Test policy · 50 states · Maryland

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

As of October 2026: No. All 5 Maryland public universities we checked are test-optional: a score is considered if sent, but not required (University of Maryland, College Park, Morgan State University, Salisbury University and 2 more).

Maryland has no statewide law requiring or forbidding the SAT/ACT -- the University System of Maryland lets each campus decide -- but every major Maryland public university checked is currently test-optional for fall 2026/2027 freshmen, several having made the policy permanent.

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 System of Maryland (USM) does not set a testing requirement; each public university in Maryland sets its own policy.

Could not reach usmd.edu directly (TLS certificate error on fetch) to confirm system policy in its own words, but no individual Maryland public university page found referenced a system-wide testing mandate; each campus (UMD College Park, Towson, UMBC, Salisbury, Morgan State) publishes and sets its own policy independently, and all five are currently test-optional.

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 · 5 test-optional · 0 test-blind.

University	SAT / ACT	Applies to	CLT	Source
University of Maryland, College Park Flagship College Park UMD says it is still assessing the policy's impact to decide on a standardized-test requirement for cycles beyond fall 2027.	Test-optional	Spring and Fall 2027 application cycles	—	“UMD is currently test-optional through to the Spring and Fall 2027 application cycles.” admissions.umd.edu
Morgan State University Baltimore permanent test-optional policy Original project quote was not found verbatim on the page; corrected. Morgan State is a public HBCU, state-related but not a University System of Maryland member institution.	Test-optional	degree-seeking freshman applicants and transfers with fewer than 12 transferable credits	—	“Applying test-optional does not help or hurt your admission to Morgan.” morgan.edu
Salisbury University Salisbury expanded test-optional policy, removing a prior 3.5 minimum-GPA eligibility cutoff, effective fall 2021 Any student may now apply without SAT/ACT scores and remains eligible for merit scholarships without them.	Test-optional	current cycle	—	“Effective Fall 2021, Salisbury University has expanded its test-optional policy to remove the 3.5 minimum GPA requirement.” salisbury.edu
Towson University Towson made permanently test-optional (no longer a temporary pandemic-era policy)	Test-optional	current cycle, permanent policy	—	“TU is permanently test-optional -- we do not require SAT or ACT exam scores for either admission or for scholarship consideration.” towson.edu
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Baltimore Original project quote was not found verbatim on the page; corrected to the page's actual wording. Page labels the SAT/ACT item itself "Optional."	Test-optional	first-year applicants who graduated high school in the U.S. within the past three years	—	“Given this information, you can decide whether or not your test scores would benefit your application.” umbc.edu

Other public colleges in Maryland with 5,000 or more students

Not individually checked for this report. The policy flag and the share of enrolled first-years who submitted a score are what each college reported to the federal government for the 2023 admissions cycle (IPEDS); check the college's own page before relying on it.

College	Students	Admit rate	Reported to IPEDS, 2023	Submitted SAT · ACT
University of Maryland Global Campus	49,664	—	—	— · —
Bowie State University	5,043	84%	Test-optional	1% · —

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: No. All 5 Maryland public universities we checked are test-optional: a score is considered if sent, but not required (University of Maryland, College Park, Morgan State University, Salisbury University and 2 more).

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

University of Maryland, College Park, the flagship, is test-optional for Spring and Fall 2027 application cycles.

Morgan State University: permanent test-optional policy.

Salisbury University: expanded test-optional policy, removing a prior 3.5 minimum-GPA eligibility cutoff, effective fall 2021.

Towson University: made permanently test-optional (no longer a temporary pandemic-era policy).

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

Questions families ask

Is Maryland test-optional for its public universities in 2026? No. All 5 Maryland public universities we checked are test-optional: a score is considered if sent, but not required (University of Maryland, College Park, Morgan State University, Salisbury University and 2 more).

Does University of Maryland, College Park require the SAT or ACT in 2026? Test-optional for Spring and Fall 2027 application cycles. UMD says it is still assessing the policy's impact to decide on a standardized-test requirement for cycles beyond fall 2027. Source: admissions.umd.edu.

Should my child take the SAT or ACT if Maryland'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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