 56 percent of Georgia graduates in the class of 2025 took the SAT during high school, which comes to 74,667 test takers. When more than half a graduating class tests, the mean includes students who were not aiming at selective colleges. A state mean moves with participation, and a high share pulls the average down.

So 1038 is a useful floor, not a goal. For the campuses that require a score, students usually aim well above the state mean. The clearest target in Georgia is the Zell Miller Scholarship line of 1200 in a single sitting, because that one number carries real money with it.

Math is the softer half of the state profile. The Georgia math mean of 506 sits below the reading and writing mean of 532. In our work with families, math is also the section that responds fastest to steady practice, because the content list is finite.

A fair way to set a family target: start from 1038 as the middle, set 1200 as the scholarship line, and check each campus for what its own admitted students look like.

What is a good ACT score in Georgia?

Georgia's class of 2025 had a mean ACT composite of 21.4. A composite above 21.4 puts a student above the state average.

ACT participation in Georgia was 23 percent, far below the 56 percent who took the SAT. That matters for how you read the two numbers. A smaller, more self-selected group takes the ACT in Georgia, so the 21.4 mean comes from a different pool than the 1038 SAT mean.

The scholarship line for the ACT is 25 in a single sitting for Zell Miller. That sits above the state mean of 21.4, which tells you the award is built to reward strong testers rather than average ones.

Every Georgia public university on the required list takes either test. There is no campus in our table that prefers one over the other. So the right test is the one your student scores better on, not the one the neighbors took.

Our advice is to try both formats once under timed conditions, compare the results against the state means of 1038 and 21.4, and then commit to a single test for the rest of the prep cycle. Splitting effort across two tests rarely pays.

What does the HOPE Scholarship require in Georgia?

The HOPE Scholarship requires a 3.0 core-course GPA as calculated by the state aid agency, and it asks for no test score at all. It covers a set percentage of in-state public-college tuition and sets no income limit.

Two conditions sit beside the GPA. HOPE requires 4 rigor credits, and the student must maintain a 3.0 once in college. The award is not a one-time check; it renews only while the college GPA holds.

The no-income-limit part surprises many families. HOPE is a merit program. A household at any income level can qualify if the student's core GPA reaches 3.0 and the rigor credits are complete.

The GPA used is not the one printed on a report card. It is the state's core-course GPA, built from the academic classes the program counts. A student with a strong overall average but weak core grades can land below the line.

For planning, HOPE is the safety net under the whole Georgia admissions picture. Even a student who skips the SAT at a test-optional campus can carry HOPE money there, because the program asks for no test score.

What does the Zell Miller Scholarship require?

The Zell Miller Scholarship requires a 3.7 core GPA plus an SAT 1200 or ACT 25 earned in a single sitting, and it covers 100 percent of in-state public-college tuition. There is no income limit.

There is a second path. A named valedictorian or salutatorian qualifies at a 3.0 core GPA with no test score required. That path is narrow by design, since each high school names only one of each.

Once in college, the maintenance GPA is 3.3, not 3.7. That is a separate number from the entry rule, and it is the one that decides whether the award renews each year.

The phrase "single sitting" does the heavy lifting. A superscore that combines a strong math day with a strong reading day does not count for Zell Miller. The 1200 has to come from one test date, and so does the 25 on the ACT.

This is where test prep pays in cash for Georgia families. The gap between HOPE and Zell Miller is the gap between a set share of tuition and all of it. A student who already has the 3.7 core GPA has one clear, finite target left, and that is the 1200 or the 25.

Which Georgia high schools lead on the state Milestones test?

Gwinnett School of Mathematics- Science and Technology in Lawrenceville leads at 98.0 percent proficient or distinguished, averaged across the core end-of-course exams in 2024-25. Elite Scholars Academy School in Jonesboro follows at 92.3 percent, and Alliance Academy for Innovation in Cumming is third at 88.0 percent.

Our table holds 30 schools. The bottom of the list, Denmark High School in Alpharetta at 67.5 percent, still sits far above a typical campus. These are the leaders, not a full ranking of every high school in the state.

The list mixes school types. Magnet and specialty schools such as Davidson Fine Arts Magnet at 84.0 percent and Savannah Arts Academy at 80.5 percent sit next to large neighborhood schools such as Walton High School at 82.5 percent and Lambert High School at 79.5 percent. A strong zoned school can match a selective one.

Geography clusters hard around metro Atlanta. Marietta appears three times, with Walton at 82.5 percent, Lassiter at 79.8 percent and Pope at 77.5 percent. Cumming and Alpharetta each show up twice. Families outside the metro should note Columbus High School at 84.2 percent and Glynn Academy in Brunswick at 67.8 percent.

Graduation rate is not reported in this data set, so these rows show test results only. Milestones proficiency is a measure of how a school's students handle state course exams. It is not a direct forecast of SAT or ACT results.

How does the CLT fit into Georgia admissions?

Seven of the 9 campuses in our table will accept the Classic Learning Test beginning in fall 2027, and 2 will not. Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia are the only two University System of Georgia institutions excluded from the fall 2027 CLT substitution allowance.

For fall 2026, the CLT is not the story. Every required campus in our table is asking for the SAT or ACT this cycle. The CLT allowance starts with the fall 2027 term, which affects students now in their junior year and below.

The campuses listed as accepting the CLT from fall 2027 are Augusta University, Georgia College & State University, Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, the University of West Georgia and Valdosta State University.

One caution for families drawn to the CLT. Georgia's two flagship public campuses are the two that will not take it. A student who tests only on the CLT closes the door at Georgia Tech and UGA.

The state scholarship rules also name the SAT and the ACT. Zell Miller asks for an SAT 1200 or an ACT 25 in a single sitting. Our scholarship table does not list a CLT equivalent, so we cannot state one here.

How do the Milestones leaders connect to the test rules?

The 30 schools in our Milestones table sit all over the state, and all 9 public universities in our test table draw students from them. A high Milestones share does not change a campus test rule. The 7 required campuses ask every applicant for a score.

Two of the leading schools share a city with a required campus. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet at 84.0 percent is in Augusta, home of Augusta University. Harrison High School at 69.8 percent is in Kennesaw, home of Kennesaw State University. Both of those universities require a score for fall 2026.

Milestones results and SAT results measure different things. The Milestones exams test Georgia course content at the end of a class. The SAT and ACT test a broader set of reading and math skills on one timed day.

So a student at a top Milestones school still needs a test plan. Strong course exams are a good sign, but they do not substitute for the 1200 Zell Miller line or for a campus score rule.

The practical read for a family is this. Use the school list to see where strong course results cluster, then build the SAT or ACT plan around the 7 campuses that require a score.

What should a Georgia family do first in 2026?

Start by checking which of the 9 campuses are on your student's list, because 7 of them require a score and 2 do not. That one check sets the whole test plan.

Next, put two numbers on the wall. 1038 is the Georgia SAT mean and 21.4 is the Georgia ACT mean for the class of 2025. Those tell you where your student stands against the state. Then add 1200 and 25, the single-sitting Zell Miller lines, as the money targets.

Third, track the core GPA, not the weighted one on the report card. HOPE turns on a 3.0 core GPA with 4 rigor credits. Zell Miller turns on a 3.7 core GPA. The difference between those two lines is the difference between part of tuition and all of it.

Fourth, build in a retake. Because Zell Miller counts a single sitting, a student who falls short on one date cannot patch it with a better math section later. More test dates mean more chances at one clean sitting.

Last, remember what our data does not say. Five campus rows rest on the system announcement rather than the school's own page, and graduation rates are not reported for the high schools we list. Use these tables as the starting map, then confirm each campus deadline in writing before the application goes in.

Related: Georgia test policy page · State merit scholarships · Georgia high schools · Family Decision Report