Test policy · 50 states · Alaska

Do Alaska's public universities require the SAT or ACT in 2026?

As of October 2026: It depends on the campus. Of the 3 Alaska public universities we checked, 2 are test-optional (University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Southeast); 1 does not consider scores (University of Alaska Anchorage).

Alaska's only public four-year universities are the three campuses of the University of Alaska System. None require SAT/ACT for first-year admission: UAF and UAS say scores are not required (useful only for scholarship eligibility or course placement), and UAA says scores are not used in the admissions decision for most programs. There is no statewide/Board of Regents regulation mandating a test-score policy — each campus sets its own via its own catalog.

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 statewide rule

No statewide rule. University of Alaska Board of Regents does not set a testing requirement; each public university in Alaska sets its own policy.

Board of Regents Policy/Regulation Chapter 10.05 (Admission and Graduation Requirements, last revised 08/16/2022) governs admission system-wide but does not mention SAT, ACT, or standardized test scores anywhere (confirmed by direct fetch 2026-10-08); each MAU (UAF, UAA, UAS) sets its own test-score policy through its own catalog.

University of Alaska System: Varies by campus, 2026-2027 catalog year (current for fall 2026 applicants). No system-wide SAT/ACT rule exists in Board of Regents policy/regulation (confirmed by direct fetch 2026-10-08: the page does not mention SAT, ACT, or standardized tests at all). UAF and UAS do not require scores (not explicitly stated as test-blind); UAA explicitly states scores are not used in the admissions decision for most programs. Treated here as varies_by_campus because the exact wording differs by campus even though none require scores. Source

University by university

The flagship and the state's largest public universities. Each label comes from the university's own admissions page, quoted; "applies to" is the entering term the page names. 0 required · 2 test-optional · 1 test-blind.

University	SAT / ACT	Applies to	CLT	Source
University of Alaska Fairbanks Flagship Fairbanks Began as a COVID-19 testing waiver instituted March 2020 and extended through fall 2021 (per a June 25, 2020 UAF news article, https://www.uaf.edu/news/archives/news-archives-2010-2021/uaf-extends-sat-act-test-waiver-through-2021.php); still in effect as of the 2026-2027 catalog, but the exact date it became a permanent policy was not confirmed on an official page. Baccalaureate admission requires a cumulative GPA of 2.5 and the 16-credit high school core curriculum; scores are not considered for UAF's own scholarships but a qualifying score is required for some non-UAF scholarships (e.g. the Alaska Performance Scholarship), and scores may substitute for placement testing. Same language confirmed on the official admissions page https://www.uaf.edu/admissions/apply/ug.php ("As of December 6, 2023, UAF doesn't require ACT/SAT scores for admission to any undergraduate degree program.").	Test-optional	2026-2027 catalog (current policy, no end date stated)	—	“UAF does not require ACT/SAT test scores for admission to any undergraduate degree program.” catalog.uaf.edu
University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage Baccalaureate admission is based on high school GPA of at least 2.00 (or cumulative college GPA of 1.75 with 24 earned credits); the catalog qualifies the test-score statement with "for most programs," and which programs may differ was not identified on an official page. Placement exams, not SAT/ACT, are used for advising and course placement.	Test-blind	2026-2027 catalog (current policy, no end date stated)	—	“Test scores are not used as part of the admissions decision for most programs.” catalog.uaa.alaska.edu
University of Alaska Southeast Juneau Bachelor's admission requires a cumulative high school GPA of at least 2.50 (or 30+ college credits with a 2.00 GPA). The catalog ties test scores only to course placement after admission, not to the admission decision itself, but does not use explicit "test-blind" wording, so this is recorded as optional rather than blind. Scores may also substitute for certain English course placement.	Test-optional	2026-2027 catalog (current policy, no end date stated)	—	“ACT/SAT scores, while not required for admission, may assist with General Education course placement after admission.” catalog.uas.alaska.edu

What this means for your family

Optional describes the checkbox, not the outcome. At test-optional colleges that publish both numbers, students who sent a score were admitted at a higher rate than students who did not, and 115 colleges nationally still require one. Take a free mock SAT and a free mock ACT, prepare for the whole test over 6 to 12 weeks, and decide college by college whether to send the score.

How much a score moves with preparation, by starting score: Test Prep Gurus results. The submit-or-withhold arithmetic: Do test scores still matter?

At a glance

JSON (all states) · For AI agents

As of October 2026: It depends on the campus. Of the 3 Alaska public universities we checked, 2 are test-optional (University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Southeast); 1 does not consider scores (University of Alaska Anchorage).

There is no statewide rule in Alaska; each public university sets its own policy.

University of Alaska Fairbanks, the flagship, is test-optional for 2026-2027 catalog (current policy, no end date stated).

University of Alaska Fairbanks: Began as a COVID-19 testing waiver instituted March 2020 and extended through fall 2021 (per a June 25, 2020 UAF news article, https://www.uaf.edu/news/archives/news-archives-2010-2021/uaf-extends-sat-act-test-waiver-through-2021.php); still in effect as of the 2026-2027 catalog, but the exact date it became a permanent policy was not confirmed on an official page.

Checked against each university's own admissions page, October 2026. Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).

Questions families ask

Is Alaska test-optional for its public universities in 2026? It depends on the campus. Of the 3 Alaska public universities we checked, 2 are test-optional (University of Alaska Fairbanks and University of Alaska Southeast); 1 does not consider scores (University of Alaska Anchorage).

Does University of Alaska Fairbanks require the SAT or ACT in 2026? Test-optional for 2026-2027 catalog (current policy, no end date stated). Baccalaureate admission requires a cumulative GPA of 2.5 and the 16-credit high school core curriculum; scores are not considered for UAF's own scholarships but a qualifying score is required for some non-UAF scholarships (e.g. the Alaska Performance Scholarship), and scores may substitute for placement testing. Same language confirmed on the official admissions page https://www.uaf.edu/admissions/apply/ug.php ("As of December 6, 2023, UAF doesn't require ACT/SAT scores for admission to any undergraduate degree program."). Source: catalog.uaf.edu.

Should my child take the SAT or ACT if Alaska's public universities do not require it? Yes. Most families apply to colleges in more than one state, 115 four-year colleges nationally require a score, and at test-optional colleges students who submit a score are admitted at higher rates than students who do not. A strong score also opens merit scholarships. Start with a free mock SAT and a free mock ACT, prepare for the whole test over 6 to 12 weeks, and decide college by college whether to send it.

Method: for each state, the flagship and the public universities with roughly 8,000 or more undergraduates. Each policy label was read from the university's own first-year admissions page (or the state or system regulation), quoted verbatim, and re-checked by a second pass, October 2026. "Required" means a score is required of most first-year applicants (exemptions in the notes); "test-optional" means a score is considered if sent; "test-blind" means a score is not considered even if sent. Community colleges and private colleges are not covered. Policies change: the page carries the term each page named, and the report is refreshed each October.

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