Test policy · 50 states · Utah

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

As of October 2026: It depends on the campus. Of the 6 Utah public universities we checked, 5 are test-optional (University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Tech University and 2 more); 1 does not consider scores (Southern Utah University).

No single Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) policy mandates SAT/ACT submission; each of Utah's six public universities sets its own admission requirements. For fall 2026, all six are test-optional in practice, though scores still matter for merit scholarships and course placement at several schools.

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. none - no USHE-wide testing mandate was located; each institution's Board of Trustees/own admissions office sets its policy does not set a testing requirement; each public university in Utah sets its own policy.

Attempted to find a USHE policy document (e.g. an 'R-series' admissions-standards policy) via ushe.edu but could not locate one this session; see gaps. In practice every USHE university currently reports a test-optional posture.

Utah System of Higher Education: Varies by campus, fall 2026 first-year applicants. No system-wide testing-requirement policy page was found; all six member universities currently publish their own test-optional policy. 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 · 5 test-optional · 1 test-blind.

University	SAT / ACT	Applies to	CLT	Source
University of Utah Flagship Salt Lake City Exceptions: homeschooled students, GED/HiSET recipients, and students from non-regionally-accredited high schools must still submit scores.	Test-optional	fall 2026 first-year applicants	—	“ACT/SAT scores are not required for: Standard admission, Merit scholarships (including department scholarships), Admission to individual majors or programs of study.” admissions.utah.edu
Southern Utah University Cedar City SUU's first-year admissions page makes no mention of SAT/ACT at all; admission is stated purely by high school GPA (2.4+ for full admission, lower for the provisional COMPASS program). Corroborated by SUU's own 2020 announcement (suu.edu/news/2020/09/standardized-test-requirement.html) that it dropped the ACT/SAT requirement for admission and scholarships -- a test score is not used to decide domestic freshman admission, so 'blind' is the correct label; exception: applicants without a standard high school diploma still submit a score.	Test-blind	fall 2026 first-year applicants	—	“First-time freshmen with a cumulative unweighted GPA of 2.4 or higher will be fully admitted.” suu.edu
Utah State University Logan	Test-optional	fall 2026 first-year applicants	—	“USU is test optional for admission. ACT/SAT scores are recommended for academic scholarships.” usu.edu
Utah Tech University St. George formerly Dixie State University, renamed Utah Tech University in 2022	Test-optional	fall 2027 first-year applicants (current cycle shown on the page)	—	“Test scores are not required for admissions but should be submitted for registration and consideration for certain scholarships” admissions.utahtech.edu
Utah Valley University Orem Scores still required for merit-based scholarship consideration.	Test-optional	fall 2026 first-year applicants	—	“UVU is test-optional, which means you do not need an ACT or SAT score to be admitted.” uvu.edu
Weber State University Ogden Scores are used for course placement, not an admission gate.	Test-optional	fall 2026 first-year applicants	—	“ACT/SAT scores (These aren't mandatory. They help determine math and English placement).” weber.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 6 Utah public universities we checked, 5 are test-optional (University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Tech University and 2 more); 1 does not consider scores (Southern Utah University).

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

University of Utah, the flagship, is test-optional for fall 2026 first-year applicants.

Utah Tech University: formerly Dixie State University, renamed Utah Tech University in 2022.

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

Questions families ask

Is Utah test-optional for its public universities in 2026? It depends on the campus. Of the 6 Utah public universities we checked, 5 are test-optional (University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Tech University and 2 more); 1 does not consider scores (Southern Utah University).

Does University of Utah require the SAT or ACT in 2026? Test-optional for fall 2026 first-year applicants. Exceptions: homeschooled students, GED/HiSET recipients, and students from non-regionally-accredited high schools must still submit scores. Source: admissions.utah.edu.

Should my child take the SAT or ACT if Utah'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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