CS Colleges That Do Not Require SAT or ACT Scores
Computer science is one of the most capacity-constrained majors in the US, which is why a test-optional label can be misleading: the campus may not need a score while the CS department still uses GPA cutoffs. This page l
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By Admit Coach editorial · GPTKIDS LLC ·
Methodology · Updated August 2026
Computer science is one of the most capacity-constrained majors in the US, which is why a test-optional label can be misleading: the campus may not need a score while the CS department still uses GPA cutoffs. This page lists CS-degree-granting colleges with a non-required testing policy so you can find programs that will at least read the file without SAT/ACT.
Computer science colleges with a test-optional policy
Click any school for its profile and a free admission-chance estimate.
| University | Location | Acceptance Rate |
|---|
| Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | 4% |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | 4% |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | 5% |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | 6% |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | 7% |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | 7% |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | 5% |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY | 4% |
| University of California-Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | 9% |
| University of California-Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | 12% |
| Rice University | Houston, TX | 8% |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN | 6% |
| University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN | 9% |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI | 18% |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | 17% |
| Washington University in St Louis | St. Louis, MO | 12% |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | 11% |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA | 16% |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | 10% |
| University of Florida | Gainesville, FL | 24% |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | 29% |
| Illinois State University | Normal, IL | 89% |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Champaign, IL | 44% |
| New York University | New York, NY | 8% |
Data from IPEDS & College Scorecard. Browse all 3,500+ universities →
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the best CS colleges test-optional?
Some elite CS colleges reinstated testing; others did not. Policy is campus-specific. This list is the CS-awarding set that currently stores a non-required policy.
If CS is test-optional, should I still submit a 1500 SAT?
Yes. A high score still helps at almost every CS program that allows scores.
What if my SAT is 1100 and I want CS?
Prefer test-optional CS colleges with higher campus admit rates, and add direct-admit programs that are not capacity-capped.
Next steps
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