Historical Testing Policy

Western Michigan University uses the ACT or SAT test for both admission and scholarship consideration.  Applicants who must provide ACT or SAT scores include:

• First-year applicants who plan to enroll fewer than two years after graduating from high school.
• Transfer applicants who have earned fewer than 24 credits after high school and who plan to enroll fewer than two years after graduating from high school.

In the interest of promoting college access and providing admission decisions in a timely fashion, WMU uses self-reported test scores for the initial admission decision and scholarship awarding process.  All first-year students as well as transfer students with fewer than 24 transferable credit hours, will be required to self-report their test score(s) on the admission application.  Applicants are able to update their self-reported scores via a form available in the Gold Gateway.  

Scores must be self-reported by admission and scholarship deadlines in order to be considered. Review deadlines and other important dates. 

Once admitted, students who decide to enroll at WMU must provide official test scores; we encourage these to be submitted prior to new student orientation.  Students who do not provide official test scores before beginning classes will have a hold placed on their account that will prevent future semester course registration.

Superscoring:

Applicants who take either the ACT or SAT test more than once, may benefit from WMU’s superscoring policy.  WMU will use your highest subscores from any test date to superscore your total (SAT) or composite (ACT) score.  That score is what will be used for admission and scholarship consideration.  Only scores from the same test type will be used—subscores cannot be mixed between the ACT and SAT.  Superscoring will be calculated by: 

• ACT: Average of the highest section score on English, Math, Reading, and Science
• SAT: Sum of the highest section score on Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing

WMU does not have a preference between the two tests and does not use the writing portion of the tests.

Official Test Scores:

All admitted applicants who choose to enroll at Western Michigan University must provide official scores before beginning classes. Scores can be sent directly from the testing agency or included on an official high school transcript. 

Students may request official test scores from the appropriate testing agency at:

• ACT: Use WMU school code 2066
• SAT (College Board): Use WMU school code 1902

WMU is unable to accept emailed or faxed test score reports or any score report from a student or family. Discrepancies between self-reported and official scores may result in admission to WMU being revoked. 

Other Standardized Tests:

Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and SAT subject scores are optional. Official AP and IB scores can be submitted for possible credit evaluation. Learn more about AP and IB scores at WMU.