The ACT Science Section Is Optional. But that Doesn't Mean You Should Skip It.
ACT made its science test optional in 2025, and a year later, families are still getting confusing or inaccurate advice about what that actually means. Students skip science on the assumption that "optional" equals "ignored." Others are trying to leave the score off the Common App after taking it. One parent recently asked me whether her daughter could send a four-section score to certain colleges and a three-section score to others, as though she were ordering off two different menus.
ACT decides what shows up on the test sheet. Colleges decide what they want to see on the score report.
The decision about whether or not to take science should be driven by the student's college list, not the test format.
What changed for ACT science in 2025
ACT rolled out the Enhanced format in 2025, with school-day administrations transitioning by spring 2026.
Here are the key changes:
The composite is now English, Math, and Reading only. Science is reported as a standalone score and does not affect the composite.
The core test is about an hour shorter: 131 questions in roughly 2 hours and 5 minutes. Including science, total time is about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Science is a $5 add-on at registration. Writing remains optional at $25. Score scale remains 1–36.
Which colleges still require ACT science?
When ACT says science is optional, they mean it is optional to take. Colleges set their own rules. The most thorough public survey of college policies on the new ACT comes from Edison Prep, an Atlanta-based test prep firm and good friends of ours, who surveyed more than 250 universities on the question. Their data is the cleanest reference point we've found, and we point families to it when our own list of target schools doesn't cover a student's situation.
Schools that require it. Boston University, Georgetown, Pomona College, the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Marquette currently require all four sections. BU is the most explicit: they will only accept ACT scores that include science. Other trackers flag Cooper Union as a similar requirement; verify directly.
Schools that strongly recommend* it. Duke, the University of Michigan, Michigan State, RIT, and Johns Hopkins encourage applicants, particularly engineering and pre-med candidates, to submit science. Other college trackers have added Carnegie Mellon.
*"Recommended" in admissions language is closer to "expected" than to "ignored."
Schools that don't use it. Into this group fall Penn State, UConn, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, UGA, Colorado Boulder, BYU, USC, Caltech, the University of Miami, and the State University System of Florida (SUS). The SUS covers all twelve Florida public universities, including UF, FSU, USF, UCF, FAU, and FIU. The University of Florida's admissions site is direct: science will no longer factor into UF's superscoring or composite review, and the same applies across Florida public universities.
The complicated middle. Vanderbilt says it doesn't require science but will use it if it helps the applicant's superscore. A strong score helps; a weak one gets buried. MIT's admissions testing page states plainly that "we do not require the ACT writing or science sections or the SAT optional essay," but our counselors' spider senses are tingling on this one. MIT is one of the most STEM-intensive schools in the country, and it remained famously test-required when peers went test-optional. We tell every family considering MIT to take the science section. The cost is $5 and 40 minutes. The downside of skipping at a school that emphasizes quantitative rigor this heavily could be your acceptance.
The list shifts each admissions cycle. Verify each target college directly before making a final call.
You cannot un-take the science section
It’s a misconception producing the most damage. Students who took science and scored poorly believe they can leave it off the Common App and report only their three-section composite. They cannot.
ACT reports all section scores from any test date sent. There is no menu where students check which sections colleges see. If a student took science on a given Saturday, that score is on every report from that sitting.
Students can choose which test date to send, and that is real flexibility. A student who took the test once with science and once without can send the no-science date and skip the other entirely. But within a single test administration, all scores travel together. Self-reporting a custom three-section composite from a four-section sitting is a fast way to turn a seeming non-issue into an admissions integrity question.
Does Bright Futures require ACT science?
Science is not required for Bright Futures. The Florida Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA), which administers the Bright Futures Scholarship for the Florida Department of Education, confirmed in its 2025-26 Bright Futures Student Handbook that ACT science is optional for students starting with the 2025-26 graduating class. That settles a question Florida families had been asking us all year, because Bright Futures eligibility was the single biggest reason students kept sitting for science even when their college list didn't require it.
The calculation works in the student's favor either way. If a student takes science, Bright Futures uses whichever is higher: the four-section average or the three-section average. If a student skips science, Bright Futures uses the three-section average alone. Students are never penalized for taking it, and they don't lose access by skipping it. Our Bright Futures FAQ walks through the eligibility math in more detail.
Should my student take the ACT science section?
The decision is not about whether the student is "good at science." Most of ACT science is data interpretation: reading graphs, comparing experiments, identifying trends. Prior coursework helps modestly but isn't a limiting factor.
The decision derives from the college list:
If any school on the list requires science, take it. Skipping is a hard no on those applications.
If the student is targeting STEM programs at "recommend" schools (engineering, CS, pre-med, hard sciences at Duke, Michigan, Johns Hopkins, RIT, or major flagships), take it. A missing score reads as a soft no. The same logic applies to MIT, which says science isn't required but evaluates the most STEM-intensive applicant pool in the country.
If the list is dominated by Florida public universities, "don't use" schools, or humanities-leaning programs, skipping is reasonable. Use the prep time on English, Math, and Reading.
If the list isn't finalized yet (most sophomores and early juniors), take it on the first sitting. The $5 marginal cost is a low-cost hedge against a late list change. Drop it on retakes once the list firms up.
What if my student is already registered for an ACT?
The right call depends on the list. With a Florida-heavy list, leave the registration as is without science. With any out-of-state private school that requires or recommends science, log into the ACT account and add the section before the registration deadline. Adding science on test day is not an option.
Does the SAT have a science section?
The SAT does not have a dedicated science section. Some science-themed passages and data questions appear inside the math and reading sections, but there is no separate science score.
Before 2025, the ACT was widely seen as the more STEM-friendly test because of its science section. With science now optional and excluded from the composite, that distinction is gone. The SAT vs. ACT decision for STEM-leaning students comes down to fit factors: pacing, math style, passage length, and whether the student does better on a linear paper test (ACT) or a digital adaptive test (SAT).
How does ACT superscoring work now?
Colleges superscore by a student's best section scores across multiple test dates to produce the strongest composite. ACT's own Superscore Report now uses English, Math, and Reading only.
A few colleges have published variations:
Harvard will not mix Enhanced and legacy ACT scores in a superscore.
Vanderbilt will use a science score in the superscore if it helps the applicant.
UF and the broader Florida public universities superscore using only English, Math, and Reading.
For students retaking under the new format after a legacy ACT, this matters. A 32 from the four-section test and a 33 from the three-section test are not directly comparable, and colleges treat the comparison differently. Read each target college's superscoring policy before assuming, and structure ACT prep around the sections that count toward each target school's superscore.
What should families do this month?
For students preparing for the ACT in the next 12 months, here are the three steps:
Build a working college list before the first sitting. Even a rough list of 12 to 15 schools is enough to determine which, if any, require or recommend science.
Check each school's published policy directly.Edison Prep's survey is a strong starting point. Each college's admissions page is authoritative. Ten minutes across the top six schools answers the question.
Plan the testing calendar around the science decision. If science is on the table, sit for it once. If it's off the table, save the prep time for the three sections that drive the composite.
Optional has never meant ignored in college admissions. The optional ACT writing section persisted at a handful of schools for years before nearly disappearing. Optional science is on the same arc: phased out at most schools, held on at a few, and rewarding students who spend five minutes finding out which category their list falls into.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do colleges require the ACT science section?
Most colleges no longer require ACT science. Edison Prep's survey of more than 250 universities found that roughly 95% have made science optional. The handful that still require it includes Boston University, Georgetown, Pomona, Marquette, and the U.S. service academies. Duke, Johns Hopkins, RIT, and Michigan strongly recommend it without requiring it. MIT publicly states that science is not required, but our counselors recommend that any student applying to MIT take it anyway given the STEM intensity of the program.
Does ACT science count toward the composite score now?
No. The ACT composite is now the average of English, Math, and Reading only. Science, if taken, appears as a separate score on the report and does not affect the composite. The composite continues to use the 1–36 scale.
Can I leave my ACT science score off my college applications?
Students cannot selectively leave the ACT science score off applications from a four-section sitting. If a student took science on a given test date, the score is included on every official report from that sitting. Students can choose which test date to send, but they cannot send a partial report from a four-section sitting.
Does Bright Futures require ACT science?
No. The Florida Office of Student Financial Assistance, in its 2025-26 Bright Futures Student Handbook, made ACT science optional starting with the 2025-26 graduating class. If a student takes science, Bright Futures uses whichever is higher: the four-section or the three-section average.
Should my student take ACT science if they're applying to Florida public universities?
Students applying to Florida public universities generally do not need to take ACT science, since Florida State University System schools (UF, FSU, USF, UCF, FAU, FIU, and the rest) do not require science and do not include it in superscoring. The University of Miami treats it as optional. If any out-of-state school that requires or recommends science joins the list, taking it once on an early sitting is a low-cost hedge.
Score At The Top Learning Centers & Schools has been preparing Florida students for the SAT and ACT for over 40 years. To learn more about our ACT Preparation Program visit Score At The Top.
For families weighing how testing fits into a broader application strategy, JRA Educational Consulting advises on school-list building, and full application strategy.
