Undergraduate Admission Requirements

• Select your intended major within the College of Arts & Sciences. If you have not decided which major to pursue, select "Undecided Arts & Sciences" within the College of Arts & Sciences.
• The opportunities for students enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences to transfer into the College of Engineering are quite limited, and enrollment in the Freeman College of Management is limited to students who were admitted directly into the Freeman College of Management at the time of their initial application to Bucknell.
• You should apply directly to your preferred college.
• Students majoring in the sciences or mathematics are expected to have completed a minimum of three years of college-preparatory mathematics, but their secondary school programs should include as much work in mathematics as possible.

Engineering students are required to have one year of either chemistry or physics, and one year of pre-calculus. However, Bucknell strongly recommends a minimum of three years of science, including chemistry and physics.

Engineering students are expected to have completed a minimum of three years of college-preparatory mathematics, but their secondary school programs should include as much work in mathematics as possible.

• Select your intended major within the College of Engineering.
• If you know you want to join the College of Engineering but have not decided which of its majors to pursue, select "Undecided Engineering" as your intended major.
• Please note: Due to curricular requirements, the opportunities for students enrolled in either the College of Arts & Sciences or Freeman College of Management to transfer into the College of Engineering are limited.
• You should apply directly to your preferred college.

Note: Students who apply to and are accepted into the Bachelor of Science in Engineering & Bachelor of Management for Engineers five-year dual-degree program cannot drop engineering and transfer into management.

• Select your intended major within the Freeman College of Management.
• If you know you want to join the Freeman College of Management but have not decided which of its majors to pursue, select "Undecided Management" as your intended major.
• Please note: Enrollment in the Freeman College of Management is limited to students who were admitted directly into the Freeman College of Management at the time of their initial application to Bucknell.
• You should apply directly to your preferred college.

In the 2019–20 academic year, Bucknell began a five-year pilot program where students are not required to submit an SAT or ACT score as part of their application. Please note the test optional pilot has been extended an additional two years to include students applying through the 2025–26 application cycle.

Please note that all students who choose to enroll at Bucknell will be required to submit an SAT or ACT score before they begin their first year. If students choose not to submit SAT or ACT scores with the application, the scores will not be used in the admissions decision. However, they will be used in the assessment of the test-optional program. Note: If you have never taken the SAT or ACT and do not have scores available, you will not be required to submit a score upon enrollment.

The test-optional policy is consistent with Bucknell's holistic admission policy, empowering students to shape their own narrative. We delve deeply into your application, essay, high school profile, transcript and letters of recommendation. You can now decide whether to add a test score to this narrative or if everything else you're already submitting represents you best.

Yes, for students who choose to submit test scores, Bucknell will accept self-reported scores. Applicants may self-report SAT/ACT scores on their Common or Coalition Application for admissions consideration. If an applicant is offered admission and enrolls, an official copy of the SAT/ACT scores will be required.

Yes. Home-schooled, international (those who do not hold U.S. citizenship or permanent residency) and recruited athletic (due to Patriot League guidelines) applicants are required to submit either an SAT or ACT score.

UPDATE: For the 2023–24 application cycle, home-schooled, international and recruited athletic applicants may choose to be test-optional because of challenges applicants may face in taking standardized testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy change will be re-evaluated at the end of the 2023–24 application cycle.

Applicants may indicate on their applications whether they would like Bucknell to review their standardized test results.

For applicants using the Common Application, this question is located on the Bucknell-specific questions section of the application.

For applicants using the Coalition Application (powered by Scoir), this question is located in the Application Questions section.

If a student has already submitted a test score to Bucknell and no longer wants it to be considered, the answer to this question on the application will suppress scores already at Bucknell.

For the Class of 2026, the middle 50% range for standardized testing was:

SAT Evidence-Based Reading & Writing: 650-730
SAT Math: 660-770
ACT: 29–33

No. Should a student choose to not have their test score considered in the application process, nothing else is required in place of the test score.

No. If you choose not to submit an SAT or ACT score, Bucknell will not consider other standardized tests from a national testing agency (such as College Board and ACT).

Yes. All students will be considered for all of Bucknell's merit scholarships, regardless of whether they submit a test score.

Test scores will be required for all enrolling students who have taken an SAT or ACT to be used in the assessment of the test-optional program. Note: If you have never taken the SAT or ACT and do not have scores available, you will not be required to submit a score upon enrollment.

Yes. Bucknell superscores both the SAT and ACT, meaning we take your best section-level scores if you take a test more than once. 

For the SAT, this means we take your best Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score and your best Math score — even if they were from different tests — and combine them to create the superscore we consider when looking at your application.

For the ACT, this means we take the average of your best scores from each subject from multiple test attempts. If you take the test multiple times, this could result in the score we consider being the same or higher (never lower).

As a reminder, Bucknell is test-optional, meaning you'll decide whether to include test scores when applying.