Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Requirements for Admission

What are Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts'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 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and build a strong application.

School location: North Adams, MA

This school is also known as: MCLA


Admissions Rate: 92.4%

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 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is 92.4%. For every 100 applicants, 92 are admitted.

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This means the school is a nearly open admissions school. They accept nearly all students, so for the most part, you just need to submit an application to get in. But if you don't meet all their application requirements, you'll be one of the very few people who gets rejected.


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Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts 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: 3.31

The average GPA at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is 3.31.

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(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.

With a GPA of 3.31, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts 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.


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.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts 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 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts 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.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts 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.

Average SAT: 1120

The average SAT score composite at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a 1120 on the 1600 SAT scale.

This score makes Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Competitive for SAT test scores.

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Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)

The 25th percentile SAT score is 990, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1230. In other words, a 990 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1230 will move you up to above average.

Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:

SectionAverage25th Percentile75th Percentile
Math550490600
Reading + Writing570500630
Composite11209901230

SAT Score Choice Policy

The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.


Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts ACT Requirements

Just like for the SAT, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.

Average ACT: 23

The average ACT score at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is 23. This score makes Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Moderately Competitive for ACT scores.

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The 25th percentile ACT score is 19, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 26.

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 19 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 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 19.


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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.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts 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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This school offers nearly open admissions, which means they give almost every student an offer of admission. To be safe, you should aim for a 990 SAT or a 19 ACT or higher. If you can achieve this, you're pretty much guaranteed a spot in the incoming class.


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Admissions Calculator

What are your chances of admission at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts?
Chances of admission with these scores:

Here's our custom admissions calculator. Plug in your numbers to see what your chances of getting in are.

Pick your test: SAT ACT

SAT Score
Your GPA

Note: Your admission decision relies not only on your GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but also on your coursework difficulty, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. This tool provides only a simplistic estimate of your chances of admission. Instead of treating this tool as a crystal ball, we recommend you consider the big picture of what your chance means:
  • 80-100%: Safety school: Strong chance of getting in
  • 50-80%: More likely than not getting in
  • 20-50%: Lower but still good chance of getting in
  • 5-20%: Reach school: Unlikely to get in, but still have a shot
  • 0-5%: Hard reach school: Very difficult to get in
We recommend you apply to schools across a range of chances. Applying to some safety schools will guarantee you have a college to go to, while applying to some reach schools will give you a shot at getting into the school at the top of your range.

How would your chances improve with a better score?

Take your current SAT score and add 160 points (or take your ACT score and add 4 points) to the calculator above. See how much your chances improve?

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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 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts here.

Application Requirements Overview

  • Common Application Accepted
  • Electronic Application Available
  • Essay or Personal Statement Required for all freshmen
  • Letters of Recommendation 1
  • Interview Required for some
  • Application Fee No fee required for domestic applicants
  • Fee Waiver Available? Available
  • Other Notes sliding scale applies (GPA and SAT) if below 3.0

Testing Requirements

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

Coursework Requirements

  • Subject Required Years
  • English 4
  • Math 4
  • Science 3
  • Foreign Language 2
  • Social Studies
  • History
  • Electives 2

Deadlines and Early Admissions

  •  
    • Offered? Deadline Notification
  • Regular Admission
    • Yes Rolling December 1
  • Early Action
    • Yes December 1 December 15
  • Early Decision
    • No

Admissions Office Information


Other Schools For You

If you're interested in Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 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 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.


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Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

These schools are have higher average SAT scores than Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL 1225 26
Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT 1210 25
San Jose State University San Jose, CA 1190 25
Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX 1184 25
Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 1178 26
Ohio University Athens, OH 1174 25
University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX 1160 23

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Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

If you're competitive for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Pomona, CA 1140 23
Washington State University Pullman, WA 1130 23
University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX 1120 22
East Carolina University Greenville, NC 1120 22
Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL 1110 23
University of North Texas Denton, TX 1110 23
Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL 1110 24

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Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

If you're currently competitive for Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Texas State University San Marcos, TX 1080 23
Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 1067 22
Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA 1067 21
Hampton University Hampton, VA 1059 22
Kean University Union, NJ 1030 18
California State University Northridge Northridge, CA 1020 19
California State University Fullerton Fullerton, CA 990 22

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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