Every school on this list is test optional for admission, and the University of New England goes further and is test-free (it does not consider scores at all outside Nursing and its 3+4 Medical Biology/Dental Medicine program); none of Maine's elite private colleges (Bowdoin, Bates, Colby) require a score for the 2026-27 cycle. Published score ranges describe a cohort; they are not admission cutoffs.
The table covers 8 colleges Maine families apply to most, from the most selective to the large public universities. Read each cohort note before comparing numbers. The bottom rows show the score-based money Maine families can earn: UMaine National Merit Award and Maine Top Scholars.
| School | SAT profile / cohort | ACT | Acceptance rate | Testing, fall 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowdoin College | 1470-1540 · enrolled, fall 2024 (CDS 2024-25) | 33-35 | 7.1% · fall 2024 | Test optional (SAT/ACT not required for admission) |
| Colby College | Not published (median reported: 1520) · admitted, Class of 2029 (fall 2025 entry) | Not published (median reported: 34) | 7% · Class of 2029 | Test optional |
| Bates College | 1410-1490 · enrolled, fall 2024 (CDS 2024-25) | 30-33 | 13.3% · fall 2024 | Test optional (Bates pioneered test-optional admission in 1984) |
| University of Maine, Orono | 1080-1320 · enrolled, fall 2022 (CDS 2022-23, most recent official CDS located) | 24-30 | 94.2% · fall 2022 | Test optional |
| University of Southern Maine | Not published | 23-26 | 82.4% · fall 2025, CDS 2025-26 | Test optional |
| Saint Joseph's College of Maine | Not published | Not published | 80.8% · BigFuture profile, year not stated | Test optional (required only for nursing applicants and home-schooled applicants) |
| Husson University | Not published | Not published | 83.1% · fall 2024 | Test optional (does not require SAT/ACT for admission) |
| University of New England | Not published | Not published | 91.6% · BigFuture profile, year not stated | Test-free: UNE does not consider SAT/ACT scores for general admission at all (exceptions for Nursing and the Medical Biology/Dental Medicine 3+4 program) |
| UMaine National Merit Award | Tied to National Merit Semifinalist/Finalist status (determined by the PSAT/NMSQT), not a UMaine-set SAT cutoff | See program rules | 100% tuition and mandatory fees (4 years, up to 30 credits/year) over 4 years | Covers 100% of tuition and mandatory fees for National Merit Semifinalists/Finalists who enroll at UMaine; no separate application beyond National Merit status. |
| Maine Top Scholars | Competitive, separate application; no published SAT/ACT cutoff | See program rules | 100% tuition and fees (4 years, up to 30 credits/year) over 4 years | Covers 100% of tuition and fees for a small number of UMaine's highest-achieving admitted students who complete a separate application. |
Cohort notes: Bowdoin: Bowdoin admitted 946 of 13,265 applicants for fall 2024; Bowdoin was one of the first colleges in the country to go test optional (1969) and gives no merit aid, need-based only. Colby: Colby's own admitted-class announcement publishes only median SAT (1520) and median ACT (34) for the Class of 2029, not a 25th-75th percentile range, so sat/act are marked Not published per the no-composite-estimate rule; a record 20,144 students applied. Bates: Bates admitted 1,334 of 10,027 applicants for fall 2024; only about 15% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score, among the lowest submission rates of any school researched. UMaine: UMaine's flagship campus; only 26% of enrolled fall 2022 students submitted an SAT score. Husson: Husson admitted 2,374 of 2,856 applicants for fall 2024; its own 2024-2025 Common Data Set left the entire SAT/ACT percentile table blank, so both are marked Not published. UNE: UNE's own admissions office states it uses a test-free policy, not merely test-optional, so no SAT/ACT data exists to report for general admission. These are not interchangeable measures.
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Find my teen's target scoreBowdoin reports a 1470 to 1540 middle 50% SAT (enrolled, fall 2024 (CDS 2024-25)). It admitted 7.1% of 13,265 applicants (fall 2024). The matching ACT range is 33-35. Testing for fall 2027: Test optional (SAT/ACT not required for admission). Bowdoin admitted 946 of 13,265 applicants for fall 2024; Bowdoin was one of the first colleges in the country to go test optional (1969) and gives no merit aid, need-based only.
Colby does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class. It admitted 7% of 20,144 applicants (Class of 2029). The matching ACT range is Not published (median reported: 34). Testing for fall 2027: Test optional. Colby's own admitted-class announcement publishes only median SAT (1520) and median ACT (34) for the Class of 2029, not a 25th-75th percentile range, so sat/act are marked Not published per the no-composite-estimate rule; a record 20,144 students applied.
Bates reports a 1410 to 1490 middle 50% SAT (enrolled, fall 2024 (CDS 2024-25)). It admitted 13.3% of 10,027 applicants (fall 2024). The matching ACT range is 30-33. Testing for fall 2027: Test optional (Bates pioneered test-optional admission in 1984). Bates admitted 1,334 of 10,027 applicants for fall 2024; only about 15% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score, among the lowest submission rates of any school researched.
UMaine reports a 1080 to 1320 middle 50% SAT (enrolled, fall 2022 (CDS 2022-23, most recent official CDS located)). It admitted 94.2% of 14,447 applicants (fall 2022). The matching ACT range is 24-30. Testing for fall 2027: Test optional. UMaine's flagship campus; only 26% of enrolled fall 2022 students submitted an SAT score.
USM does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class. It admitted 82.4% of 5,253 applicants (fall 2025, CDS 2025-26). The matching ACT range is 23-26. Testing for fall 2027: Test optional.
Saint Joseph's does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class. It admitted 80.8% (BigFuture profile, year not stated). Testing for fall 2027: Test optional (required only for nursing applicants and home-schooled applicants).
Husson does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class. It admitted 83.1% of 2,856 applicants (fall 2024). Testing for fall 2027: Test optional (does not require SAT/ACT for admission). Husson admitted 2,374 of 2,856 applicants for fall 2024; its own 2024-2025 Common Data Set left the entire SAT/ACT percentile table blank, so both are marked Not published.
UNE does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class. It admitted 91.6% (BigFuture profile, year not stated). Testing for fall 2027: Test-free: UNE does not consider SAT/ACT scores for general admission at all (exceptions for Nursing and the Medical Biology/Dental Medicine 3+4 program). UNE's own admissions office states it uses a test-free policy, not merely test-optional, so no SAT/ACT data exists to report for general admission.
Maine has no statewide SAT-cutoff scholarship: the Maine State Grant Program, run by FAME, is purely need-based (capped by a student's Student Aid Index) with no GPA or test-score component, and Maine's elite private colleges (Bowdoin, Bates, Colby) give no merit aid at all, need-based only. The closest things to score-tied money in the state are the University of Maine's own full-tuition competitive programs, one of which is tied to National Merit status from the PSAT rather than a raw SAT cutoff.
UMaine National Merit Award: Tied to National Merit Semifinalist/Finalist status (determined by the PSAT/NMSQT), not a UMaine-set SAT cutoff. Covers 100% of tuition and mandatory fees for National Merit Semifinalists/Finalists who enroll at UMaine; no separate application beyond National Merit status.
Maine Top Scholars: Competitive, separate application; no published SAT/ACT cutoff. Covers 100% of tuition and fees for a small number of UMaine's highest-achieving admitted students who complete a separate application.
Neither UMaine award uses a raw SAT score cutoff.
Bowdoin, Colby, Bates and UMaine are test optional for fall 2027, so many families assume the score is irrelevant. The ranges above come from the students who chose to send one, and they sit well above the overall class. Saint Joseph's still require a score. A strong score is one more reason for a school to say yes, and a weak one can simply stay home.
No Maine state scholarship is tied to an SAT score. The Maine State Grant Program, run by FAME, is purely need-based with no test-score component, and Maine's most selective private colleges (Bowdoin, Bates, Colby) give need-based aid only, no merit scholarships at all. The University of Maine's own full-tuition awards are either tied to National Merit status (from the PSAT, not the SAT) or a separate competitive application, not a raw SAT cutoff.
No. All three are test optional, and none offers merit scholarships, only need-based aid. Among students who did submit scores for fall 2024, Bowdoin's enrolled class scored 1470-1540 (25th-75th percentile) and Bates' scored 1410-1490; Colby publishes only a median for its most recent admitted class (1520).
Yes. Maine law lets every public high school junior take the SAT free during the school day, as the state's official grade 11 accountability test in English and math. Fewer students take advantage of it than a decade ago, but the free in-school SAT administration remains in place statewide.
Bowdoin's enrolled fall 2024 class scored between 1470 and 1540 on the SAT (25th-75th percentile) and 33-35 on the ACT. Bowdoin is test optional and need-blind, and admitted only 7.1% of the 13,265 students who applied for fall 2024.
Dramatically harder on paper. Bowdoin admitted about 7% of applicants for fall 2024 and Colby about 7% for its Class of 2029, while the University of Maine's flagship Orono campus admitted 94.2% of applicants in its most recently published official data (fall 2022). Bowdoin and Colby's enrolled/admitted SAT scores (roughly 1470-1540 and a 1520 median) are also far above UMaine Orono's 1080-1320 range.
No. A middle 50% describes the central half of the reported group, not an admission cutoff. Some rows describe enrolled students or score submitters only, as labeled. A position within a range does not guarantee admission or merit aid.
University and state sources: Bowdoin, Colby, Bates, UMaine, USM, Saint Joseph's, Husson, UNE, UMaine National Merit Award. Reviewed October 9, 2026. Cohorts and entry terms differ; confirm current requirements with each admissions office.
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