About and methodology

TestOrNot is a factual reference tool for determining what standardized-testing policy applied to first-year undergraduate applicants at a particular college for a particular entering class.

It answers a narrow question: were SAT or ACT scores required for this school’s entering class? It is not a test-prep company, ranking site, or admissions predictor.

Scope

Coverage is limited to first-year undergraduate applicants. It does not cover transfers, graduate or professional schools, visiting programs, or continuing education. Research generally begins with graduation year 2010. If a year is outside the researched record, TestOrNot says so instead of inferring a policy.

Graduation year and matriculation year

The default lookup uses graduation year, because that is often what someone knows. TestOrNot converts it with a four-year assumption:

Estimated matriculation year = graduation year − 4.

Example: graduation 2025 → matriculation 2021. If you know the actual entering year, use Matriculation year. Policy years in the database are always stored as matriculation years.

Policy categories

• Required when ordinary first-year applicants were generally required to submit SAT or ACT scores. Limited hardship exceptions do not automatically make a policy optional.
• Test optional when applicants could apply without SAT or ACT scores and still receive full admissions consideration. Encouraged or recommended scores remain optional if they are not required.
• Test blind when SAT/ACT scores were not considered for admissions even if submitted.
• Special testing policy when Required, Optional, and Test Blind would all be misleading — for example test-flexible rules, or different policies by undergraduate college.
• Policy unclear when evidence is genuinely insufficient or contradictory. This is rare.

What a result does not mean

These categories describe institutional admissions policies, not individual applicants. Optional does not mean a particular person omitted scores. Required does not prove every person submitted SAT or ACT scores. Test blind does not mean someone never took a test.

Sources

Each policy row is documented with readable sources, preferring contemporaneous official university announcements, archived official pages, durable official explanations, reputable student newspapers, and strong contemporaneous press. Archived links are marked when they come from the Wayback Machine or similar archives.

TestOrNot does not scrape the web to invent classifications. Policy categories come from a curated spreadsheet maintained by a person.

Future and open-ended policies

If a college has announced a policy for a future entering class, that announcement is treated as real data and labeled as announced/future when appropriate. A blank end year means no end is currently recorded. TestOrNot does not assume an open-ended row continues forever beyond the researched record when a later gap exists.

Accuracy and corrections

Every policy used on this site has been checked by a human. People still make mistakes, and admissions policies can become outdated. Please read the linked sources, and confirm current requirements directly with the college before applying.

If you find an error or have a better source, use Report an error on a result or write to hello@testornot.org.

Disclaimer

TestOrNot reports institutional admissions policies. A test-optional policy does not indicate whether any particular applicant submitted scores, and a test-required policy may have had limited exceptions. TestOrNot does not provide individual admissions records. TestOrNot is not affiliated with listed colleges, ACT, or College Board.