UNC Chapel Hill
UNC Chapel Hill SAT and ACT Requirements
UNC Chapel Hill requires SAT or ACT scores for the 2026-27 cycle. The middle 50% of enrolled first-year students scored 1390 to 1530 on the SAT and 28 to 34 on the ACT.
2026-27 policy
Required
SAT middle 50%
1390–1530
ACT middle 50%
28–34
Acceptance rate
15%
UNC Chapel Hill SAT scores by section
| Section | 25th percentile | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Reading and Writing | 690 | 750 |
| Math | 700 | 780 |
| Total | 1390 | 1530 |
| ACT Composite | 28 | 34 |
The total is the sum of the section percentiles, the standard way to estimate a middle 50% for the combined score.
Where your score puts you
- Below 1390: lower than three quarters of enrolled students. A retake has the most upside here.
- 1390 to 1530: in line with the class. The rest of your application decides it.
- Above 1530: higher than three quarters of enrolled students. Testing is no longer what holds the application back.
Keep these numbers
Frequently asked questions
Does UNC Chapel Hill require the SAT or ACT?
UNC Chapel Hill requires SAT or ACT scores for the 2026-27 cycle. UNC's own CDS 2025-26 (Section C8A, 'policies for use in admission for students applying for Fall 2027') checks SAT/ACT under 'Required to be considered for admission' — NOT 'Recommended' or 'Not required but considered.' The GPA-conditional nuance is real and is itself confirmed verbatim in the CDS's own C8F clarification: 'Beginning with the Fall 2025-26 academic year, students with a weighted GPA below 2.8 (on a 4.0 scale) are required to submit either an ACT or SAT score. If applicants have scores that they choose to share with us, they will be considered as one fact among many in our holistic application review.' So: not a blanket requirement for every applicant, but UNC's own official CDS classification is 'required,' not 'optional' — publish it as such, with the GPA threshold as the caveat, not the headline.
What SAT score do you need for UNC Chapel Hill?
The published range is not a cutoff. Among enrolled first-year students, a quarter scored below 1390, half scored between 1390 and 1530, and a quarter scored above 1530. A score at or above 1530 puts you ahead of most of the class on testing; a score below 1390 works against you.
What ACT score do you need for UNC Chapel Hill?
The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 28 to 34 on the ACT. On the official conversion table that is an SAT 1310 to 1500.
Score ranges: College Scorecard API — U.S. Department of Education (api.data.gov) and Editorial overrides layer (overrides.json) — Common Data Set & institutional sources. They describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. Test policy: UNC Chapel Hill admissions, verified for 2026-27.
