Yes, the College of Charleston is test optional. You can apply without submitting SAT or ACT scores, and the admissions office will evaluate your application based on the rest of your materials. If you do choose to submit scores, they will be factored into your review, but leaving them out will not count against you.
How the Test-Optional Policy Works
The College of Charleston lets you decide whether to include standardized test scores in your application. If you submit them, the admissions team will consider them alongside everything else. If you don’t, your GPA, coursework, extracurriculars, essays, and other application components carry the weight instead.
One practical detail worth noting: the college accepts both unofficial and official test scores when making an admission decision and awarding institutional merit scholarships. You don’t need to send an official score report from the testing agency just to get an admissions decision. However, state-funded scholarships require official scores, which is an important distinction covered below.
What This Means for Merit Scholarships
You do not need to submit test scores to be considered for the College of Charleston’s institutional merit scholarships. The school automatically evaluates every applicant for merit aid based on their academic credentials at the time of admission, so there’s no separate scholarship application to fill out. The President’s Scholarship, for example, weighs your academic record, community involvement, and a personal interview with the scholarship committee.
If you have strong SAT or ACT scores, submitting them could strengthen your scholarship profile. But if your scores don’t reflect your academic ability as well as your GPA and transcript do, skipping them won’t disqualify you from merit aid consideration.
State Scholarships Still Require Scores
South Carolina’s state-funded scholarships operate under their own eligibility rules, and some do require test scores. The LIFE Scholarship, one of the most common awards for in-state students, requires you to meet two out of three criteria: a minimum 1100 SAT or 22 ACT, a top-30-percent class rank, or a 3.0 GPA on the state’s Uniform Grading Scale. If you’re counting on test scores to meet one of those two thresholds, you’ll need to take the SAT or ACT and send official score reports.
This is where the distinction between unofficial and official scores matters. The college will use unofficial scores for its own admissions and merit awards, but state scholarships require the official version sent directly from the testing agency. If you’re an in-state student hoping to qualify for state aid, plan to take the test and request official score delivery.
Honors College Applicants
The Honors College at the College of Charleston also follows the test-optional policy. Its review process is holistic, meaning the committee looks at everything in your application, including test scores if you submitted them. But scores are not a requirement for Honors College admission. The committee weighs your full academic record, activities, and essays regardless of whether a score is attached.
Student-Athletes and NCAA Requirements
If you’re being recruited to play a sport, the College of Charleston’s test-optional policy applies to your academic admission, but the NCAA has its own separate eligibility rules. Division I athletes must register with the NCAA Eligibility Center, which uses a sliding scale that balances your core-course GPA against your SAT or ACT score. A lower GPA requires a higher test score, and vice versa. You’ll need to have your scores sent directly to the Eligibility Center regardless of what the college itself requires. If you’re a prospective athlete, plan on taking the SAT or ACT even though the school doesn’t require it for general admission.
Should You Submit Your Scores?
The general rule of thumb with any test-optional school is straightforward: submit scores that strengthen your application, and leave them off if they don’t. If your SAT or ACT score falls at or above the middle 50 percent range for admitted students, including it gives the admissions team another data point in your favor. If your score feels low relative to the rest of your profile, omitting it lets your transcript, essays, and activities make the case instead.
There are also practical reasons to take the test even if you don’t plan to submit scores for admission. State scholarship eligibility, NCAA clearance, and transfer credit at other institutions can all depend on having a score on file. Taking the test keeps your options open, and the test-optional policy simply means you get to choose whether the College of Charleston sees the result.