Do I Need to Take the SAT to Transfer From a Community College?

For many decades, the SAT has been a staple of the college admissions process for high schoolers across the country. But what if you’re looking to transfer from a community college? Do you still need to take the SAT and submit your score to get accepted? In most cases, you do not need to take the SAT to transfer from a community college, especially if you are transferring to a public university in the same state. 

With that said, different schools have different rules. In this article, we’ll discuss the situations where you might or might not have to take the SAT or ACT to transfer from a community college to a four-year school. We’ll also point you to the right resources to let you know exactly what you need to get accepted to your chosen school.

Do Colleges Require the SAT for Community College Transfers?

If you’re transferring from a community college to a four-year university, you probably don’t need to take the SAT or submit your score from when you took it in high school.

First of all, test-optional is now the new normal — whether you’re applying to college straight out of high school or you’ve done one or two years of community college. As of December 2022, only 4 percent of colleges nationwide still required standardized test scores for admission.

With that said, the explosion of test-optional colleges since 2020 was driven in large part by virus-related changes in education, many of which are finally reverting back to normal. Therefore, it’s entirely possible that many of the colleges and universities that have gone test-optional in recent years will reinstate their standardized testing requirement. Several of the Ivy League schools, for instance, have already announced their intention to do so. 

Plus, even the few colleges and universities that still require the SAT or ACT generally waive that requirement for community college transfers. Instead, they’ll want to see the coursework you completed at community college and the grades you made. After all, why does it matter if you scored, say, a sub-1,000 on your SAT back in high school if you proved over the last two years that you’re capable of doing college-level work and making mostly A’s?

Many universities have auto-admit agreements with community colleges. In other words, if you complete your A.A. degree at the community college and keep a certain GPA (usually a 3.0, but it can vary depending on the agreement between the schools), you can receive guaranteed admission to the designated four-year school.

For instance, Santa Fe College, an associate’s degree-granting school in Gainesville, FL, has an auto-admit agreement with the University of South Florida in Tampa. Any Santa Fe graduate with a 3.0 or higher gets automatic admission to continue their studies at USF.

What Do Universities Look At When Admitting Community College Transfers?

The college admissions process coming from a community college looks a bit different than it does coming directly out of high school. Every school has different requirements, so it’s important to understand exactly what your target school is looking for when admitting community college transfers.

The most important factor most admissions officers take into consideration is your academic record from your previous institution, meaning your community college. This includes your GPA, the courses you’ve taken, and any relevant awards or honors you received during your time there.

Depending on the program or major you’re looking to transfer into, the school might also require you to have taken and passed certain prerequisite courses.

In addition to these criteria, universities often look at special circumstances such as military service or financial need when considering potential transfer students. If finances are a concern, it’s a good idea to understand whether the school at which you’re seeking admission is “need-blind” or “need-aware.” 

A need-blind school admits students without regard for their ability to pay, whereas a need-aware school takes financial need into consideration. Also, you should ask the admissions office if the school “meets full need” — in other words, do they guarantee enough financial aid to cover all of your college expenses above what you’re reasonably able to pay?

Do Community Colleges Require the SAT for Admission?

If you are thinking of attending a community college right out of high school, you probably won’t need to submit an SAT or ACT score to be admitted. Most community colleges do not require the SAT, as they have open-admission policies. That means any student with a diploma from an accredited high school — or, sometimes, a high school equivalency certificate such as a GED — can register for community college classes.

The reason community colleges exist is to provide inexpensive access to higher education with low barriers to entry to students for whom a four-year college or university might currently be out of reach. Requiring the SAT or ACT constitutes a major barrier to entry that would likely keep out many of the exact students community colleges exist to serve. Therefore, these tests are rarely required as part of the admission process.

Some states, such as Tennessee, have even gone a step further and made community college free to all recent high school graduates in the state, as well as for certain older adults looking to change careers.

There is an exception to the general rule that community colleges don’t require the SAT or ACT for admission. Certain community colleges have certain programs and majors that are highly competitive. In order to balance supply and demand, schools often exclude such programs from their open-admissions policies and require higher entrance standards to get in. If you’re applying to a highly competitive community college program, you might be required to take the SAT or ACT.

Programs and majors that often fall into this category include the following:

• Nursing
• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Computer science
• Engineering

Why Start at a Community College?

Attending a community college before transferring to a university is becoming increasingly popular as tuition rates continue to soar at four-year colleges and universities. At a community college, you can get your general education requirements and other prerequisites out of the way at a fraction of the cost you’d pay at a four-year school. In many states, such as the aforementioned Tennessee, community college doesn’t cost a dime.

There are many other benefits that come with starting at a community college: smaller classes, individualized attention from professors, and often a cozier, less intimidating campus environment.

Another benefit for many students is the ability to live at home while attending community college. Not only does this allow you to save money on housing and food, but if you’re shy or introverted, it allows you to ease out of your comfort zone more gently. 

Living in a dorm at 18 years old and sharing a 12×12 room with a random stranger selected by the school isn’t for everyone. Some kids thrive in that environment, but others don’t. If you’re one of those who doesn’t, community college lets you get your first year or two of college under your belt with your support system intact.

Finally, community colleges are often more flexible than four-year schools when it comes to class schedules. Because many community college students balance their course load with a full-time job, schools offer classes at all times of the day — morning, afternoon, and evening — and often even on weekends. 

At bigger schools, freshman classes are often concentrated in the morning, as the school assumes that most freshmen live on campus and thus can make it to class without any issues.

Do Ivy League Schools Accept Community College Credits?

Most community college graduates who go on to pursue their bachelor’s degree do so at a state university, either a flagship or regional campus. 

For instance, they’ll apply to the University of Tennessee after spending two years at a community college in Tennessee, or they’ll shoot for the University of Florida or FSU after getting their A.A. degree from a two-year school in Florida.

But what if your goals are even loftier? What if you want to jump from community college to an Ivy League school or a similarly elite university like Duke or Stanford? Do Ivy League schools accept community college credits?

The answer, for the most part, is yes. Ivy League schools, like other four-year colleges and universities, generally accept community college credits from accredited institutions. However, they might have limitations on how many transfer credits they’ll accept (whether from a community college or another four-year school), and they might not offer credit for remedial courses (e.g., college algebra).

It is best to check with the specific school you are interested in attending to find out their policy on community college credits. Some Ivy League schools may also have articulation agreements with local community colleges that outline the specific coursework that will transfer.

Do I Need to Take the SAT to Transfer From a Community College: The Bottom Line

The SAT is not usually a requirement for transferring to a four-year school from a community college. That said, it is important to understand the admission requirements at the school you want to transfer to in order to ensure that you meet them. The most important factor when trying to transfer from a community college is your academic record. So, you should focus more on acing your classes than on standardized testing.