Every Missouri four-year university on this list is test-optional for 2026-27 applicants (fall 2027 entry) except Washington University in St. Louis, which is test-flexible and had 63% of its Class of 2030 submit SAT/ACT scores. Published score ranges describe a cohort; they are not admission cutoffs.
The table covers 10 colleges Missouri 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 Missouri families can earn: Bright Flight, Tier 1 (top 3% of MO test-takers) and Bright Flight, Tier 2 (top 4th-5th percentile of MO test-takers).
| School | SAT profile / cohort | ACT | Acceptance rate | Testing, fall 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington University in St. Louis | 1510-1550 · enrolled, Class of 2030 (as of Sep 21, 2026) | 33-35 | 12% · Class of 2030, as of Sep 21, 2026 | Test-flexible: scores considered when submitted, not required. 63% of the Class of 2030 applied with SAT/ACT scores. |
| Truman State University | Not published (test-optional; official fact sheet reports ACT average only) | 28.9 (average) | Not published in official fact sheet | Test-optional |
| Saint Louis University | Not published in official 2026 profile | Not published in official 2026 profile | Not published (admit count not given alongside applicant count) | Test-optional |
| University of Missouri | Not published | Not published | Not reported | Test-optional for 2026-27 applicants (fall 2027 entry); scholarship consideration is identical whether or not scores are submitted |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology | 1220-1380 · enrolled, fall 2025 (CDS 2025-26) | 25-31 | 78.6% · fall 2025 (CDS 2025-26: 6, 550 admitted of 8, 330 applicants) | Required to be considered for admission, fall 2027 applicants (CDS 2025-26, item C8A) |
| University of Missouri-Kansas City | Not published | Not published | Not reported | See school |
| University of Missouri-St. Louis | Not published | Not published | Not reported | See school |
| Missouri State University | Not published | Not published | Not reported | See school |
| Missouri Southern State University | 1160-1440 · enrolled, fall 2024 (CDS 2024-25) | 17-24 | Not reported | See school |
| Lindenwood University | Not published (test-optional) | Not published (test-optional) | Not reported | Test-optional; applicants designate test-optional status at application |
| Bright Flight, Tier 1 (top 3% of MO test-takers) | SAT: 800 Math + 800 Critical Reading (ACT 32+) | See program rules | ~$12,000 over 4 years over 4 years | $3,000/year, renewable up to 10 semesters with a 2.5 cumulative college GPA |
| Bright Flight, Tier 2 (top 4th-5th percentile of MO test-takers) | SAT: 800 Math + 790-799 Critical Reading (ACT 30-31) | See program rules | ~$4,000 over 4 years over 4 years | $1,000/year, renewable up to 10 semesters with a 2.5 cumulative college GPA |
Cohort notes: WashU: Missouri's most selective school by far, with a 12% admit rate (4,057 admits of 33,214 applicants, 1,941 enrolled) for the Class of 2030; admission is holistic and WashU's aid is need-based, not merit-scholarship driven. Truman State: 630 first-time freshmen enrolled fall 2025 with an average ACT of 28.9 and average high school GPA of 3.78; Truman is Missouri's statewide public liberal-arts honors-style university. SLU: 1,338 full-time, first-time freshmen enrolled in fall 2025 with an average incoming high school GPA of 3.8; SLU's official profile does not publish an SAT/ACT range. Mizzou: Admission is test-optional, but a 36 ACT or 1570-1600 SAT qualifies for Mizzou's Perfect Score Scholarship, and 32-36 ACT or 1420-1600 SAT plus a 3.5 Mizzou Core GPA qualifies for the Stamps Scholars Award. Missouri S&T: Missouri S&T's own 2025-26 Common Data Set reports an SAT composite 25th-75th percentile of 1220-1380, but only 11.7% of its enrolled first-year class submitted an SAT score; 68.2% submitted the ACT. Lindenwood: Lindenwood states it uses holistic, test-optional review for all freshman applicants and does not publish a minimum GPA or score range on its admission-requirements page. These are not interchangeable measures.
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Find my teen's target scoreWashU reports a 1510 to 1550 middle 50% SAT (enrolled, Class of 2030 (as of Sep 21, 2026)). It admitted 12% of 33,214 applicants (Class of 2030, as of Sep 21, 2026). The matching ACT range is 33-35. Testing for fall 2027: Test-flexible: scores considered when submitted, not required. 63% of the Class of 2030 applied with SAT/ACT scores. Missouri's most selective school by far, with a 12% admit rate (4,057 admits of 33,214 applicants, 1,941 enrolled) for the Class of 2030; admission is holistic and WashU's aid is need-based, not merit-scholarship driven.
Truman State does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class. It admitted Not published in official fact sheet of Not published in official fact sheet applicants (latest cycle). The matching ACT range is 28.9 (average). Testing for fall 2027: Test-optional. 630 first-time freshmen enrolled fall 2025 with an average ACT of 28.9 and average high school GPA of 3.78; Truman is Missouri's statewide public liberal-arts honors-style university.
SLU does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class. It admitted Not published (admit count not given alongside applicant count) of 14,759 applications for the fall 2025 entering class applicants (latest cycle). The matching ACT range is Not published in official 2026 profile. Testing for fall 2027: Test-optional. 1,338 full-time, first-time freshmen enrolled in fall 2025 with an average incoming high school GPA of 3.8; SLU's official profile does not publish an SAT/ACT range.
Mizzou does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class. Testing for fall 2027: Test-optional for 2026-27 applicants (fall 2027 entry); scholarship consideration is identical whether or not scores are submitted. Admission is test-optional, but a 36 ACT or 1570-1600 SAT qualifies for Mizzou's Perfect Score Scholarship, and 32-36 ACT or 1420-1600 SAT plus a 3.5 Mizzou Core GPA qualifies for the Stamps Scholars Award.
Missouri S&T reports a 1220 to 1380 middle 50% SAT (enrolled, fall 2025 (CDS 2025-26)). It admitted 78.6% of 8,330 applicants (fall 2025 (CDS 2025-26: 6, 550 admitted of 8, 330 applicants)). The matching ACT range is 25-31. Testing for fall 2027: Required to be considered for admission, fall 2027 applicants (CDS 2025-26, item C8A). Missouri S&T's own 2025-26 Common Data Set reports an SAT composite 25th-75th percentile of 1220-1380, but only 11.7% of its enrolled first-year class submitted an SAT score; 68.2% submitted the ACT.
UMKC does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class.
UMSL does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class.
Missouri State does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class.
Missouri Southern reports a 1160 to 1440 middle 50% SAT (enrolled, fall 2024 (CDS 2024-25)). The matching ACT range is 17-24.
Lindenwood does not publish a composite SAT range for its latest class. Testing for fall 2027: Test-optional; applicants designate test-optional status at application. Lindenwood states it uses holistic, test-optional review for all freshman applicants and does not publish a minimum GPA or score range on its admission-requirements page.
Missouri runs its own statewide, SAT/ACT-percentile-cutoff merit scholarship, Bright Flight, rather than leaving score-tied money to individual universities.
Bright Flight, Tier 1 (top 3% of MO test-takers): SAT: 800 Math + 800 Critical Reading (ACT 32+). $3,000/year, renewable up to 10 semesters with a 2.5 cumulative college GPA.
Bright Flight, Tier 2 (top 4th-5th percentile of MO test-takers): SAT: 800 Math + 790-799 Critical Reading (ACT 30-31). $1,000/year, renewable up to 10 semesters with a 2.5 cumulative college GPA.
Qualifying score must fall in the top 5% of all Missouri ACT/SAT takers from that graduating class, achieved by the June test date following graduation (July scores are not eligible); cutoffs are recalculated each year off the prior year's Missouri test-taker pool, so the exact score needed can shift annually. Must enroll full-time (minimum 12 semester hours) at a participating Missouri postsecondary school immediately after graduating. Renewal requires a 2.5 cumulative GPA, satisfactory academic progress, and receiving the award at least one semester per academic year; eligible for up to 10 semesters or until a bachelor's degree is completed. The dollar figures above are DHEWD's own 'estimated award' amounts for 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 and are not final until the state's FY2027 appropriation bill is signed.
Truman State, SLU, Mizzou and Lindenwood 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. Missouri S&T still require a score. And Bright Flight, Tier 1 (top 3% of MO test-takers) and Bright Flight, Tier 2 (top 4th-5th percentile of MO test-takers) are awarded on the SAT or ACT whatever the admissions policy.
You need to score in the top 5% of all Missouri ACT/SAT takers in your graduating class. For 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 graduates, that means an ACT composite of 32 or higher (or SAT 800 Math + 800 Critical Reading) for the top tier, which pays up to $3,000/year, or an ACT of 30-31 (or SAT 800 Math + 790-799 Critical Reading) for the second tier, which pays up to $1,000/year. Because the cutoff is set by percentile rather than a fixed score, the exact number needed can move slightly from year to year.
No. Mizzou is test-optional for 2026-27 applicants (fall 2027 entry), and the university states that whether a student submits scores or applies test-optional, they receive the same scholarship consideration. The exception is homeschooled, GED/HiSET, or unaccredited-high-school applicants, who need an official ACT or SAT score to be considered for merit scholarships. Two of Mizzou's top merit awards do have score thresholds: the Perfect Score Scholarship requires a 36 ACT or 1570-1600 SAT, and the Stamps Scholars Award requires a 32-36 ACT or 1420-1600 SAT plus a 3.5 core GPA.
WashU is Missouri's most selective school by far: for the Class of 2030, the middle 50% of students who submitted scores landed at SAT 1510-1550 and ACT 33-35, out of 33,214 applicants, 4,057 admits, and 1,941 enrolled (a 12% admit rate). WashU is test-flexible rather than test-required, and only 63% of that class applied with scores at all, so admission is not a pure cutoff, it's holistic, need-based-aid-driven review.
Not primarily. The A+ Scholarship Program's main academic requirement is scoring proficient or advanced on the Algebra I end-of-course exam (or an approved higher-level math EOC), not the SAT or ACT. Students who don't clear that bar can qualify instead through an ACT Math subscore paired with a minimum GPA (for example, ACT Math 17 with a 2.5 GPA, 16 with a 2.8, or 15 with a 3.0). A+ also requires a 2.5 unweighted GPA, 95% attendance across grades 9-12, 50 hours of unpaid tutoring/mentoring, and 2 years at an A+-designated high school; it pays the unpaid balance of tuition and fees at participating Missouri community/technical colleges after other non-loan aid is applied.
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: WashU, Truman State, SLU, Mizzou, Missouri S&T, UMKC, UMSL, Missouri State, Missouri Southern, Lindenwood, Bright Flight, Tier 1 (top 3% of MO test-takers). Reviewed October 9, 2026. Cohorts and entry terms differ; confirm current requirements with each admissions office.
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