Tests and English
SAT, ACT, GRE or GMAT: check your course first
FREE TCO GUIDESThe right test is the one your intended programme accepts or requires. Start with the application rules before committing months of preparation or paying a booking fee.
Separate the routes
SAT and ACT checks belong to undergraduate applications; GRE and GMAT checks usually arise in graduate admissions. That distinction is only a starting point. Your university, degree, entry year and applicant category decide the actual requirement. MIT currently requires SAT or ACT scores for first-year and transfer applicants. UC does not consider SAT or ACT scores in admission or scholarship decisions. A friend’s testing plan may therefore be wrong for your list.
Build a useful comparison
Imagine a fictional applicant considering three graduate programmes. One requires the GRE, one allows an optional score and one does not consider it. Preparing for the test could still be sensible for the first programme, but sending it everywhere would waste attention and possibly money.
Make one row per programme. Record whether the test is required, optional or not considered; which version is accepted; the relevant deadline; and how scores must be reported. Stanford’s graduate admissions guidance directs applicants to programme-specific GRE rules. Do not turn a university-wide search result into a rule for every department. If you are considering GMAT instead, confirm that the programme actually accepts it before treating the tests as interchangeable.
Plan backwards from receipt
Work backwards from the university’s instructions, leaving room for preparation, available appointments and reporting. Check whether the deadline concerns taking the test or receiving scores. Keep English-language evidence in a separate row: a general admissions test does not by itself settle that requirement.
When a score is optional, consider what it would add to your academic record and what preparation would displace. An expensive course is not automatically the best use of limited time. First use an appropriate practice test to identify the work you actually need, then make a realistic weekly plan.
References
We use official admissions and university guidance. Rules can change between application cycles. Check the current instructions for your course, applicant category and entry year before applying or booking a test.
- MIT Admissions: Tests and scores
- University of California: Filling out the application
- Stanford Graduate Admissions: Test scores
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