Loyola University Maryland SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

Loyola University Maryland SAT scores for the middle 50 percent of admitted students run from 1200 to 1370, and the average sits near 1290. Score anywhere inside that band and you match the students Loyola already admits, which matters at a school where admissions is friendly but not automatic. In the most recent federal data the acceptance rate was 75.5%, so about 3 out of 4 applicants get in. That makes Loyola a realistic target for a wide range of students, but the SAT range still tells you exactly where the admitted class sits academically.

Loyola University Maryland is a private nonprofit university in Baltimore, MD, with 3,869 students. That is a small campus by university standards, and the score data reflects a fairly tight academic band: the 25th and 75th percentiles are only 170 points apart. Testing is optional in the most recent federal data, so a score is a choice, not a requirement. The math is simple. If your SAT lands at 1290 or above, sending it puts you at or past the average admit. If it lands under 1200, holding it back and applying on grades alone is often the stronger play at Loyola.

Read the Loyola numbers in 3 zones. Below 1200 means you are under the 25th percentile: with testing optional, that score is usually better left unsent, and your grades carry the application. Between 1200 and 1370 you sit inside the middle 50, right where most admitted students land, and a score near the 1290 average is a clean, safe submit. Above 1370 puts you past 3 out of 4 admits, which at a 75.5% acceptance school also positions you for the strongest academic tier of the incoming class.

The section splits show where the bar actually sits. Reading and Writing runs 620 to 690 while Math runs 580 to 680, so the verbal section sets the higher standard at Loyola by about 40 points at the 25th percentile. A student with a 640 in each section is comfortably in range on both. A student with 690 Math but 570 Reading and Writing has a lopsided profile that lands below the verbal floor, and that is the gap to close first.

Admitted students at Loyola University Maryland typically present an unweighted GPA in the 3.0 to 3.5 range. That is a band, not a cutoff. A 3.2 built on honors and AP courses reads differently than a 3.5 built on the lightest available schedule, because the rigor behind the number counts as much as the number itself. Admissions readers at a school admitting 75.5% of applicants are mostly checking that you can handle college work, and a demanding transcript answers that question fastest.

If your GPA sits at the lower edge of that band, a strong SAT is the fastest offset available. Grades take semesters to move. A score can move in weeks. At Loyola, a 1290 or higher pairs a 3.0 or 3.1 with hard evidence of academic readiness, and anything at 1370 or above makes the transcript question mostly go away. Since Loyola is test optional, a high score is pure upside: you only send it if it helps.

Set 2 targets. First, 1200: at or above the 25th percentile keeps you inside Loyola's admitted range and makes your score worth sending under the test optional policy. Second, 1370: at or above the 75th percentile puts you in the top quarter of admits, which is where you want to be if your GPA sits low in the 3.0 to 3.5 band. Between those, aim past the 1290 average rather than at it, since averages give you no margin for a rough test day.

Work backward by section. You need roughly 620 in Reading and Writing and 580 in Math just to clear both 25th percentiles, so check your section scores against those floors before anything else. Our score plans map a week by week route from your current score to a specific target like 1290 or 1370. If you have not tested recently, start with a diagnostic to get real section numbers instead of a guess. Take it this week, compare your split to 620 and 580, and build your plan around whichever section is further from its floor.