Research · Test scores · October 2026

At 112 Colleges, Fewer Than Half of First-Years Sent a Test Score

Name: At 112 Colleges, Fewer Than Half of First-Years Sent a Test Score
Creator: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach)
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

As of October 2026: At 112 of the 164 most-applied-to colleges that report the number, fewer than half of the first-years who enrolled in fall 2023 had sent an SAT or ACT score. Only 7 of those 164 colleges saw more than 80 percent of the class submit one.

The table gives each college's SAT and ACT submit share, the SAT range it publishes and its rule for 2026; it does not say whether sending a score helped anyone get in.

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

The findings, in plain English

A published score range can describe a small slice of the class. CUNY Lehman College publishes an SAT range of 860 to 1220, and 2 percent of its enrolled first-years sent an SAT score. Elon University publishes 1143 to 1305 on a 2 percent SAT share and a 1 percent ACT share. The range is real. It describes the students who chose to submit.

A share from fall 2023 does not tell you this year's rule. Some colleges on this list now require a score. Stanford University sat at a 47 percent SAT share for fall 2023 and requires a test for 2026. Columbia University in the City of New York was at 40 percent, Johns Hopkins University at 41 percent, and Ohio State University-Main Campus at 14 percent. The share describes a class that applied under the older rule.

A low share does not mean a low score bar. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 14 percent of enrolled first-years sent an SAT score, and the published range runs 1360 to 1510. At Stanford University the share was 47 percent and the range runs 1510 to 1580. A small submitting group can still be a strong one.

The 50 lowest SAT submit shares

Ranked by the share of enrolled first-years who sent an SAT score, lowest first.

College	State	Type	Applicants	Sent an SAT score	Sent an ACT score	SAT 25th	SAT 75th	Rule for 2026
Clark Atlanta University	GA	Private nonprofit	27,672	1%	1%	—	—	Test-optional
University at Albany	NY	Public	30,740	1%	—	—	—	Test-optional
CUNY Lehman College	NY	Public	20,954	2%	—	860	1,220	Test-optional
CUNY New York City College of Technology	NY	Public	21,007	2%	—	880	1,200	Test-optional
Elon University	NC	Private nonprofit	18,791	2%	1%	1,143	1,305	Test-optional
University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	Public	19,211	2%	2%	1,020	1,240	Test-optional
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice	NY	Public	17,921	5%	—	1,000	1,250	Test-optional
CUNY Queens College	NY	Public	20,800	5%	—	1,100	1,320	Test-optional
CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	Public	27,112	6%	—	1,140	1,420	Test-optional
CUNY City College	NY	Public	31,988	8%	—	1,220	1,460	Test-optional
Montclair State University	NJ	Public	23,599	8%	—	940	1,225	Test-optional
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	Public	39,863	8%	34%	1,310	1,480	Test-optional
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College	NY	Public	24,867	9%	—	1,210	1,410	Test-optional
CUNY Hunter College	NY	Public	31,614	9%	—	1,210	1,470	Test-optional
East Carolina University	NC	Public	22,289	9%	18%	1,050	1,200	Test-optional
University of Oregon	OR	Public	39,400	9%	5%	1,130	1,360	Test-optional
Western Carolina University	NC	Public	18,183	9%	23%	1,050	1,260	Test-optional
Appalachian State University	NC	Public	24,001	10%	24%	1,100	1,280	Test-optional
Miami University-Oxford	OH	Public	34,498	10%	29%	1,210	1,380	Test-optional
University of Dayton	OH	Private nonprofit	22,747	10%	29%	1,195	1,370	Test-optional
University of Utah	UT	Public	22,996	10%	44%	1,180	1,398	Test-optional
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	Public	33,165	11%	36%	1,150	1,360	Test-optional
Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	Public	25,648	12%	36%	1,100	1,290	Test-optional
North Carolina A & T State University	NC	Public	30,717	13%	15%	960	1,190	Test-optional
University of Arizona	AZ	Public	56,466	13%	22%	1,160	1,420	Test-optional
Grambling State University	LA	Public	24,521	14%	46%	860	1,150	Test-optional
Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	Public	70,028	14%	35%	1,330	1,480	Required
Tulane University of Louisiana	LA	Private nonprofit	27,936	14%	31%	1,390	1,510	Test-optional
University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	Public	63,505	14%	30%	1,360	1,510	Test-optional
Towson University	MD	Public	18,948	15%	2%	1,050	1,270	Test-optional
University of San Francisco	CA	Private nonprofit	25,709	15%	6%	1,210	1,390	Test-optional
Pace University	NY	Private nonprofit	28,469	18%	4%	1,130	1,328	Test-optional
The University of Alabama	AL	Public	58,418	18%	45%	1,170	1,400	Test-optional
James Madison University	VA	Public	35,750	19%	3%	1,170	1,320	Test-optional
Texas Christian University	TX	Private nonprofit	20,517	20%	15%	1,150	1,375	Test-optional
University of Colorado Boulder	CO	Public	56,069	20%	8%	1,230	1,420	Test-optional
Colgate University	NY	Private nonprofit	21,130	21%	18%	1,430	1,530	Test-optional
College of Charleston	SC	Public	26,683	21%	11%	1,130	1,300	Test-optional
North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	Public	40,049	21%	28%	1,300	1,460	Required
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	Public	22,699	21%	32%	1,110	1,320	Required
University of Rhode Island	RI	Public	25,391	22%	2%	1,030	1,270	Test-optional
Fordham University	NY	Private nonprofit	43,663	23%	9%	1,330	1,490	Test-optional
Seton Hall University	NJ	Private nonprofit	23,748	24%	4%	1,220	1,400	Test-optional
Syracuse University	NY	Private nonprofit	42,089	24%	9%	1,260	1,430	Test-optional
University of Delaware	DE	Public	37,690	24%	3%	1,200	1,360	Test-optional
Wingate University	NC	Private nonprofit	21,210	24%	12%	990	1,270	Test-optional
Loyola University Chicago	IL	Private nonprofit	40,468	25%	12%	1,160	1,340	Test-optional
Montana State University	MT	Public	21,975	25%	41%	1,060	1,270	Test-optional
Santa Clara University	CA	Private nonprofit	18,843	25%	12%	1,340	1,500	Test-optional
Vanderbilt University	TN	Private nonprofit	45,313	25%	26%	1,510	1,560	Test-optional

Fall 2023 entering class, the latest federal file. The share is the part of the enrolled first-year class that submitted that test, not the share of applicants and not the share of admitted students. A blank ACT share means the college does not report one, and a blank SAT range means it does not publish one. The college's own page may show a newer number. The rule in the last column is the rule for 2026.

The colleges here that now require a score

Same shares, for the colleges whose 2026 rule is a required test.

College	State	Type	Applicants	Sent an SAT score	Sent an ACT score	SAT 25th	SAT 75th	Rule for 2026
Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	Public	70,028	14%	35%	1,330	1,480	Required
North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	Public	40,049	21%	28%	1,300	1,460	Required
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	Public	22,699	21%	32%	1,110	1,320	Required
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	OK	Public	22,337	26%	42%	1,140	1,330	Required
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	Public	57,902	29%	34%	1,370	1,530	Required
University of Miami	FL	Private nonprofit	48,286	32%	21%	1,330	1,470	Required
Georgia State University	GA	Public	30,230	35%	13%	1,040	1,280	Required
Cornell University	NY	Private nonprofit	65,635	37%	12%	1,480	1,560	Required
University of Connecticut	CT	Public	46,645	37%	4%	1,210	1,420	Required
Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	Private nonprofit	57,613	40%	21%	1,490	1,570	Required
Kennesaw State University	GA	Public	23,138	40%	21%	1,020	1,220	Required
Johns Hopkins University	MD	Private nonprofit	38,926	41%	14%	1,530	1,580	Required
Dartmouth College	NH	Private nonprofit	28,841	43%	23%	1,500	1,570	Required
Stanford University	CA	Private nonprofit	53,733	47%	22%	1,510	1,580	Required

Fall 2023 entering class, the latest federal file, beside each college's rule for 2026. The share describes students who applied under the older rule, so a low share and a required test can sit in the same row. A college's own page may show a newer number.

What the submit share counts

The share is the part of the enrolled first-year class that sent that test. It is not the share of applicants, and it is not the share of admitted students. A college reports one share for the SAT and one for the ACT.

The two shares do not add up to a whole class. Some students send both tests, and at a test-optional college many send neither. Where the ACT share is blank, the college does not report it. Where the SAT range is blank, the college does not publish one.

Why the published ranges read high

A score range describes enrolled first-years who submitted that test. Students who believe a score helps them are the ones who send it, so the range sits above what the whole class looks like.

That is why a range and a share belong together. A range built on a small share tells you about a self-selected group, not about the class your child would join.

What a family should do with this

Start with the rule for 2026 in the table, then open the college's own admissions page, because a college can change the rule for a new class. If the college requires a test, the score is part of the plan and the test date comes first.

If the college is test-optional and the share is small, read the published range as a submitters' range. A score at or above the top of that range is a reason to send it. Below the bottom of it, grades and course rigor carry the application, and the score can stay home.

Questions parents ask

How many large colleges had fewer than half of their first-years send a score?

At 112 of the 164 most-applied-to colleges that report the number, fewer than half of the first-years who enrolled in fall 2023 had sent an SAT or ACT score.

Does a low submit share mean the college's score range is low?

A small submitting group can still be a strong one.

Is the submit share the share of applicants?

It is not the share of applicants, and it is not the share of admitted students.

Method & sources: The shares come from the federal IPEDS admissions file for the 2023-24 collection, which covers the fall 2023 entering class, the latest federal file. The population is the 200 most-applied-to colleges, 164 of which report a submit share, and the 112 in this brief are the ones where neither the SAT share nor the ACT share reached half the enrolled class. The SAT range is the college's own published range for enrolled first-years who submitted that test, so it leaves out everyone who did not. The first table is ranked by SAT submit share, lowest first, and the second holds the colleges whose rule for 2026 requires a score.

This brief as data: /research/where-fewer-than-half-submit-scores.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).