Key Takeaways:
- Colleges like the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and St. Mary’s College of California accept students with low SAT scores.
- These schools provide opportunities for students with below-average SAT scores to succeed in their academic journey.
- The list includes various types of institutions, from large state schools to small liberal arts colleges, all accepting over 80% of applicants.
This ranking highlights the 10 best value universities for students with low SAT scores.
These affordable colleges for low SAT scores offer strong academics, great returns on investment, and flexible admissions. Featuring universities with low SAT requirements, including state schools, liberal arts colleges, and STEM institutions, all ranked schools accept over 80% of applicants. If you’re searching for the best colleges for low SAT scores or low SAT score admission universities, this guide is an excellent resource. Bonus: A ranking of self-paced online colleges with open enrollment is included at the end.
Featured Programs
Ranking the Best Colleges That Accept Low SAT Scores
#1. Missouri University of Science and Technology
Rolla, Missouri
Rating: 19
Missouri University of Science and Technology admits applicants whose class rank percentile combined with their SAT performance percentile equals 100 or more. This means if you ranked in the top 50% and placed in the top 50% of SAT takers, those numbers combined will be 100, and you are considered for admission. MST is a STEM-focused university and is ranked #164 among national universities by U.S. News.
Tuition: $25,173
Avg. Loan Debt: $27,500
20-Year Net Return on Investment: $654,000
Graduation Rate: 65%
#2. Mount Carmel College of Nursing
Columbus, Ohio
Rating: 19
This school offers nursing degrees, including a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, an RN-BSN degree, an MSN program, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. While this doesn’t offer students much variety, the school’s results are fantastic, and it’s a great choice for any student interested in studying nursing. Mount Carmel College of Nursing requires the submission of the ACT score, not the SAT. Twenty-five percent of students scored 19 or below on the ACT composite, which is significantly below the average of 22.
Tuition: $12,673
Avg. Loan Debt: $34,100
20-Year Net Return on Investment: $476,000
Graduation Rate: 72%
#3. Brigham Young University-Idaho
Rexburg, Idaho
Rating: 19
BYU-Idaho features the most affordable tuition among all the schools ranked here. Although the school is affiliated with the Mormon Church, it is open to non-Mormon students as long as they adhere to the school’s code of honor. BYU offers a wide range of degrees across its colleges, including agriculture and life sciences, business and communication, education and human development, language and letters, physical sciences and engineering, and performing and visual arts.
Tuition: $3,920
Avg. Loan Debt: $18,200
20-Year Net Return on Investment: $458,000
Graduation Rate: 61% (15% transfer-out rate)
#4. South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rating: 17
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology will consider for admission students with an SAT composite score of 1020, but the student must have a high school GPA of at least 2.75. The school offers STEM degrees almost exclusively in areas like industrial engineering, mathematics, metallurgical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, and physics.
Tuition: $15,230
Avg. Loan Debt: $29,200
20 Year Net Return on Investment: $641,000
Graduation Rate: 51%
#5. Grove City College
Grove City, Pennsylvania
Rating: 16
At Grove City College, 25% of students scored below 1076 on the SAT. With an acceptance rate of 81%, the graduation rate of 85% is nothing short of astonishing and by far the best among schools ranked here. Grove City is a Christian college with schools of arts and letters, science, engineering, and mathematics.
Tuition: $16,630
Avg. Loan Debt: $42,500
20-Year Net Return on Investment: $374,000
Graduation Rate: 85% (2% Transfer out rate)
#6. Montana Tech
Butte, Montana
Rating: 15
Montana Tech does not have a hard cutoff for SAT scores. 25% of students scored at or below a 1050 composite score on the SAT. The undergraduate degrees offered by Montana Tech are nearly all STEM-focused, including computer science, network technology, software engineering, statistics, chemistry, and seven other engineering majors. The attached Highlands College offers numerous certificates of applied science and associate’s degrees.
Tuition: $19,984
Avg. Loan Debt: $22,400
20-Year Net Return on Investment: $562,000
Graduation Rate: 38% (30% transfer-out rate)
#7. Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
Rating: 15
Iowa State University is a large institution with an undergraduate student body of 30,034. The SAT scores among the lowest-scoring 25% of students at the school are at or below 960 composite. The programs offered at the university are spread across colleges of business, design, engineering, agriculture and life sciences, liberal arts and sciences, veterinary medicine, and human sciences.
Tuition: $21,583
Avg. Loan Debt: $27,500
20 Year Net Return on Investment: $368,000
Graduation Rate: 71% (22% Transfer Out Rate)
#8. Penn State
Erie, Pennsylvania
Rating: 14
25% of students scoring lowest on the SAT at PSU Erie-Behrend scored at or below 940. The school has an undergraduate student population of 4,175, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 15:1. Undergraduate programs are offered by the university’s schools of business, engineering, humanities and social sciences, and the school of science, which also houses a nursing program.
Tuition: $22,834
Avg. Loan Debt: $33,900
20-Year Net Return on Investment: $376,000
Graduation Rate: 69%
#9. St. Mary’s College of California
Moraga, California
Rating: 13
The 25% of Saint Mary’s students with the lowest SAT scores scored 1016 or lower. Saint Mary’s has an undergraduate student population of 2,940 and an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio. U.S. News and World Report ranks Saint Mary’s a top-10 university among western regional universities, and the IIE Open Doors Report ranks it a top-10 in the country for study abroad programs.
Tuition: $44,360
Avg. Loan Debt: $34,400
20-Year Net Return on Investment: $444,000
Graduation Rate: 71%
#10. University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Platteville, Wisconsin
Rating: 13
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville considers applicants who graduated in the top 50% of their high school class or achieved a composite score of 1110 on their SAT. Students who graduated in the top 65% of their class but scored 950 on their SAT will also be considered. The University of Wisconsin-Platteville has an undergraduate student population of 7,978 and a student-to-faculty ratio of 22-1.
Tuition: $15,334
Avg. Loan Debt: $27,300
20-Year Net Return on Investment: $409,000
Graduation Rate: 54%
Methodology for Ranking Colleges That Accept Low SAT Scores
Each of the four scoring categories is awarded points on a scale based on the school’s stats in that category. Explanations of each category and how points were allocated follow.
20-Year Net Return on Investment
Return on investment is weighted the highest out of all factors. When one looks at education as an investment, the return on that investment becomes one of the most important factors.
$200,000=1 Points
$250,000=2 Points
$300,000=3 Points
$350,000=4 Points
$400,000=5 Points
$450,000=6 Points
$500,000=7 Points
$550,000=8 Points
$600,000=9 Points
$650,000=10 Points
Graduation Rate
Return on investment doesn’t become a factor until the degree is complete. That’s why the graduation rate of universities is key. Now, this can be affected by numerous factors. More selective schools that accept only top students will have higher graduation rates than schools with open admittance or lower requirements. However, there are schools with high acceptance rates that manage to achieve high graduation rates, so the school’s ability to help struggling students succeed is a factor. We subtract one point from schools with a graduation rate below 50%, unless the school has open admission or a high enough transfer-out rate to bring the number above 50%. However, the transfer-out rate does not factor into the overall graduation rate because the students don’t graduate from that university.
50%=1 Point
55%=2 Points
60%=3 Points
65%=4 Points
70%=5 Points
75%=6 Points
80%=7 Points
85%=8 Points
Tuition
It doesn’t matter how great the return on investment is if you can’t afford the school. This means tuition is important. It also contributes to which end of the average you are on for return on investment. The more you pay through loans, the lower your return will be because of interest and other factors.
<$5,000=7 Points
<$10,000=6 Points
<$15,000=5 Points
<$20,000=4 Points
<$25,000=3 Points
<$30,000=2 Points
<$35,000=1 Point
Below Average ($37,172) Student Loan Debt=3 Points
Students should always attempt to graduate with as little debt as possible. A school with lower-than-average student debt demonstrates its willingness to help students find funding alternatives to loans and keep student debt low. Not all financial aid departments are created equal.
Sources on Colleges That Accept Low SAT Scores
Information comes from either the website of each individual school or from the following sources.
CVO Staff