Did you just get your SAT® score back and are wondering, is this good enough? Do I need to retake the test? What can I do with this score? How many more points do I need to get into Yale? If any of that sounds familiar, in this blog, I’m going to go through what a good SAT score is. SCROLL DOWN FOR THE DATA!!
I’m also going to do that—and this is new this year—in the context of test optional. So, I have a new column that I’m really excited about, which is what I call the test optional minimum percentile. And that’s the minimum percent of students that are enrolling as freshmen at this institution who did not submit a test score in the admissions process. We found this number by subtracting the percent of students enrolled who took the ACT and the percent of students enrolled who took the SAT from 100%. Because some students (we estimate 0-10% based on data we have for a few schools) take both tests, we call this a minimum– in many cases the number not submitting is likely a few percentage points higher. Still, that column should be really important as you evaluate all of these score ranges.
Around 43 to 47%* of students across the board are submitting test scores. So, if we subtract that from 100%, we’ve got about 53–57% not submitting them. So if anything in column B is above 53%, that means that at that school, submitting a test score probably isn’t giving you much of an advantage. Some schools in here, like Boston University, have an average SAT score of 1440, but 65% of their freshmen aren’t submitting scores. Still, its scores are very high and from my experience, BU will admit high stats students who don’t have wow factors or many activities. Still, if you have great activities/involvement and you’re not in that range, just don’t submit, and you still have a shot. But if you are in that range, you probably should be submitting, and this statistic doesn’t mean BU won’t value test scores– it just means it’s very open to students without them and if you have them and want them to count, they better be very high.
(*This is data from the class of 2020-2022– note in the video I cite stats from class of 2021… ).
Also note this is data on who is attending the college, not on who is admitted. For example, from data I’ve seen, Emory admits many more students who submit test scores percentage wise than it enrolls — students who enroll at Emory are more likely to be test optional than students who are admitted– these numbers are a good indication of where you might end up, but not necessarily where you might get in. Often the test optional students may be receiving fewer offers of admission and thus have higher yield at institutions, so this is something to take into account. You’ll likely have more options if you’re submitting scores in range, even if that “test optional” percent column is in the 50-65% range.
To Submit, or not Submit?
One more tip is that if you’re wondering whether or not you should submit your score, my general rule of advice is that if you are between the 25th and 75th percentile on all your scores, you should probably be submitting. And if you’re not in that range, you probably shouldn’t be submitting. The one exception is that if you’re from an underrepresented minority or you’re from an area where people really don’t have high test scores, your test score could mean more, and even if you’re a little bit below that 25th percentile, if that column I have with the minimum test optional percentile is particularly low, you might consider submitting anyway.
What’s a DECENT SAT ®Score?
Alright, we’re going to start with decent. A decent SAT® score is something that meets what we call the benchmark for college readiness. That’s a 480 in the reading and writing section and a 530 in the math section.
| University | Test optional min % (100%-% of enrolled students submitting ACT or SAT) | Middle 50% SAT MATH 2022 | Middle 50% SAT ERW 2022 | Median Total | Math Median | ERW Median | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Massachusetts Boston | 70% | 540-650 | 540-650 | 1190 | 590 | 600 | 28% | 2% | 30% |
| Northern Arizona University | 65% | 520-630 | 530-640 | 1160 | 570 | 590 | 8% | 27% | 35% |
| University of Toledo | 36% | 520-650 | 510-640 | 1160 | 18% | 46% | 64% | ||
| Old Dominion | 73% | 530-610 | 560-640 | 1170 | 24% | 3% | 27% | ||
| University of West Florida | 0% | 1050-1220 | 1050-1220 | 1135 | Test Required | Test Required | |||
| University of Nevada, Las Vegas | 23% | 490-600 | 510-620 | 1110 | 550 | 560 | 9% | 68% | 77% |
| Kent State | 21% | 500-600 | 490-620 | 1100 | 550 | 550 | 20% | 59% | 79% |
| Wichita State University | 17% | 470-630 | 483-630 | 1100 | 550 | 550 | 8% | 75% | 83% |
| Rocky Mountain College | 40% | 500-630 | 470-600 | 1100 | 11% | 49% | 60% | ||
| University of South Alabama | 7% | 493-600 | 510-600 | 1095 | 545 | 550 | 7% | 86% | 93% |
| Central Michigan University | 43% | 480-600 | 500-620 | 1090 | 540 | 550 | 49% | 8% | 57% |
| Texas State University | 43% | 480-580 | 500-600 | 1080 | 530 | 550 | 49% | 8% | 57% |
| Sam Houston State University | 0% | 470-560 | 490-580 | 1050 | 520 | 530 | 89% | 17% | 106% |
| Indiana State University | 47% | 450-560 | 465-580 | 1040 | 520 | 520 | 44% | 9% | 53% |
| 0 |
So, you want to be at least at that level to ensure that you are ready for college. And if you’re just above that level and your score is anywhere from there to about a 1200 composite score, the kinds of colleges where that score is going to mean something are the University of Massachusetts Boston, Northern Arizona University, University of Toledo, Old Dominion, University of West Florida, UNLV, Kent State, Wichita State, Rocky Mountain College, University of South Alabama, Central Michigan University, Texas State University, Sam Houston, and Indiana State University. You can see some big colleges that you’ve heard of, and there are plenty more colleges in this range. This is just a sampling of the kinds of schools that are kind of in this score range where submitting that score is going to make a difference. Now, you might notice that among these schools, there is a vast range of students who did not submit a test score. At UMass Boston, the vast majority of students aren’t submitting test scores. So, it looks like your test score isn’t even very important there. Whereas at a place like the University of West Florida, tests are required. So, you’re going to need a score there, and it does play into the equation a bit more. If you’re not at that, you know, 1050, you might want to work on your score a little bit until you get there.
What’s a GOOD SAT® score?
Moving on, a good score is a composite score that’s in the 1200s.
| University | Test optional min % (100%-% of enrolled students submitting ACT or SAT) | Middle 50% SAT MATH 2022 | Middle 50% SAT ERW 2022 | Median Total | Math Median | ERW Median | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Delaware | 1210-1360 | 1210-1360 | 1285 | ||||||
| University of Colorado, Boulder | 55% | 570-700 | 590-690 | 1280 | 640 | 640 | 31% | 14% | 45% |
| Marquette University | 53% | 580-690 | 590-670 | 1270 | 630 | 640 | 17% | 30% | 47% |
| Indiana University | 62% | 590-710 | 590-690 | 1290 | 650 | 640 | 38% | 38% | |
| Texas A&M | n/a | 580-710 | 570-680 | 1270 | 640 | 630 | |||
| University of South Carolina | 50% | 580-690 | 600-690 | 1280 | 640 | 640 | 33% | 17% | 50% |
| University of Arizona | n/a | 1265 | 1265 | 0 | |||||
| University of Iowa | 16% | 560-670 | 570-670 | 1230 | 610 | 620 | 21% | 63% | 84% |
| Temple University | 69% | 550-680 | 570-690 | 1245 | 615 | 630 | 27% | 4% | 31% |
| University of Oregon | 83% | 560-680 | 580-690 | 1260 | 620 | 640 | 11% | 6% | 17% |
| Michigan State University | 35% | 550-680 | 550-660 | 1220 | 610 | 610 | 51% | 14% | 65% |
| University of New Hampshire | 58% | 550-660 | 570-660 | 1210 | 600 | 610 | 39% | 3% | 42% |
| University of North Dakota | 35% | 560-660 | 550-630 | 0 | 6% | 59% | 65% | ||
| Indiana State University | 100% | 450-560 | 465-580 | 1040 | 520 | 520 | 44% | 9% |
A good score means something at places like the University of Delaware, University of Colorado Boulder, Marquette University, Indiana University, Texas A&M, University of South Carolina, University of Arizona, University of Iowa, Temple University, University of Oregon, Michigan State University, University of New Hampshire, and University of North Dakota. As you can see, we’re getting into some really big state schools and some schools that have a good reputation. Maybe they’re not right in the top 50 or the top 100 in the country, but these are good, strong schools, and some of them are very large schools. There are, again, plenty more schools in this range. And you can go ahead and look up their score ranges by Googling the name of the college and the words “common data set,” because I don’t have room for all colleges in the United States here. This is a sampling, so if you want to see more data or find your college, look up those two things.
What’s a VERY GOOD SAT® score?
Next up, we have very good. A very good SAT score is going to be in the 1300s, on average.
| University | Test optional min % (100%-% of enrolled students submitting ACT or SAT) | Middle 50% SAT MATH 2022 | Middle 50% SAT ERW 2022 | Median Total | Math Median | ERW Median | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Florida | 0% | n/a | |||||||
| University of Miami | 43% | 660-750 | 650-730 | 1390 | 700 | 690 | 35% | 22% | 57% |
| Pepperdine University* (2021) | 78% | 630-730 | 630-710 | 1350 | 19% | 3% | 22% | ||
| University of Texas at Austin* (2021) | 18% | 610-770 | 620-730 | 1365 | 56% | 26% | 82% | ||
| Ohio State University* (2021) | 15% | 630-740 | 620-700 | 1345 | 21% | 64% | 85% | ||
| North Carolina State University | 30% | 625-740 | 620-700 | 1340 | 680 | 660 | 30% | 40% | 70% |
| Drexel University | 52% | 620-730 | 610-700 | 1330 | 670 | 660 | 41% | 7% | 48% |
| Purdue University | 4% | 600-760 | 600-710 | 1330 | 680 | 650 | 67% | 29% | 96% |
| University of Connecticut | n/a | 1240-1410 | 1240-1410 | 1325 | |||||
| University of Denver | 50% | 600-690 | 620-710 | 1320 | 650 | 670 | 27% | 23% | 50% |
| University of Georgia | 0% | 600-720 | 620-710 | 1310 | 650 | 660 | 68% | 48% | 116% |
| Penn State University | 55% | 610-710 | 600-680 | 1300 | 38% | 7% | 45% |
That score is going to be competitive at the following universities: University of Florida—though I do not have their exact statistics and only have statistics back from pandemic and pre-pandemic, I’m putting them on this list because they are a test-required school, and I just want you to know what range you probably should have for them—University of Miami Pepperdine, University of Texas at Austin, Ohio State, North Carolina State, Drexel University, Purdue—which is basically test required at this point—University of Connecticut, University of Denver, University of Georgia, and Penn State University. We’re starting to get into some schools that are really competitive in their majors. And again, this can vary major by major. If you’re trying to be a CS major at Purdue, you probably need a higher SAT score or potentially a higher math score than these ranges might indicate. So, don’t just rest on your laurels just because Purdue’s on this list. You might need something more competitive for competitive majors.
What’s a GREAT SAT® Score?
Now, we’re going to move on to great. A great SAT score is one in the 1400s. That means above about 700 per section, but we start to get into kind of discrepant scores here. It’s more common to score high on the math section than on the reading section, so you’ll see some discrepancy here in the score ranges, and we have all the individual information about English versus math on our website.
| University | Test optional min % (100%-% of enrolled students submitting ACT or SAT) | Middle 50% SAT MATH 2022 | Middle 50% SAT ERW 2022 | Median Total | Math Median | ERW Median | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emory University | 36% | 730-790 | 700-760 | 1500 | 770 | 730 | 41% | 23% | 64% |
| Northeastern University | 56% | 740-790 | 700-760 | 1500 | 770 | 730 | 33% | 11% | 44% |
| Case Western Reserve University | 31% | 730-790 | 680-750 | 1490 | 770 | 720 | 42% | 27% | 69% |
| Wellesley College | 39% | 710-780 | 720-770 | 1490 | 750 | 740 | 40% | 21% | 61% |
| Boston College | n/a | 730-780 | 705-760 | 1487.5 | |||||
| University of Notre Dame | n/a | 720-790 | 700-760 | 1485 | |||||
| Georgetown | 0% | 690-790 | 700-770 | 1480 | 72% | 36% | 108% | ||
| Georgia Tech University | 0% | 700-790 | 670-760 | 1480 | 760 | 720 | 74% | 38% | 112% |
| University of Virginia | 29% | 710-790 | 690-750 | 1470 | 54% | 17% | 71% | ||
| University of Michigan | 22% | 680-780 | 670-750 | 1470 | 750 | 720 | 54% | 24% | 78% |
| U Rochester (2021 data) | 61% | 710-790 | 680-750 | 1470 | 760 | 710 | 28% | 11% | 39% |
| College of WIlliam and Mary | 30% | 680-770 | 695-750 | 1460 | 730 | 730 | 52% | 18% | 70% |
| Tulane University | 50% | 690-760 | 680-750 | 1450 | 730 | 720 | 16% | 34% | 50% |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 36% | 680-790 | 660-740 | 1450 | 750 | 700 | 44% | 20% | 64% |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | 44% | 690-780 | 660-730 | 1450 | 750 | 700 | 18% | 38% | 56% |
| Boston University | 65% | 690-770 | 660-730 | 1440 | 740 | 700 | 23% | 12% | 35% |
| Villanova University | 57% | 700-770 | 678-730 | 1440 | 740 | 700 | 28% | 15% | 43% |
| Southern Methodist University | n/a | 1370-1500 | 1370-1500 | 1435 | |||||
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | n/a | 1360-1500 | 1360-1500 | 1430 | |||||
| Wake Forest University | 45% | 680-770* | 670-730* | 1425 | 23% | 32% | 55% | ||
| University of Washington (partial test blind) | 76% | 660-780 | 640-740 | 1420 | 730 | 690 | 17% | 7% | 24% |
| Lehigh University | 50% | 680-770 | 660-720 | 1410 | 720 | 690 | 37% | 13% | 50% |
| University of Southern California (2021) | 27% | 670-780 | 650-740 | 1420 | 47% | 26% | 73% |
In terms of colleges in this range, we have Emory, Northeastern, Case Western, Wellesley, Boston College, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, University of Virginia, University of Michigan, University of Rochester, College of William and Mary, Tulane, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Wisconsin Madison, Boston University, Villanova, SMU, UNC Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, University of Washington—which is partially test-blind, which is why 76% of people are not submitting test scores—Lehigh, and University of Southern California.
What is an AWESOME SAT® Score?
| University | Test optional min % (100%-% of enrolled students submitting ACT or SAT) | Middle 50% SAT MATH 2022 | Middle 50% SAT ERW 2022 | Median Total | Math Median | ERW Median | Percent Submitting SAT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Percent Submitting ACT Scores Enrolled Fall 2022 | Sum of ACT/SAT submissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 0% | 790-800 | 730-780 | 1550 | NA | NA | n/a | ||
| Harvard University | 17% | 760-800 | 730-780 | 1550 | 790 | 760 | 55% | 28% | 83% |
| Stanford | 28% | 770-800 | 730-780 | 1550 | 790 | 760 | 49% | 23% | 72% |
| University of Pennsylvania | n/a | 770-800 | 730-780 | 1550 | 790 | 760 | NA | ||
| Yale University | 12% | 760-800 | 740-780 | 1540 | 780 | 760 | 59% | 29% | 88% |
| Duke University | n/a | 1510-1570 | 1510-1570 | 1540 | NA | ||||
| Brown University | 19.0% | 760-800 | 730-780 | 1540 | 780 | 760 | 54% | 27% | 81% |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 29.8% | 770-800 | 720-770 | 1540 | 790 | 750 | 50.5% | 19.7% | 70.2% |
| Princeton University | n/a | 760-800 | 730-780 | 1535 | NA | ||||
| New York University | 63% | 750-800 | 720-770 | 1530 | 780 | 750 | 26% | 11% | 37% |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 42% | 1500-1570 | 1500-1570 | 1535 | 58% total | ||||
| Dartmouth College | n/a | 730-790 | 710-770 | 1520 | 770 | 750 | NA | ||
| Rice University | n/a | 1500-1560 | 1500-1560 | 1530 | NA | ||||
| Vanderbilt University | 39% | 760-800 | 730-770 | 1530 | 780 | 750 | 29% | 32% | 61% |
| Harvey Mudd College | 40% | 760-790 | 720-770 | 1530 | 780 | 750 | 43% | 17% | 60% |
| Amherst College | 37% | 750-790 | 710-770 | 1530 | 780 | 750 | 41% | 22% | 63% |
| Williams College | 38% | 750-790 | 730-780 | 1530 | 780 | 750 | 41% | 21% | 62% |
| Cornell University (partially test blind) | 40% | 750-800 | 710-770 | 1520 | 780 | 740 | 43% | 17% | 60% |
| Swarthmore College | 39% | 730-790 | 710-770 | 1520 | 770 | 750 | 42% | 19% | 61% |
| Tufts University | n/a | 750-790 | 720-770 | 1515 | NA | ||||
| Northwestern University (2021 data) | 18% | 740-790* | 720-770* | 1510 | 43*% | 39*% | 82 |
An awesome score is one that’s going to get you into the top universities in the country. That’s typically a score above 1500. On average, these schools are letting in students who have a median score of anywhere from 1510 to 1550. In this list, in order of most competitive test score to least: MIT, Harvard, Stanford, UPenn, Yale, Duke, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Princeton, New York University, WashU, Dartmouth, Rice, Vanderbilt, Harvey Mudd, Amherst, Williams, Cornell, Swarthmore, Tufts, and Northwestern. A note here: Cornell is partially test-blind, as there are certain schools within Cornell where they will not look at a test score at all. At NYU, you can see that 63% of freshmen enrolling did not have a test score. So, my advice on NYU is that if you are not in that range, do not submit, because you still have a good chance of getting in. So again, really read that column, and you can see that the higher we get here, the trend is that this test optional minimum percentile goes down more.
I know we don’t have 100% of the data from everywhere, but hopefully you found this helpful in figuring out which colleges your score can get you into!
