By Glyn Caddell, BSME · Author of Digital SAT Math Secrets · Tutoring since 2008 — Updated October 9, 2026
Twelve Kentucky colleges with pre-med programs, what they cost, and the test scores of the students they admit.
One of them has not charged tuition since 1892. It is also the most selective college in Kentucky, and its entry in the table below needs reading differently from the others.
The table shows ACT alongside SAT, because Kentucky colleges report both in approximately equal numbers.
Table of Contents
- Kentucky Pre-Med Colleges by Test Score
- One Kentucky College Charges No Tuition
- Kentucky Has Three Medical Schools
- What If Your Scores Are Below the Range You Want?
Kentucky Pre-Med Colleges by Test Score
| College | SAT Reading & Writing | SAT Math | ACT composite | Cost of attendance | Undergraduates | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre College | 590 to 720 | 570 to 730 | 25 to 32 | $67,787 | 1,400 | 54% |
| Transylvania University | 580 to 690 | 540 to 690 | 24 to 30 | $60,993 | 1,005 | 87% |
| Berea College | 588 to 680 | 568 to 655 | 23 to 28 | No tuition charged | 1,513 | 19% |
| Bellarmine University | 510 to 630 | 520 to 620 | 23 to 28 | $61,691 | 2,161 | 86% |
| University of Kentucky | 540 to 650 | 530 to 640 | 21 to 28 | $34,391 | 24,763 | 93% |
| Thomas More University | 510 to 610 | 520 to 620 | 21 to 27 | $49,452 | 1,293 | 90% |
| University of Louisville | 530 to 640 | 510 to 630 | 19 to 27 | $32,941 | 14,727 | 79% |
| Murray State University | 480 to 600 | 460 to 570 | 19 to 26 | $23,485 | 6,688 | 86% |
| Georgetown College | 500 to 590 | 460 to 570 | 20 to 25 | $56,886 | 1,097 | 91% |
| Eastern Kentucky University | 440 to 530 | 440 to 550 | 19 to 25 | $23,735 | 12,318 | 78% |
| Northern Kentucky University | 473 to 590 | 480 to 560 | 18 to 25 | $19,725 | 8,246 | 68% |
| Western Kentucky University | 420 to 530 | 420 to 520 | 16 to 21 | $24,188 | 12,155 | 94% |
Each range covers the middle 50% of admitted students who submitted that test. A quarter scored below the lower number, and the top quarter scored at or above the upper one. Being under the lower number does not rule a student out, and being just above it is not as safe as it looks.
Sorted by ACT composite, because Kentucky colleges report both tests. The College Board and ACT publish an official concordance for comparing a score across the two.
Three things in that table deserve attention.
Berea College has no dollar figure in the cost column because it does not charge tuition. Federal data records a cost of attendance of $60,718 for Berea, but that is what the education costs to provide rather than what a family pays. The next section explains how it works.
Berea is also the most selective college in Kentucky by a wide margin. It admits 19% of applicants. The next most selective on this page is Centre College at 54%, and after that Northern Kentucky at 68%. Everything else here admits at least 78%.
Cost separates Kentucky’s colleges far more than admission does. Northern Kentucky is $19,725, Murray State $23,485 and Eastern Kentucky $23,735, against Centre at $67,787 and Bellarmine at $61,691. A student choosing between Kentucky colleges is mostly choosing a price.
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Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville with 1,400 undergraduates, and it reports the highest test ranges in Kentucky.
SAT Reading & Writing 590 to 720, SAT Math 570 to 730, ACT composite 25 to 32. The top quarter of admitted students scored at or above 720, 730 and 32. Cost of attendance $67,787, with tuition and fees at $52,500. 1,400 undergraduates, 54% admitted.
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington with 1,005 undergraduates, the smallest school on this page.
SAT Reading & Writing 580 to 690, SAT Math 540 to 690, ACT composite 24 to 30. The top quarter scored at or above 690 in both SAT sections and 30 on the ACT. Cost of attendance $60,993, with tuition and fees at $47,980. 1,005 undergraduates, 87% admitted.
Berea College
Berea College is a private liberal arts college in Berea with 1,513 undergraduates, and it charges no tuition to anyone.
SAT Reading & Writing 588 to 680, SAT Math 568 to 655, ACT composite 23 to 28. The top quarter scored at or above 680, 655 and 28. 1,513 undergraduates, 19% admitted.
Berea admits students who demonstrate financial need, which is the opposite of how most selective colleges work, and it is covered in full below.
Bellarmine University
Bellarmine University is a private Catholic university in Louisville with 2,161 undergraduates, in the city with one of the state’s two MD programmes.
SAT Reading & Writing 510 to 630, SAT Math 520 to 620, ACT composite 23 to 28. The top quarter scored at or above 630, 620 and 28. Cost of attendance $61,691, with tuition and fees at $47,990. 2,161 undergraduates, 86% admitted.
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky is the state flagship, in Lexington, with 24,763 undergraduates, and it runs the state’s largest medical school on the same campus.
SAT Reading & Writing 540 to 650, SAT Math 530 to 640, ACT composite 21 to 28. The top quarter scored at or above 650, 640 and 28. Cost of attendance $34,391, with tuition and fees at $13,784 in-state and $34,234 out-of-state. 24,763 undergraduates, 93% admitted.
Thomas More University
Thomas More University is a private Catholic university in Crestview Hills with 1,293 undergraduates.
SAT Reading & Writing 510 to 610, SAT Math 520 to 620, ACT composite 21 to 27. The top quarter scored at or above 610, 620 and 27. Cost of attendance $49,452, with tuition and fees at $37,500. 1,293 undergraduates, 90% admitted.
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville has 14,727 undergraduates and runs its own School of Medicine in the same city.
SAT Reading & Writing 530 to 640, SAT Math 510 to 630, ACT composite 19 to 27. The top quarter scored at or above 640, 630 and 27. Cost of attendance $32,941, with tuition and fees at $13,246 in-state and $30,972 out-of-state. 14,727 undergraduates, 79% admitted.
Murray State University
Murray State University is in Murray with 6,688 undergraduates.
SAT Reading & Writing 480 to 600, SAT Math 460 to 570, ACT composite 19 to 26. The top quarter scored at or above 600, 570 and 26. Cost of attendance $23,485, with tuition and fees at $10,152 in-state and $28,080 out-of-state. 6,688 undergraduates, 86% admitted.
Georgetown College
Georgetown College is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown with 1,097 undergraduates.
SAT Reading & Writing 500 to 590, SAT Math 460 to 570, ACT composite 20 to 25. The top quarter scored at or above 590, 570 and 25. Cost of attendance $56,886, with tuition and fees at $42,800. 1,097 undergraduates, 91% admitted.
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University is in Richmond with 12,318 undergraduates.
SAT Reading & Writing 440 to 530, SAT Math 440 to 550, ACT composite 19 to 25. The top quarter scored at or above 530, 550 and 25. Cost of attendance $23,735, with tuition and fees at $10,064 in-state and $20,984 out-of-state. 12,318 undergraduates, 78% admitted.
Northern Kentucky University
Northern Kentucky University is in Highland Heights with 8,246 undergraduates and the lowest cost of attendance in the state.
SAT Reading & Writing 473 to 590, SAT Math 480 to 560, ACT composite 18 to 25. The top quarter scored at or above 590, 560 and 25. Cost of attendance $19,725, with tuition and fees at $11,616 in-state and $22,152 out-of-state. 8,246 undergraduates, 68% admitted.
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is in Bowling Green with 12,155 undergraduates.
SAT Reading & Writing 420 to 530, SAT Math 420 to 520, ACT composite 16 to 21. The top quarter scored at or above 530, 520 and 21. Cost of attendance $24,188, with tuition and fees at $12,180 in-state and $29,340 out-of-state. 12,155 undergraduates, 94% admitted.
One Kentucky College Charges No Tuition
Berea College has not charged tuition since 1892.
Every admitted student receives what the college calls the No Tuition Promise. Berea’s own description of the arrangement is that if they admit you, they fund you, and that every student’s full need is met with no loans for all four years.
The figures Berea publishes are specific. In 2024, 77% of entering first-year students paid nothing at all, and the remaining 23% paid an average of $2,000. Ninety-six percent of Berea students qualify for federal Pell Grants.
The model works the opposite way round from most selective colleges. Berea admits students who demonstrate financial need, primarily from Appalachia, and it operates a required work programme in which students work on campus and earn money toward their other costs. Admission is academically competitive and the financial criteria are part of eligibility rather than an obstacle to it.
Berea’s own guidance says most of its students score between 20 and 30 on the ACT, or the SAT equivalent, with a high school GPA of at least 3.0 in a college preparatory curriculum. The reported ranges in the table above sit inside that.
What this means for a pre-med student is unusual enough to state directly. Berea is the hardest college in Kentucky to get into, at a 19% admit rate, and for a student who meets its financial criteria it removes cost from the decision entirely. No other college in this series offers that combination.
Check the current terms at Berea’s financial aid pages, since what is covered beyond tuition depends on a family’s FAFSA assessment.
Kentucky Has Three Medical Schools
Kentucky has two MD programmes and one DO programme.
- University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, founded 1960
- University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville
- University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pikeville, founded 1997
The osteopathic school is worth a note for where it is and who it trains. Pikeville sits in eastern Kentucky, and the school’s stated mission is to produce physicians committed to the healthcare needs of rural Kentucky and the wider Appalachian region, with an emphasis on primary care.
The University of Pikeville is also an undergraduate university in its own right. It does not report test score data to the Department of Education, which is why it does not appear in the table above. If you are considering it, ask directly about any pathway between the undergraduate programmes and the medical school, since arrangements of that kind exist at some universities and change over time.
None of this decides where to do an undergraduate degree. Medical school applications are national, and a student at a Kentucky college without a medical school nearby is not disadvantaged applying to one. What proximity changes is how easy it is to arrange shadowing and research while you are still an undergraduate, and public medical schools normally favour in-state applicants, which matters at the application stage rather than the college stage.
What If Your Scores Are Below the Range You Want?
Being below a school’s published range doesn’t disqualify anyone. A quarter of the students admitted to every school on this list scored below its lower number.
Kentucky splits more sharply than most states. Berea at 19%, Centre at 54% and Northern Kentucky at 68% are genuinely competitive. Western Kentucky at 94%, Kentucky at 93% and Georgetown at 91% are not. Your score decides which half of the state is in play rather than whether you get in anywhere.
The number worth aiming for is the upper end of a school’s range, the one the top quarter cleared, rather than the middle. The reasoning behind that is on what SAT score you need for college.
The gap is measurable and so is the work to close it. A 70 to 130 point improvement takes approximately 40 hours of effective studying, based on the students we’ve worked with since 2008, and a 130 to 250 point improvement takes approximately 80.
How to improve your SAT score covers the method, including how to work out which topics are actually costing you points. If you don’t have a recent score to compare against this list, a free diagnostic SAT gives you one, broken down by section and by topic.
Should You Take the ACT Instead?
Kentucky uses both tests, more evenly than its neighbours.
Of the 21 four-year Kentucky colleges with more than 1,000 undergraduates, 14 report an ACT composite and 13 report SAT sections. That is close to a split, unlike Iowa and Kansas where the ACT dominates.
So in Kentucky the choice is genuinely open. Both tests are accepted at every college on this page, and the one to take is whichever you score better on relative to the published ranges. If your list reaches outside the region, the SAT is the more common currency nationally.
How to Read These Score Ranges
Every range on this page covers the middle 50% of admitted students who submitted that test. The lower number is the 25th percentile and the upper number is the 75th, which means a quarter of admitted students scored at or above it.
Seven Kentucky colleges over 1,000 undergraduates report neither test. For those schools there is no published figure of any kind to compare against, and the rest of the application carries the weight.
Because most colleges are now test-optional, the ranges that are published describe only the students who chose to submit at all. Students with strong scores submit and students with weak ones don’t, so a published range sits higher than the range for everyone who was actually admitted. More on test-optional colleges.
Pre-Med Programs in Nearby States
Kentucky borders seven states, more than almost anywhere, and Kentucky students apply across those lines in numbers.
See pre-med colleges in Indiana, pre-med colleges in Tennessee, and pre-med colleges in Ohio.
Pre-Med Colleges in Other States
We publish the same breakdown for pre-med programs in every state.
See pre-med colleges by state for the full list.
Glyn Caddell
Glyn Caddell holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from NJIT and has been tutoring New York City students since 2008. He founded Caddell Prep in 2012 and is the author of Digital SAT Math Secrets: Lessons & Tricks to Quickly Improve to a Perfect 800 on the Math Test, which contains over 900 practice problems and is used in Caddell Prep’s SAT math classes. He is founding president of the Staten Island Technical High School alumni association and teaches every lesson on this site personally.
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