Notre Dame

Notre Dame SAT and ACT Requirements

Notre Dame is test-optional for the 2026-27 cycle. The middle 50% of enrolled first-year students scored 1455 to 1560 on the SAT and 33 to 35 on the ACT.

2026-27 policy

Test-Optional

SAT middle 50%

1455–1560

ACT middle 50%

33–35

Acceptance rate

11%

Notre Dame SAT scores by section

Section	25th percentile	75th percentile
Reading and Writing	720	770
Math	735	790
Total	1455	1560
ACT Composite	33	35

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 1455: lower than three quarters of enrolled students. A retake has the most upside here, and at a test-optional school you can also leave the score off.
1455 to 1560: in line with the class. The rest of your application decides it.
Above 1560: higher than three quarters of enrolled students. Testing is no longer what holds the application back.

Other colleges where a 1460 is in range Other colleges where a 1560 is in range Convert an ACT score

Keep these numbers

Email me Notre Dame's score ranges

The ranges on this page, plus a link to compare them with every other college we track.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Notre Dame require the SAT or ACT?

Notre Dame is test-optional for the 2026-27 cycle. Notre Dame is reported as test-optional through at least the 2026-27 cycle per a third-party testing-policy tracker; the exact current policy wording could not be re-confirmed on a live admissions.nd.edu testing page in this session (attempted URLs 404'd), so this should be spot-checked before publishing.

What SAT score do you need for Notre Dame?

The published range is not a cutoff. Among enrolled first-year students, a quarter scored below 1455, half scored between 1455 and 1560, and a quarter scored above 1560. A score at or above 1560 puts you ahead of most of the class on testing; a score below 1455 works against you.

What ACT score do you need for Notre Dame?

The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 33 to 35 on the ACT. On the official conversion table that is an SAT 1460 to 1540.

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: Notre Dame admissions, verified for 2026-27.