Yes, Wesleyan University is test optional. You can apply without submitting SAT or ACT scores, and the admissions committee will not factor test scores into its decision if you choose not to include them. This policy applies to all applicants, and Wesleyan does not require admitted students who skipped standardized tests to take them before enrolling.
How the Policy Works in Practice
When you fill out the Wesleyan-specific section of the Common Application, you’ll see a question about standardized testing with seven options. These reflect different combinations of scores you can choose to have considered: SAT only, ACT only, both, SAT Subject Tests, or no scores at all. You pick whichever option best represents how you want to present yourself.
If you include scores, the admissions team will factor them into your review. If you don’t, they won’t. Wesleyan frames this as giving applicants the power to decide whether their test results accurately reflect their academic ability. There is no minimum score and no cutoff for applicants who do submit.
How Many Applicants Skip Test Scores
A significant portion of admitted students choose not to submit. In Wesleyan’s most recent first-year class profile, 59% of admitted students asked to have test scores considered, meaning roughly 41% were admitted without scores playing any role. That’s a large enough share to confirm the policy is genuine, not just a technicality that puts non-submitters at a disadvantage.
What Wesleyan Evaluates Instead
Wesleyan uses what it calls a “personal, reader-driven, holistic review process.” Every application is read in full regardless of whether test scores are present. Your transcript, course rigor, essays, recommendations, and extracurricular involvement all carry weight. For students who don’t submit scores, these other elements simply become the entire picture rather than competing with a number.
If you have strong scores that reinforce the rest of your application, submitting them can add context. If your scores feel like an outlier compared to your grades and coursework, leaving them off lets the admissions committee focus on the evidence that better reflects your ability.
A Note on Ohio Wesleyan
If you’re searching for Ohio Wesleyan University (a separate institution in Delaware, Ohio), that school is also test optional. OWU does not use test scores for admission or scholarship consideration, and all applicants are eligible for the full range of merit scholarships and departmental awards regardless of whether they submit scores. Scores submitted to OWU will not help or hinder your application.