Test policy · 50 states · North Dakota
Do North Dakota's public universities require the SAT or ACT in 2026?
As of October 2026: No. All 2 North Dakota public universities we checked are test-optional: a score is considered if sent, but not required (University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University).
North Dakota's State Board of Higher Education dropped its statewide ACT/SAT requirement for university admission in 2023, and its two large public universities, UND and NDSU, do not require a score from first-year applicants; both will still use a submitted score for course placement.
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
Test-optional. Set by North Dakota University System / State Board of Higher Education, covering current admission standards as published on ndus.edu; no specific entering term stated on the page itself.
“Students who plan to attend a four-year institution in the University System must successfully complete a core curriculum of high school courses.” — ndus.edu
The official NDUS admission-standards page lists only the required high-school core-curriculum units (English, math, lab science, social studies) and does not mention an ACT/SAT requirement at all. Per news coverage (Grand Forks Herald; KFYR-TV), the State Board of Higher Education voted unanimously to remove the standardized-testing requirement for admission to ND University System institutions, effective August 1, 2023, shifting greater weight to high school GPA -- this change explains the absence of any test-score language on the current official page, but the board's own minutes/resolution were not independently fetched to confirm the exact vote date and wording.
North Dakota University System: Optional, current admission standards as published; effective August 1, 2023 per news coverage of the Board's vote. Applies to all four-year NDUS institutions; no ACT/SAT mentioned in the system's own admission-standards language. 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 · 0 test-blind.
| University | SAT / ACT | Applies to | CLT | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
University of North Dakota
Flagship
Grand Forks
test requirement removed system-wide effective August 1, 2023, per North Dakota University System Board of Higher Education vote (per news coverage)
A weighted or unweighted GPA of 2.75 or higher is recommended (3.25 for Aviation Management/Commercial Aviation programs). Scores, if submitted, may still be used for other purposes such as course placement.
|
Test-optional | current freshman admission requirements as published; no specific entering term stated | — | “ACT/SAT scores are not required.” |
|
North Dakota State University
Fargo
test requirement removed system-wide effective August 1, 2023, per North Dakota University System Board of Higher Education vote (per news coverage)
NDSU relies on high school GPA and core coursework for admission decisions. Scores, if submitted, are still used for placement into appropriate math and English courses.
|
Test-optional | current first-year admission policy as published; application deadlines listed through Fall 2027 | — | “NDSU is test-optional and does not require ACT/SAT test scores for admission.” |
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 agentsAs of October 2026: No. All 2 North Dakota public universities we checked are test-optional: a score is considered if sent, but not required (University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University).
Statewide rule: North Dakota University System / State Board of Higher Education — test-optional, current admission standards as published on ndus.edu; no specific entering term stated on the page itself.
University of North Dakota, the flagship, is test-optional for current freshman admission requirements as published; no specific entering term stated.
University of North Dakota: test requirement removed system-wide effective August 1, 2023, per North Dakota University System Board of Higher Education vote (per news coverage).
North Dakota State University: test requirement removed system-wide effective August 1, 2023, per North Dakota University System Board of Higher Education vote (per news coverage).
Checked against each university's own admissions page, October 2026. Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Questions families ask
Is North Dakota test-optional for its public universities in 2026? No. All 2 North Dakota public universities we checked are test-optional: a score is considered if sent, but not required (University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University).
Does University of North Dakota require the SAT or ACT in 2026? Test-optional for current freshman admission requirements as published; no specific entering term stated. A weighted or unweighted GPA of 2.75 or higher is recommended (3.25 for Aviation Management/Commercial Aviation programs). Scores, if submitted, may still be used for other purposes such as course placement. Source: und.edu.
Should my child take the SAT or ACT if North Dakota'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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Read next on Test Prep Gurus
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Common App, UC and Cal State Apply all opened August 1, 2026 for fall 2027. The November and January deadlines, and the last SAT and ACT date whose scores arrive in time.