Entrance Tests
Entrance Exams for International Universities: Things You Need to Know
Applying to universities abroad comes with one practical question most students overlook until it’s too late: which entrance exams do you actually need to take?
The answer depends on where you’re applying, what you want to study, and at what level. Here’s a straightforward breakdown.
Undergraduate Applications
If you’re applying to universities in the United States at the undergraduate level, you will likely encounter:
The most widely accepted standardised test for US university admissions. Also accepted by some universities in the UK, Canada, and beyond.
Accepted by the same institutions as the SAT. Some students perform better on one than the other — it's worth taking a practice test for both before committing.
With 40 subjects spanning Arts, Sciences, Mathematics, History, Languages, and Social Sciences, AP scores are a globally recognized benchmark of college-level academic excellence — strengthening your study abroad application across any field.
Many US universities are now test-optional, meaning you can apply without submitting scores. However, a strong score can still strengthen your application, and a weak one can simply be left off.
Graduate Applications
If you’re applying at the postgraduate level, the exam you need depends on your field:
Required or recommended for most master's and PhD programmes in STEM, social sciences, and humanities.
Required for MBA and business school applications.
Required for law school applications, primarily in the US and Canada.
Required for medical school applications in the US and select other countries
Test-Optional Universities - What Does It Mean?
The rise of test-optional admissions has changed how students approach entrance exams. But test-optional does not mean tests are irrelevant.
It means you may apply without submitting scores. It means strong SAT, ACT, or GRE scores can still enhance your academic profile. And it means weak scores can simply be withheld. The decision to submit scores should be strategic — not automatic.
What Are Competitive Scores?
Knowing the exam is one thing. Knowing what score actually makes a difference is another. The ranges below reflect what competitive applicants typically submit at selective institutions — not minimum thresholds, but scores that genuinely strengthen an application.
| Test | Score scale | Competitive score |
| SAT | 400 to 1600 | 1500 and above — Ivy League institutions typically expect 1510 to 1580 |
| ACT | 1 to 36 | 34 and above — Ivy League institutions typically expect 34 to 36 |
| GRE | 130 to 170 (per section) | Quant: 160 or above / Verbal: 155 or above — top STEM programmes typically expect Quant 167 or above |
| GMAT | 205 to 805 | 700 and above — top business schools typically expect 730 or above |
| LSAT | 120 to 180 | 170 and above — top law schools typically expect 173 or above |
| MCAT | 472 to 528 | 515 and above — top medical schools typically expect 521 or above |
Which Exam Do You Need?
Start with your target universities and programmes, not the other way around. Check their admissions pages directly — requirements vary by institution, programme, and intake year. Taking exams you don’t need wastes time you could spend strengthening the rest of your application.