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Best test-optional colleges

Colleges that don't require the SAT or ACT for admission, ranked by Compass Score.

Best test-optional colleges1,481 schools

1,481 schools qualify, ranked by the Compass Score. The top 25 are shown.

How this list is made

  • Accredited four-year undergraduate colleges.
  • Admission test policy: considered but not required, or neither required nor recommended (federal admissions data).
  • Each school needs a complete Compass Score, so every row shows a rating.
  • Ordered by Compass Score, highest first. Schools with the same score share a rank.

Updated Oct. 20, 2026. Methodology. Spot an error? Send a correction.

  1. 1

    Curtis Institute of Music

    Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit

    #1 in Pennsylvania

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 96% graduate
  2. 2

    California Institute of Technology

    Pasadena, CA · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    #1 in California

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 94% graduate
  3. 3

    Princeton University

    Princeton, NJ · Private nonprofitIvy LeagueHonor Roll

    #1 in New Jersey

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 98% graduate
  4. 4

    Stanford University

    Stanford, CA · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    Exceptional: Compass grade A+

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 92% graduate
  5. 5

    Rice University

    Houston, TX · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    #1 in Texas

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 95% graduate
  6. 6

    Johns Hopkins University

    Baltimore, MD · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    #1 in Maryland

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 94% graduate
  7. 7

    University of Chicago

    Chicago, IL · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    #1 in Illinois

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 96% graduate
  8. 7

    Williams College

    Williamstown, MA · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    Exceptional: Compass grade A+

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 94% graduate
  9. 9

    Yale University

    New Haven, CT · Private nonprofitIvy LeagueHonor Roll

    #1 in Connecticut

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 96% graduate
  10. 10

    Brown University

    Providence, RI · Private nonprofitIvy LeagueHonor Roll

    #1 in Rhode Island

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 96% graduate
  11. 11

    Wellesley College

    Wellesley, MA · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    Exceptional: Compass grade A+

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 92% graduate
  12. 12

    Vanderbilt University

    Nashville, TN · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    #1 in Tennessee

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 94% graduate
  13. 13

    Pomona College

    Claremont, CA · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    Exceptional: Compass grade A+

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 93% graduate
  14. 14

    Duke University

    Durham, NC · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    #1 in North Carolina

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 97% graduate
  15. 15

    Amherst College

    Amherst, MA · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    Exceptional: Compass grade A+

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 94% graduate
  16. 15

    Claremont McKenna College

    Claremont, CA · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    Exceptional: Compass grade A+

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 91% graduate
  17. 17

    Cornell University

    Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofitIvy LeagueHonor Roll

    #2 in New York

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 95% graduate
  18. 18

    University of Pennsylvania

    Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofitIvy LeagueHonor Roll

    Top 1% for earnings

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 97% graduate
  19. 19

    Northwestern University

    Evanston, IL · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    Exceptional: Compass grade A+

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 95% graduate
  20. 20

    United States Naval Academy

    Annapolis, MD · PublicHonor Roll

    Exceptional: Compass grade A+

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 93% graduate
  21. 21

    Hillsdale College

    Hillsdale, MI · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    #1 in Michigan

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 90% graduate
  22. 22

    Washington University in St. Louis

    St. Louis, MO · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    #1 in Missouri

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 94% graduate
  23. 23

    Bowdoin College

    Brunswick, ME · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    #1 in Maine

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 95% graduate
  24. 24

    Haverford College

    Haverford, PA · Private nonprofitHonor Roll

    Exceptional: Compass grade A+

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 90% graduate
  25. 25

    Columbia University in the City of New York

    New York, NY · Private nonprofitIvy LeagueHonor Roll

    Top 2% for graduation

    • SAT or ACT not required
    • 96% graduate

Compare cost and outcomes

SchoolNet price a yearMedian debtEarnings 10 years outGraduation rate
Curtis Institute of Music———96%
California Institute of Technology$16,075—$128,56694%
Princeton University$6,128$10,320$110,06698%
Stanford University$13,807$12,000$124,08092%
Rice University$13,370$11,000$89,71895%
Johns Hopkins University$18,809$10,250$87,55594%
University of Chicago$14,860$15,000$91,88596%
Williams College$17,716$12,761$88,66594%
Yale University$23,777$12,975$100,53396%
Brown University$25,184$11,428$93,48796%
Wellesley College$25,496$10,000$84,80392%
Vanderbilt University$15,846$14,000$91,56594%
Pomona College$19,285$11,782$77,77993%
Duke University$29,612$13,000$97,80097%
Amherst College$23,367$13,740$77,64494%
Claremont McKenna College$28,849$13,500$104,73691%
Cornell University$28,690$14,000$104,04395%
University of Pennsylvania$28,699$15,715$111,37197%
Northwestern University$29,167$15,000$89,36395%
United States Naval Academy———93%
Hillsdale College———90%
Washington University in St. Louis$21,786$17,500$86,18294%
Bowdoin College$14,398$18,500$82,73595%
Haverford College$25,314$13,621$79,96690%
Columbia University in the City of New York$21,590$21,500$102,49196%

Net price is the average yearly cost after grants. Federal data (College Scorecard). “—” means the school reports no figure.

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