If you are looking to apply to top 100 colleges, do you need an SAT or ACT score? Are most of these colleges test-optional? Does test-optional really mean test-optional? In this blog, I’m going to use data from the top 100 schools to answer some of these questions. Did you know that 50% of the top 20 colleges are now test-required? Or that only about 35% of schools in the top 100 are truly test-optional?
Let’s talk test-optional. According to the Common App, 47.1% of students reported scores last year. If we take that as a baseline for the average number of students for reporting at any given time, we can compare that to the percentile of students who were enrolled at a particular college and see if that college is enrolling more or fewer test-optional students, on average, than other schools. And using that comparison, we can relatively find which schools are really test-optional and which schools are maybe test-agnostic—where maybe it doesn’t matter that much, but if you’ve got a good score, you should probably send it—and which schools a test score probably matters at, and you’re probably more likely to get in if you submit a test score. To add to this complex narrative, there are a lot of factors that I can’t track– for example, regional effects. In the state of Florida, almost every student is taking the SAT or the ACT. California, on the other hand, is at the opposite end of the spectrum. California public schools are test-blind for the most part, and many California high school students that expect to attend a UC don’t even take the SAT.
How do we calculate the data, and what data do we have? The data that we have isn’t exactly the same as the 47.1% data point that the Common App has released. The data that we have is the percent of students who submitted SAT scores and the percent of students who submitted ACT scores. What we don’t know is how much of those two groups overlap. To account for the overlap, let’s look at schools like MIT that are test-required and see how much overlap there is because ostensibly, if they’re test-required, 100% of students submit scores. And indeed, when you add up MIT’s SAT and ACT scores, we get a number of about 113%. So, 13% is the percentile I’m going to use as a ballpark percentage to add to my threshold of 47.1%, which gets us to about 53%. That’s going to be my threshold: above 53%, I’m going to say the test matters; below 53%, the test probably doesn’t matter. And I’ve divided it into different groups, depending on the extremity and how close you are to that 53%. The other thing that I’ll add is when you get to schools at the top, when you need a really high score, it’s more likely students are suppressing scores because they know they’re not in range. When you get to schools where the score range is much lower, students are more likely to submit their scores because they’re probably in range and they feel safer doing so, even if a school is very friendly to non-submitters. There are other factors I can’t control for– admissions is different from enrollment, for example. But we’re going to ballpark it, and it’s probably good enough from my experience as a counselor to at least guide families, whether they have good scores to submit or don’t, on how to strategically target colleges.
Truly Test-Optional
First, we’re going to get into the truly test-optional colleges. These colleges are places where I believe you don’t need a test score. And if your test score is not in range, I would not submit it. I’m going in order of U.S. News and World Report ranking, not in how test-optional they are. If you scroll down, we have little spreadsheet versions of all the data in the video above that you can manipulate to change how the tables are sorted.
Our top-ranked truly test optional colleges, as you can see, start at a school ranked number 30. That’s because the top 29 schools are either UCs (test-blind) or places where test scores help you. So that’s the first message: if you’re applying to top 30 schools, a test score will help you. Period. Like I said, 50% of the top 20 schools are test-required (Princeton will join the mix by 2027). You probably need a test score if you want to be that competitive. But if you don’t want to be that competitive, try NYU. NYU is probably the number one place I send my students who want to be test-optional, that want a private university, that don’t want to go to UCs, or that are worried about the lottery that UC admissions has become. Continuing the list, we have Boston College, Boston University, University of Rochester, Maryland College Park, University of Washington—which is actually partially test-blind—Lehigh University, Northeastern, Minnesota Twin Cities, UMassie, Amherst, Villanova, Stony Brook, Santa Clara, Penn State, George Washington University, Brandeis, Tulane, University of Connecticut, Syracuse, Stevens Institute of Technology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Pepperdine, U of I Chicago, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University of Delaware, Drexel, Marquette, Fordham, SMU, LMU, American University, Temple, Gonzaga, University of Colorado Boulder, Yeshiva University, Rutgers- Camden, and from the liberal arts list, Claremont McKenna. (In addition to the top 100 ranked national universities, I’m going to include a few top liberal arts colleges).
NOTE: THIS TABLE IS BEST VIEWED ON A COMPUTER, NOT A MOBILE DEVICE.
| US News College Ranking 2025 | University | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions | 25th-75 Reading SAT | 25-75 Math SAT | 25-75th overall SAT Range | 25-75 ACT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | New York University | 28% | 10% | 38% | 720-760 | 760-800 | 1480-1550 | 34-35 |
| 37 | Boston College (2023 data) | 28% | 16% | 44% | 710-760 | 720-780 | 1450-1520 | 33-34 |
| 41 | Boston University | 33% | 10% | 43% | 690-750 | 730-780 | 1430-1510 | 32-34 |
| 44 | U Rochester | 19% | 6% | 25% | 680-750 | 730-790 | 1420-1500 | 32-34 |
| 44 | Maryland, College Park | 37% | 6% | 43% | 680-750 | 710-780 | 1410-1520 | 32-35 |
| 46 | University of Washington (partial test blind) | 15% | 4% | 19% | 670-753 | 640-763 | 1333-1500 | 28-33 |
| 46 | Lehigh University | 30% | 9% | 39% | 680-730 | 690-770 | 1380-1490 | 31-34 |
| 54 | Northeastern University | 24% | 7% | 31% | 710-760 | 730-780 | 1450-1520 | 33-35 |
| 54 | Minnesota--Twin Cities | 8% | 33% | 42% | 640-730 | 660-770 | 1320-1470 | 26-31 |
| 58 | U Mass Amherst | 22% | 0% | 22% | 650-730 | 660-770 | 1330-1480 | 30-33 |
| 58 | Villanova University | 19% | 9% | 28% | 685-740 | 710-770 | 1410-1490 | 32-34 |
| 58 | Stony Brook University--SUNY | 34% | 3% | 37% | 650-730 | 680-770 | 1340-1480 | 29-33 |
| 63 | Santa Clara University | 24% | 10% | 34% | 670-730 | 680-760 | 1360-1480 | 31-33 |
| 63 | Penn State University | 31% | 5% | 36% | 620-700 | 620-720 | 1250-1410 | 27-32 |
| 63 | George Washington University | 27% | 12% | 39% | 680-750 | 670-750 | 1360-1470 | 30-33 |
| 63 | Brandeis | 30% | 10% | 40% | 690-750 | 700-770 | 1415-1510 | 31-34 |
| 63 | Tulane University | 13% | 28% | 41% | 700-750 | 700-770 | 1410-1500 | 31-34 |
| 70 | University of Connecticut | 36% | 5% | 41% | 610-710 | 600-730 | 1220-1420 | 28-33 |
| 73 | Syracuse University (2023 data) | 24% | 9% | 33% | 630-710 | 630-720 | 1260-1430 | 28-32 |
| 76 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 36% | 6% | 43% | 670-735 | 710-770 | 1390-1490 | 31-34 |
| 76 | University at Buffalo--SUNY | 28% | 3% | 31% | 600-680 | 610-700 | 1210-1380 | 27-32 |
| 80 | Pepperdine University | 18% | 10% | 28% | 650-710 | 640-740 | 1300-1440 | 29-32 |
| 80 | University of Illinois Chicago | 30% | 5% | 35% | 570-670 | 560-680 | 1140-1330 | 25-31 |
| 84 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 40% | 3% | 43% | 610-710 | 630-760 | 1235-1460 | 28-31 |
| 86 | University of Delaware | 19% | 3% | 22% | 610-700 | 590-690 | 1220-1370 | 28-32 |
| 86 | Drexel University | 34% | 5% | 39% | 620-700 | 620-740 | 1250-1430 | 27-32 |
| 86 | Marquette University | 14% | 26% | 39% | 610-680 | 590-680 | 1220-1350 | 26-31 |
| 91 | Fordham University | 18% | 6% | 24% | 660-730 | 660-750 | 1340-1470 | 30-33 |
| 91 | Southern Methodist University | 16% | 9% | 25% | 670-740 | 670-750 | 1340-1480 | 30-34 |
| 91 | Loyola Marymount University | 18% | 8% | 26% | 640-720 | 620-710 | 1280-1400 | 28-32 |
| 91 | American University | 22% | 8% | 30% | 660-740 | 620-710 | 1300-1430 | 29-32 |
| 98 | Temple University | 18% | 2% | 20% | 570-680 | 550-680 | 1130-1358 | 24-31 |
| 98 | Gonzaga University | 22% | 7% | 29% | 600-700 | 590-680 | 1200-1385 | 27-31 |
| 98 | University of Colorado, Boulder | 25% | 7% | 32% | 590-700 | 580-700 | 1180-1390 | 27-33 |
| 98 | Yeshiva University (2023 data) | 21% | 19% | 40% | 660-740 | 660-760 | 1330-1470 | 28-33 |
| 98 | Rutgers University--Camden (2023 data) | 27% | 2% | 29% | 510-625 | 500-630 | 1010-1255 | 18-26 |
| Liberal Arts 9 | Claremont McKenna College | 26% | 13% | 39% | 720-770 | 750-790 | 1490-1550 | 33-35 |
Test-Agnostic
Test-agnostic colleges are right at the hinge point. at about the national average for how many students are submitting and how many they’re letting in. It doesn’t seem that test scores are hurting you. Still, this section of the chart is a bit differentiated. My impression is that most of these colleges are not trying to create some weird inflated SAT range like NYU does. I don’t know if you guys noticed that NYU has a weirdly, really high SAT range that’s up there with Harvard. NYU is not admitting at a clip like Harvard, though; they’re gaming you guys. NYU is trying to just get really high scores, so if you submit a score in between say under ~1500—even though they would have admitted you had you not sent it—you’ll likely be rejected. So there’s a game to be played there. With “test-agnostic” colleges, you’re a little bit safer to submit all the way down to that 25th percentile. Even if you’re a little bit below, it’s probably not going to hurt you incredibly. I don’t think Vanderbilt is going to scoff at a 1500 versus a 1510.
Here’s the list: Vanderbilt, USC, University of Wisconsin Madison, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, University of Pittsburgh, Binghamton, and Rochester Institute of Technology. Then some liberal arts colleges: Williams, Bowdoin, and Pomona.
NOTE: THIS TABLE IS BEST VIEWED ON A COMPUTER, NOT A MOBILE DEVICE.
| US News College Ranking 2025 | University | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions | 25th-75 Reading SAT | 25-75 Math SAT | 25-75th overall SAT Range | 25-75 ACT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Vanderbilt University | 27% | 25% | 52% | 730-770 | 770-800 | 1510-1560 | 34-35 |
| 27 | University of Southern California (2023 data) | 32% | 14% | 46% | 700-760 | 740-790 | 1450-1530 | 32-35 |
| 39 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 15% | 35% | 50% | 660-730 | 690-780 | 1370-1490 | 29-33 |
| 46 | Wake Forest University | 22% | 26% | 48% | 700-750 | 710-770 | 1420-1500 | 32-34 |
| 51 | Virginia Tech | 41% | 9% | 50% | 640-710 | 640-740 | 1280-1450 | 28-32 |
| 70 | University of Pittsburgh | 40% | 10% | 50% | 640-720 | 640-740 | 1280-1460 | 29-33 |
| 73 | Binghamton University--SUNY | 44% | 9% | 53% | 660-730 | 680-760 | 1360-1480 | 31-34 |
| 91 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 43% | 11% | 54% | 640-720 | 640-740 | 1300-1440 | 27-33 |
| Liberal Arts 1 | Williams College | 35% | 17% | 52% | 740-780 | 750-790 | 1500-1560 | 34-35 |
| Liberal Arts 5 | Bowdoin College | 31% | 17% | 48% | 730-770 | 740-780 | 1470-1540 | 33-35 |
| Liberal Arts 5 | Pomona College | 36% | 14% | 50% | 740-770 | 750-790 | 1500-1550 | 33-35 |
Slight Test Advantage
Next are schools with a slight test advantage, where you’ve got a slight advantage if you submit your test score. They’re at a 55% sum of ACT/SAT scores or above. At these schools, there is some differentiation beyond what you can see in a chart. At University of Virginia and University of Illinois, for example, there might be some departments that want to see a test score more than others. Maybe in the English department you can be test-optional, and it’s pretty easy. Maybe in the engineering department, tests will help you more. So these are questions you can ask when you tour and when you talk to admissions offices. You can try to get more clarity on their policies, especially at the state schools. But at these schools, in general, a good test score is going to help you, but you still have a shot without one. If you’ve got a score in range, or if you can get your score up, submit it:
Notre Dame, WashU, University of Virginia, U of I Urbana-Champaign, Tufts, Rutgers, New Brunswick, College of William & Mary, Michigan State, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Indiana University, Bloomington, Colorado School of Mines, and Clemson. Then for liberal arts schools, Swarthmore and Carleton.
NOTE: THIS TABLE IS BEST VIEWED ON A COMPUTER, NOT A MOBILE DEVICE.
| US News College Ranking 2025 | University | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions | 25th-75 Reading SAT | 25-75 Math SAT | 25-75th overall SAT Range | 25-75 ACT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | University of Notre Dame | 33% | 26% | 59% | 720-770 | 735-790 | 1470-1540 | 33-35 |
| 21 | Washington University in St. Louis | 29% | 28% | 57% | 730-770 | 770-800 | 1500-1570 | 33-35 |
| 24 | University of Virginia | 46% | 14% | 59% | 700-760 | 710-780 | 1410-1520 | 32-35 |
| 33 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 41% | 14% | 55% | 680-750 | 700-790 | 1390-1520 | 30-34 |
| 37 | Tufts University | 38% | 18% | 56% | 720-770 | 750-790 | 1480-1540 | 33-35 |
| 41 | Rutgers-- New Brunswick (2023 data) | 51% | 5% | 56% | 630-720 | 640-760 | 1270-1480 | 28-33 |
| 54 | College of WIlliam and Mary | 43% | 16% | 59% | 710-760 | 690-770 | 1400-1530 | 32-34 |
| 63 | Michigan State University | 52% | 8% | 60% | 550-660 | 550-660 | 1100-1310 | 24-30 |
| 70 | Rensselaer Polytechnic | 49% | 11% | 60% | 670-740 | 705-770 | 1390-1500 | 30-34 |
| 73 | Indiana University--Bloomington (2023 data) | 41% | 16% | 57% | 590-690 | 580-710 | 1170-1400 | 27-32 |
| 76 | Colorado School of Mines (2023 data) | 42% | 18% | 60% | 650-720 | 670-750 | 1320-1470 | 29-33 |
| 80 | Clemson University | 35% | 20% | 55% | 620-700 | 620-710 | 1250-1400 | 28-32 |
| Liberal Arts 3 | Swarthmore College | 39% | 16% | 56% | 740-770 | 750-790 | 1500-1550 | 33-35 |
| Liberal Arts 8 | Carleton College | 34% | 25% | 59% | 720-770 | 730-790 | 1470-1540 | 32-35 |
Test-Preferred
Now let’s get into what I call test-preferred colleges. These are colleges where they say they’re test-optional, but I’m going to be honest with you guys: if you don’t have a test score, it will hurt you in admissions. Do students get into these schools without test scores? Yes. Who are those students? Usually students with wow factors, student athletes, legacies, students from underrepresented groups, or first-generation students who are afraid to submit their scores. Some have the most glowing recommendations you’ve ever seen. Those, typically, are the kids getting in test-optional at schools with “test preferred” level numbers.
The list: Princeton, Northwestern, Duke, UChicago, Columbia, Rice, University of Michigan, Emory, Ohio State, Case Western, Texas A&M, NC State, Howard, Baylor, University of Iowa, Auburn—which is technically test encouraged. Texas A&M and Rice have both said test-recommended, which means they want to see your test scores. At the bottom, we’ve got some liberal arts colleges: Harvey Mudd, Amherst, and Wellesley. And again, I’m aggressive on this: I would send anything over 1400 to any college on this list.
NOTE: THIS TABLE IS BEST VIEWED ON A COMPUTER, NOT A MOBILE DEVICE.
| US News College Ranking 2025 | University | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions | 25th-75 Reading SAT | 25-75 Math SAT | 25-75th overall SAT Range | 25-75 ACT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton University | 56% | 21% | 77% | 740-780 | 770-800 | 1500-1560 | 34-35 | |
| 6 | Northwestern University | 46% | 23% | 69% | 740-770 | 770-800 | 1510-1560 | 34-35 | |
| 6 | Duke University (2023 data) | 47% | 30% | 77% | 740-770 | 780-800 | 1520-1570 | 34-35 | |
| 11 | U Chicago | 49% | 27% | 76% | 740-780 | 770-800 | 1510-1560 | 34-35 | |
| 13 | Columbia | 44% | 17% | 61% | 740-780 | 770-800 | 1510-1560 | 34-36 | |
| 18 | Rice University | 48% | 22% | 70% | 740-770 | 770-800 | 1510-1560 | 34-35 | Test "Recommended" |
| 21 | University of Michigan | 51% | 18% | 69% | 680-750 | 680-780 | 1360-1530 | 31-34 | |
| 24 | Emory University | 43% | 20% | 63% | 720-760 | 750-790 | 1480-1540 | 32-35 | |
| 41 | Ohio State University | 24% | 40% | 64% | 620-710 | 640-740 | 1280-1430 | 26-32 | |
| 51 | Case Western Reserve University | 46% | 23% | 69% | 700-760 | 740-790 | 1450-1530 | 32-35 | |
| 51 | Texas A&M | 71% | 19% | 90% | 580-690 | 570-710 | 1160-1390 | 25-31 | Test "Encouraged" |
| 58 | North Carolina State University | 25% | 41% | 66% | 640-720 | 640-740 | 1290-1440 | 25-32 | |
| 86 | Howard University | 47% | 16% | 63% | 560-670 | 530-650 | 1050-1250 | 22-28 | |
| 91 | Baylor University | 44% | 23% | 67% | 580-680 | 570-680 | 1160-1340 | 25-31 | |
| 98 | University of Iowa | 16% | 57% | 73% | 570-670 | 560-660 | 1140-1313 | 21-28 | |
| 105 | Auburn University | 16% | 76% | 92% | 630-690 | 620-700 | 1260-1380 | 26-31 | Test "Encouraged" |
| Liberal Arts 2 | Amherst College | 39% | 22% | 61% | 740-780 | 750-800 | 1500-1560 | 33-35 | |
| Liberal Arts 7 | Wellesley College | 43% | 18% | 61% | 730-770 | 730-790 | 1470-1550 | 33-35 | |
| Liberal Arts 12 | Harvey Mudd College | 52% | 16% | 68% | 730-770 | 770-800 | 1510-1560 | 34-36 |
Test-Required
My next list is test-required. This list has grown; as I mentioned earlier in the video, 50% of the top 20 schools are now test-required. There are also some in the top 100 that are not in the top 10 that are good to know about. A couple of schools on this list are technically test-flexible (see below for more). Finally, some schools on this list are not only SAT and ACT required, but they are now also AP required if you’ve taken an AP exam. So, if you haven’t taken an AP test, you don’t have to submit AP scores, but if you’ve taken an AP class and you don’t have an AP exam score, these colleges might follow up and ask questions and wonder why you didn’t take that AP exam or why you don’t have an AP score.
Test-required list: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford, Yale (test flexible), Caltech, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Carnegie Mellon (test flexible), Georgetown, UNC (only for students with low GPAs), UT Austin, University of Florida, Georgia Tech, Purdue, University of Georgia, Florida State, University of Miami, University of South Florida, and Florida International University. You can see for most colleges in Florida, you need a test score.
Let’s talk about these test-flexible colleges. Yale and Carnegie Mellon have introduced text-flexible policies, and what that means is you can also submit a certain number of AP scores or IB scores instead of an SAT or ACT. As you can see, even with that text flexibility, Yale is at 86% for their sum of SAT and ACT scores, so unless you have 10 fives on your AP exams, you probably want an SAT or ACT score. Carnegie Mellon is actually SAT/ACT required for CS students as well. Most of their departments are test-flexible, and you can learn more about that on Carnegie Mellon’s website.
Three schools where we have tests recommended or tests encouraged that I also want to add to this list are Rice, Texas A&M, and Auburn. If you want to get into those schools and you don’t have a score, it is pretty darn tough, especially at Texas A&M and Auburn. They’re at over 90% for their sum of SAT and ACT scores. You really need a test score, and you really should submit to those two schools; their lower threshold for 25th percentiles is around 585 a section for Texas A&M — so don’t be too intimidated. Even if you’re a little bit below, it’s probably not going to hurt you because everybody assumes if you don’t submit a test score that you scored too low (very few students applying at this point never have never taken the SAT/ACT), so just keep that in mind.
NOTE: THIS TABLE IS BEST VIEWED ON A COMPUTER, NOT A MOBILE DEVICE.
| US News College Ranking 2025 | University | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2024 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions | 25th-75 Reading SAT | 25-75 Math SAT | 25-75th overall SAT Range | 25-75 ACT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 83% | 29% | 112% | 740-780 | 780-800 | 1520-1570 | 34-36 | Test Required, AP Required |
| 3 | Harvard University | 54% | 19% | 73% | 740-780 | 770-800 | 1510-1580 | 34-36 | Test Required |
| 4 | Stanford | 50% | 19% | 69% | 740-780 | 770-800 | 1510-1570 | 34-35 | Test Required, AP Required |
| 5 | Yale University | 61% | 25% | 86% | 730-780 | 740-790 | 1480-1560 | 33-35 | Test Flexible |
| 6 | Caltech | Test Required, AP Required | |||||||
| 6 | Johns Hopkins | 50% | 18% | 68% | 740-770 | 780-800 | 1530-1560 | 34-36 | Test Required 2025-2026 |
| 10 | University of Pennsylvania | 50% | 17% | 67% | 740-770 | 770-800 | 1510-1570 | 34-36 | Test Required 2025-2026 |
| 11 | Cornell University (partially test blind) | 45% | 15% | 60% | 730-770 | 770-800 | 1510-1560 | 33-35 | Test Required 2025-2026 |
| 13 | Brown University | 61% | 24% | 85% | 740-780 | 770-800 | 1510-1560 | 34-35 | Test Required |
| 15 | Dartmouth (2023 data) | 43% | 23% | 66% | 740-780 | 760-790 | 1500-1570 | 33-35 | Test Required |
| 21 | Carnegie Mellon University | 53% | 22% | 75% | 730-770 | 770-800 | 1510-1560 | 34-35 | CS Test Required; otherwise Test FLEXIBLE |
| 24 | Georgetown | 78% | 30% | 108% | 700-770 | 690-780 | 1400-1540 | 31-35 | Test Required |
| 27 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 28% | 41% | 69% | 690-750 | 700-780 | 1400-1530 | 28-34 | Test Required for students with GPA below W 2.8 |
| 30 | University of Texas at Austin (2023 data) | 63% | 20% | 83% | 620-730 | 610-760 | 1230-1490 | 27-33 | Test Required 2025-2026 |
| 30 | University of Florida | 80% | 40% | 120% | 660-730 | 660-750 | 1330-1470 | 29-33 | Test Required |
| 33 | Georgia Tech University | 77% | 35% | 112% | 680-750 | 690-790 | 1370-1530 | 30-34 | Test Required |
| 46 | Purdue University | 79% | 25% | 104% | 600-720 | 600-760 | 1210-1470 | 27-34 | Test Required |
| 46 | University of Georgia (2023 data) | 70% | 47% | 116% | 620-710 | 600-710 | 1230-1410 | 27-32 | Test Required |
| 54 | Florida State University | 60% | 33.6% | 93.2% | 640-710 | 630-700 | 1290-1400 | 29-32 | Test Required |
| 63 | University of Miami | 33% | 19% | 52% | 660-730 | 660-750 | 1340-1450 | 30-33 | Test Required 2025-2026 |
| 91 | University of South Florida | 78% | 22% | 100% | 580-660 | 550-660 | 1130-1320 | 24-29 | Test Required |
| 98 | Florida International University | 90% | 10% | 100% | 550-640 | 520-620 | 1070-1250 | 21-27 | Test Required |
Test-Blind
Finally, I’m going to talk about test-blind schools. The colleges that are test-blind in the top 100 rankings are all of the University of California system schools (Berkeley, UCLA, Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz), as well as Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
To Submit, or not Submit?
So, when should you submit test scores? In my opinion, if your school is test-recommended, obviously you should submit if you have something above the line. My general rule of thumb is with any test-optional schools that are kind of in the top 50 and have a sum that’s over about 60%, I’m recommending that students submit anything that’s over 700 a section at this point. I know that seems kind of aggressive. It’s probably below the 25th percentile for a lot of schools, but from conversations I’ve had—and it does vary school to school—anything with a seven in front is fine. So, that’s my general rule of thumb.
The other kind of rule of thumb is there was this study done by a group called Opportunity Insights, and they basically found that first-year students without SAT scores performed about as well as students who submitted scores that were slightly above a 1300. So the other take that I give to students is if you don’t submit a test score to an Ivy League-level college, they’re probably going to assume you will perform as well as somebody with a score in the low 1300s. If your score is above that, it might benefit you to send it. And again, that’s why I say if you’re at 1400 or 700 per section, I usually just go for it. Otherwise, we’re looking at that 25th to 75th percentile. I’m almost always submitting if I meet the 25th percentile and above. Again, a few exceptions are there for those truly test-optional colleges, where I might withhold if it’s right at the 25th percentile.
NEED SUPPORT?
If you’re looking for support, we have essay coaches. I do college consulting and strategy consulting for ED and REA and specialize in admissions to top 30 colleges. If you’re looking at top schools, I can get into that with you and look at your profile and offer insights on admissions chances. We also do SAT and ACT prep. And we have online courses for the SAT and the ACT. If you’re trying to self-study and you want some of my best tips that I give as a private tutor but at your own pace, these are a great resource!
ARE YOU AN EDUCATOR?
If you’re a tutor or a solopreneur and you tutor SAT students and you want a platform where you can run group classes, where you can run homework assignments for students, where you can import Bluebook results, and then instantly tag everything the student misses and then create study lists for those students and homework assignments that directly target what they missed, we have a tutor mode on our online course we’d love to have you try. You can check it out at supertutortv.com/educators. We would love to have you check it out. And if you want to get on our trial for free, you can either sign up there, or you can email us, and we’d love to know who you are and more about your needs. Hope this was helpful!
