What are Oregon State University’s admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:
GPA requirements
Testing requirements, including SAT and ACT requirements
Application requirements
In this guide we’ll cover what you need to get into Oregon State University and build a strong application.
School location: Corvallis, OR
If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.
The acceptance rate at Oregon State University is 80.6%. For every 100 applicants, 81 are admitted.
This means the school is lightly selective. The school will have their expected requirements for GPA and SAT/ACT scores. If you meet their requirements, you’re almost certain to get an offer of admission. But if you don’t meet Oregon State University’s requirements, you’ll be one of the unlucky few people who gets rejected.
Oregon State University GPA Requirements
Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.
The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school’s average GPA for its current students.
The average GPA at Oregon State University is 3.59.
With a GPA of 3.59, Oregon State University requires you to be around average in your high school class. You’ll need a mix of A’s and B’s, and very few C’s. If you have a lower GPA, you can compensate with harder courses like AP or IB classes. This will help boost your weighted GPA and show your ability to take college classes.
SAT and ACT Requirements
Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Most schools require the SAT or ACT, and many also require SAT subject tests.
You must take either the SAT or ACT to submit an application to Oregon State University. More importantly, you need to do well to have a strong application.
Oregon State University SAT Requirements
Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school’s average score.
The average SAT score composite at Oregon State University is a 1195 on the 1600 SAT scale.
This score makes Oregon State University Competitive for SAT test scores.
Oregon State University SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)
The 25th percentile New SAT score is 1080, and the 75th percentile New SAT score is 1310. In other words, a 1080 on the New SAT places you below average, while a 1310 will move you up to above average.
Here’s the breakdown of new SAT scores by section:
| Section | Average | 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
| Math | 600 | 540 | 660 |
| Reading + Writing | 595 | 540 | 650 |
| Composite | 1195 | 1080 | 1310 |
SAT Score Choice Policy
The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.
Oregon State University has the Score Choice policy of “Highest Sitting.”
This means that you can choose which SAT tests you want to send to the school. Of all the scores they receive, your application readers will consider the SAT score from your single highest test date (the sum of math, reading, and writing).
This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and Oregon State University only considers your highest score on a single test date, you can take the SAT as many times as you want, then submit your strongest score. Your application readers will only see that one score.
Therefore, if your SAT score is currently below a 1080, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it. You don’t have much to lose, and you can potentially raise your score and significantly boost your chances of getting in.
The 25th percentile ACT score is 22, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 28.
ACT Score Sending Policy
If you’re taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.
Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.
This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school’s ACT requirement of 22 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you’re happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.
ACT Superscore Policy
By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.
We weren’t able to find the school’s exact ACT policy, which most likely means that it does not Superscore. Regardless, you can choose your single best ACT score to send in to Oregon State University, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 22.
SAT/ACT Writing Section Requirements
Both the SAT and ACT have an optional essay section.
Oregon State University requires you to take the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section. They’ll use this as another factor in their admissions consideration.
SAT Subject Test Requirements
Schools vary in their SAT subject test requirements. Typically, selective schools tend to require them, while most schools in the country do not.
Oregon State University has indicated that SAT subject tests are required for SOME applicants. Typically this means that applying to certain majors or colleges within the school requires SAT subject tests, and others don’t. Read further to see if you’ll need to submit SAT subject scores.
Typically, your SAT/ACT and GPA are far more heavily weighed than your SAT Subject Tests. If you have the choice between improving your SAT/ACT score or your SAT Subject Test scores, definitely choose to improve your SAT/ACT score.