What are Maryland Institute College of Art'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:
In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into Maryland Institute College of Art and build a strong application.
School location: Baltimore, MD
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 Maryland Institute College of Art is 64.3%. For every 100 applicants, 64 are admitted.
This means the school is moderately selective. The school expects you to meet their requirements for GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but they're more flexible than other schools. If you exceed their requirements, you have an excellent chance of getting in. But if you don't, you might be one of the unlucky minority that gets a rejection letter.
We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.
We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.
Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.
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 Maryland Institute College of Art is 3.47.
(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.
With a GPA of 3.47, Maryland Institute College of Art 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.
If you're currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.47, you'll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate. This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.
Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Only a few schools require the SAT or ACT, but many consider your scores if you choose to submit them.
You must take either the SAT or ACT to submit an application to Maryland Institute College of Art. More importantly, you need to do well to have a strong application.
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 Maryland Institute College of Art is a 1208 on the 1600 SAT scale.
This score makes Maryland Institute College of Art Competitive for SAT test scores.
The 25th percentile SAT score is 1030, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1290. In other words, a 1030 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1290 will move you up to above average.
Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:
| Section | Average | 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
| Math | 603 | 530 | 660 |
| Reading + Writing | 608 | 500 | 630 |
| Composite | 1208 | 1030 | 1290 |
The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.
Maryland Institute College of Art has the Score Choice policy of "Highest Section."
This is also known as "superscoring." 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 your highest section scores across all SAT test dates you submit.
Click below to learn more about how superscoring critically affects your test strategy.
For example, say you submit the following 3 test scores:
| Section | R+W | Math | Composite |
| Test 1 | 700 | 300 | 1000 |
| Test 2 | 300 | 700 | 1000 |
| Test 3 | 300 | 300 | 600 |
| Superscore | 700 | 700 | 1400 |
Even though the highest total you scored on any one test date was 1000, Maryland Institute College of Art will take your highest section score from all your test dates, then combine them to form your Superscore. You can raise your composite score from 1000 to 1400 in this example.
This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and Maryland Institute College of Art forms your Superscore, you can take the SAT as many times as you want, then submit only the tests that give you the highest Superscore. Your application readers will only see that one score.
Therefore, if your SAT superscore is currently below a 1208, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it. You have a very good chance of raising your score, which will significantly boost your chances of getting in.
Even better, because of the Superscore, you can focus all your energy on a single section at a time. If your Reading score is lower than your other sections, prep only for the Reading section, then take the SAT. Then focus on Math for the next test, and so on. This will give you the highest Superscore possible.
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
Just like for the SAT, Maryland Institute College of Art likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.
The average ACT score at Maryland Institute College of Art is 25. This score makes Maryland Institute College of Art Moderately Competitive for ACT scores.
The 25th percentile ACT score is 22, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 29.
Even though Maryland Institute College of Art likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 22 or below, you'll have a harder time getting in, unless you have something else impressive in your application.
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 25 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.
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 Maryland Institute College of Art, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 25.
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and ACT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
Currently, only the ACT has an optional essay section that all students can take. The SAT used to also have an optional Essay section, but since June 2021, this has been discontinued unless you are taking the test as part of school-day testing in a few states. Because of this, no school requires the SAT Essay or ACT Writing section, but some schools do recommend certain students submit their results if they have them.
Maryland Institute College of Art hasn't reported their stance on SAT Essay/ACT Writing, but most likely they consider it to be optional. Thus you don't need to worry too much about Writing for this school, but other schools you're applying to may require it.
Because this school is moderately selective, strong academic performance will almost guarantee you admission. Scoring a 1290 SAT or a 29 ACT or above will nearly guarantee you admission. Because the school admits 64.3% of all applicants, being far above average raises the admission rate for you to nearly 100%.
If you can achieve a high SAT/ACT score, the rest of your application essentially doesn't matter. You still need to meet the rest of the application requirements, and your GPA shouldn't be too far off from the school average of 3.47. But you won't need dazzling extracurriculars and breathtaking letters of recommendation to get in. You can get in based on the merits of your score alone.
But if your score is a 1030 SAT or a 22 ACT and below, you have a good chance of being one of the unlucky few to be rejected.
We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.
We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.
Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.
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Every school requires an application with the bare essentials - high school transcript and GPA, application form, and other core information. Many schools, as explained above, also require SAT and ACT scores, as well as letters of recommendation, application essays, and interviews. We'll cover the exact requirements of Maryland Institute College of Art here.
If you're interested in Maryland Institute College of Art, you'll probably be interested in these schools as well. We've divided them into 3 categories depending on how hard they are to get into, relative to Maryland Institute College of Art.
These schools are have higher average SAT scores than Maryland Institute College of Art. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Connecticut | Storrs, CT | 1315 | 29 |
| University of California, Irvine | Irvine, CA | 1310 | 29 |
| Chapman University | Orange, CA | 1296 | 28 |
| University of Texas at Dallas | Richardson, TX | 1291 | 28 |
| University of California, Davis | Davis, CA | 1280 | 28 |
| Penn State University Park | University Park, PA | 1265 | 28 |
| University of Oregon | Eugene, OR | 1253 | 27 |
If you're competitive for Maryland Institute College of Art, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Alabama | Tuscaloosa, AL | 1225 | 26 |
| University of Houston | Houston, TX | 1225 | 26 |
| University of California, Riverside | Riverside, CA | 1225 | 27 |
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, OH | 1223 | 26 |
| San Diego State University | San Diego, CA | 1215 | 26 |
| University of Oklahoma | Norman, OK | 1210 | 26 |
| Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX | 1196 | 26 |
If you're currently competitive for Maryland Institute College of Art, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If Maryland Institute College of Art is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of North Texas | Denton, TX | 1160 | 23 |
| University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX | 1160 | 23 |
| Florida International University | Miami, FL | 1159 | 24 |
| California State University Long Beach | Long Beach, CA | 1145 | 23 |
| San Jose State University | San Jose, CA | 1145 | 23 |
| Florida Gulf Coast University | Fort Myers, FL | 1135 | 29 |
| Washington State University | Pullman, WA | 1125 | 23 |
Data on this page is sourced from Peterson's Databases © 2023 (Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.) as well as additional publicly available sources.
We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.
We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.
Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.
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