Maine College of Art Requirements for Admission

What are Maine 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:

  • GPA requirements
  • Testing requirements, including SAT and ACT requirements
  • Application requirements

In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into Maine College of Art and build a strong application.

School location: Portland, ME


Admissions Rate: 68%

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 Maine College of Art is 68%. For every 100 applicants, 68 are admitted.

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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.


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Maine College of Art 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.

Average GPA: 3.3

The average GPA at Maine College of Art is 3.3.

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(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA. This school did not officially report its average GPA, but we've estimated it here using data from over 1,000 schools.)

With a GPA of 3.3, Maine College of Art accepts below-average students. It's OK to be a B-average student, with some A's mixed in. It'd be best to avoid C's and D's, since application readers might doubt whether you can handle the stress of college academics.

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 3.3, 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.


SAT and ACT Requirements

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.

Maine College of Art hasn't explicitly named a policy on SAT/ACT requirements, but because it's published average SAT or ACT scores (we'll cover this next), it's likely test flexible. Typically, these schools say, "if you feel your SAT or ACT score represents you well as a student, submit them. Otherwise, don't."

Despite this policy, the truth is that most students still take the SAT or ACT, and most applicants to Maine College of Art will submit their scores. If you don't submit scores, you'll have one fewer dimension to show that you're worthy of being admitted, compared to other students. We therefore recommend that you consider taking the SAT or ACT, and doing well.


Maine College of Art ACT Requirements

Many schools say they have no ACT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden ACT requirement. This is based on the school's average score.

Average ACT: 22

The average ACT score at Maine College of Art is 22. This score makes Maine College of Art Moderately Competitive for ACT scores.

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The 25th percentile ACT score is , and the 75th percentile ACT score is . In other words, a places you below average, while a will move you up to above average.

Even though Maine College of Art likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a or below, you'll have a harder time getting in, unless you have something else impressive in your application.

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 Maine College of Art, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 22.


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SAT/ACT Writing Section Requirements

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.

Maine College of Art considers the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section optional and may not include it as part of their admissions consideration. You don't need to worry too much about Writing for this school, but other schools you're applying to may require or recommend it.



Final Admissions Verdict

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Because this school is moderately selective, strong academic performance will almost guarantee you admission. Scoring a ACT or above will nearly guarantee you admission. Because the school admits 68% 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 3.3. 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 ACT and below, you have a good chance of being one of the unlucky few to be rejected.


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Application Requirements

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 Maine College of Art here.

Application Requirements Overview

  • Common Application Not accepted
  • Electronic Application None
  • Essay or Personal Statement Required for all freshmen
  • Letters of Recommendation 2
  • Interview Not required
  • Application Fee $70
  • Fee Waiver Available? Available
  • Other Notes portfolio of 15-20 pieces of recent artwork

Testing Requirements

  • SAT or ACT Considered if submitted
  • Scores Due in Office None

Coursework Requirements

  • Subject Required Years
  • English
  • Math
  • Science
  • Foreign Language
  • Social Studies
  • History
  • Electives

Deadlines and Early Admissions

  •  
    • Offered? Deadline Notification
  • Regular Admission
    • Yes March 1 None
  • Early Action
    • Yes December 1
  • Early Decision

Admissions Office Information


Other Schools For You

If you're interested in Maine 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 Maine College of Art.


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Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

These schools are have higher average ACT scores than Maine College of Art. If you improve your ACT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Temple University Philadelphia, PA 1241 28
University of Oregon Eugene, OR 1253 27
University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL 1225 26
Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 1178 26
University of Oklahoma Norman, OK 1220 26
Ohio University Athens, OH 1174 25
University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 1245 25

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Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

If you're competitive for Maine College of Art, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
California State University Long Beach Long Beach, CA 1145 23
Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL 1110 23
University of North Texas Denton, TX 1110 23
Washington State University Pullman, WA 1130 23
University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX 1160 23
Texas State University San Marcos, TX 1080 23
University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX 1120 22

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Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

If you're currently competitive for Maine College of Art, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If Maine 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 Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX 1008 20
University of California, Merced Merced, CA 1080 20
California State University Northridge Northridge, CA 1020 19
California State University Sacramento Sacramento, CA 1035 19
California State University East Bay Hayward, CA 992 19
Kean University Union, NJ 1030 18
California State University Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 985 18

Data on this page is sourced from Peterson's Databases © 2024 (Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.) as well as additional publicly available sources.


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Want to build the best possible college application?

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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