Test-optionalED + EA

Macalester College

MN · Private · Midwest · Liberal arts college · Top 50 tier · 2,061 undergraduates (small)

Admission rates

Latest admit rates

Overall admit rate28.1%
ED rate42%201 of 479
Regular round (est.)†27.3%includes Early Action

How much of the class comes from ED

~38% of enrolled freshmen were admitted through Early Decision.

This is a share of the freshman class, not an admit rate.

† Regular round (est.) = (all admitted students − Early Decision admits) ÷ (all applicants − Early Decision applicants). It also includes Early Action, because the Common Data Set does not report Early Action counts.

Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025

Admission rates

OverallEarly Decision
0%35%70%'19'20'21'22'23'24'2532.3%38.7%28.4%28.2%28.5%28.1%58.2%60.5%48.5%52.8%46.3%39.4%42.0%

Early plans

Fall 2027 applicants

Early Decision I & II (binding) + Early Action (non-binding) · School admissions page ↗What this means:

Testing

Testing policy

Fall 2027
Test-optionalSchool testing page ↗ · checked Nov 2026
Fall 2028
Fall 2028 policy not yet announced.School testing page ↗ · checked Nov 2026

Superscoring

What this means:

SAT
Superscores
ACT
Superscores

Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026

Test-optional for fall 2027 entry. ACT: highest subscores considered alongside the highest submitted composite (not an explicit recalculated composite).

How to send scores

Self-report accepted; official scores only after admission/enrollment

Send all scores? Encouraged

School’s words: “we will accept self-reported test scores. ... Macalester will verify the accuracy of enrolling students' self-reported scores submitted during admissions after a student confirms their intent to enroll. At that time, students must submit official test scores ... Applicants who choose to submit ACT or SAT results are encouraged to provide all their testing scores.”

Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026

Students submitting scores

Est. % submitting scores‡59%SAT 35% + ACT 24%

‡ Est. % submitting scores adds the share of enrolled first-years who submitted the SAT to the share who submitted the ACT.

Submitted SAT35%
185 students
Submitted ACT24%
128 students

Score ranges (middle 50%)

Enrolled first-years who submitted scores, Fall 2025. A quarter scored below the range and a quarter above.

SAT composite
1350–1480 median 1420
10001600
SAT Reading & Writing
680–750 median 720
500800
SAT Math
650–750 median 700
500800
ACT composite
30–33 median 31
2036

Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025

Share of enrolled students submitting scores

SAT + ACT (est.)SATACT
0%50%100%'19'20'21'22'23'24'25100%100%74.0%63.0%58.0%52.0%59.0%57.0%59.0%35.0%33.0%30.0%29.0%35.0%50.0%57.0%39.0%30.0%28.0%23.0%24.0%

SAT composite, middle 50%

25th–75th percentile, enrolled students (labels show both values)
160014001200'19'20'21'22'23'24'251330–1460146013301290–1430143012901360–1490149013601350–1490149013501350–1480148013501360–1490149013601350–148014801350

ACT composite, middle 50%

25th–75th percentile, enrolled students (labels show both values)
3634323028'19'20'21'22'23'24'2529–33332929–33332929–33332930–34343030–333330no data30–333330

Waitlist admit rate

Share of students who stayed on the waitlist and were later admitted, by entering class.

  • 2025: 18%
  • 2024: 12%
  • 2023: 17%
  • 2022: 0%
  • 2021: 0%

What is a waitlist? How is it different from a deferral?

Test policy in each Common Data Set

History only. The current policy is under Testing above.

  1. Fall 2027 Test-optional2025-26 CDS
  2. Fall 2026 Test-optional2024-25 CDS
  3. Fall 2025 Not reported2023-24 CDS
  4. Fall 2023 Test-optional2022-23 CDS
  5. Fall 2023 Test-optional2021-22 CDS
  6. Fall 2022 Test-optional2020-21 CDS
  7. Fall 2021 Required2019-20 CDS

Sources