What entrance exams are required for admission into US colleges?

When considering an undergraduate or a graduate degree, in all likelihood the aspiring student will have to face some form of mandatory examination or an aptitude test in order to be admitted. A good number of institutions even state the minimum scores needed to meet the cutoff.

These exams are generally grouped into three types. The first would be the English proficiency tests that are mandatory for citizens of non-English speaking countries, in this case being the IELTS and TOEFL. The second type comprises of the general aptitude tests like the PSAT, ACT, and SAT (needed for undergraduate admission) and the GMAT and GRE (for graduate entry) predominantly for North America. Third are the discipline-focused examinations for Law school and Medical school like the MCAT, UKCAT, and USMLE that would be geared towards entry into a particular program.

These tests are conducted by independent testing centers or professional organizations. The main objective is to provide a common platform for measuring potentials of all applicants that stem from varied backgrounds and curricula against a uniform set of skills that are mandated by a particular program. There are institutions where these exams aren’t mandatory. However, in recent times we have seen an increasing number of institutions making the abovementioned forms of testing compulsory since these tests are indicative about the perspective student’s potential and hence it is recommended to take these exams.

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