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 and break it down for you guys. 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? We’re going to go into all of that today.
So, first let’s talk test-optional. Test-optional is where we really have to crunch the numbers. This is basically a repeat of a video that I’ve done every year for the last several years called “Best Bets for Test-Optional”, but I’ve renamed it because I think now it’s just not best bets for test-optional; there are a lot more test-required schools and some test-blind schools. It’s not just about test-optional, but I’m going to get into the test-optional piece first because it’s really hard to know what colleges actually do. 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 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, there are some 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 that means that a lot of high school students who think they’re just going to go to a UC don’t even take the thing.
How do we calculate the data, and what data do we have? Well, the data that we have isn’t exactly the same as the 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. What we can look at are 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 number to add to my threshold of 47.1%. So I’m going to get 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 their 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. There are also some factors like this, and I can’t control all of that. We’re going to ballpark it, but it’s probably good enough from my experience as a counselor as well. I’ve seen this in action. I feel like what I see here anecdotally seems to relate to what my students have experienced. So, we’re going to roll with it.
Truly Test-Optional
First, we’re going to get into the truly test-optional colleges. These colleges are places where I will say 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 want, you can go on our website, where we have little spreadsheet versions of this that you can manipulate. So, you can put it in order of, say, the sum of SAT and ACT scores, or in order of the U.S. News and World Report rank, or in order of SAT range. But for now, I’m going to do it in order of the U.S. News and World Report ranks.
So our top-ranked schools at the top, as you can see, start at school number 30. That’s because the top 30 schools are either UCs that are test-blind or places where test scores are probably going to help you. So that’s the first message I’m going to send you. 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. You probably need a test score if you want to be that competitive. But if you don’t want to be that competitive, NYU is your place. 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 schools, I’m going to throw in probably the top 10 or so liberal arts colleges just so you guys get a feel. These schools, I think, are truly test-optional. If you’re looking for a test-optional option in the top 100, that’s a great place to start thinking.
| 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
Next up is what I call test-agnostic. They’re right at the hinge point. They’re 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. They’re not trying to create some weird inflated SAT range like NYU does. I don’t know if you guys noticed that they have a weirdly, really high SAT range that’s up there with Harvard. They are not admitting at a clip like Harvard, though; they’re gaming you guys. They’re trying to just get really high scores, and then if you submit a score in between—even though they would have admitted you had you not sent it—they will just reject you. So there’s a game to be played there. These following schools, I don’t think, are playing a game. So, you’re a little bit safer to submit all the way down to that 25th percentile. I wouldn’t worry about it as much. Even if you’re a little bit below, it’s probably not going to hurt you incredibly. I don’t think Vandy’s going to really scoff at a 1500 versus a 1510. I had a student get into Vandy who submitted, and he submitted his 1490, and he got in. So just as a case in point, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to submit if you’ve got a 1490 and you’re applying to Vanderbilt. It’s probably not going to keep you out.
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.
| 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. This is my list where you’ve got maybe a slight advantage if you submit your test score. They’re at that 55% or somewhere above. At these schools, there is some differentiation. 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 these admissions offices. You can try to get some more clarity on their policies, especially at the state schools. But at these schools, a good test score is going to help you. So if you’ve got one or if you can get your score up, submit it. It’ll be good for you. Okay, we got 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, we’ve got Swarthmore and Carleton. Again, a good test score is going to help you here. Do you have a shot if you have no test score? Maybe, but you’re up against higher odds. You’ve got to impress them in other ways. Maybe if you’ve got a bunch of fives on your APs, it’ll be okay. But if you’ve got a decent test score, it’s going to help you at these colleges. Without it, you’re going to have to make up for it somehow.
| 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, students from underrepresented groups, or first-generation students who are afraid to submit their scores. Things like that, but have the most glowing recommendations you’ve ever seen. Those are the kids getting in test-optional. Maybe children of alumni, but that’s not a lot of applicants. And if you want your best shot, you need a test score at these schools: 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 send anything over 1400 of these places.
| 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. So let’s go through what schools those are. There are also some in the top 100 that are not in the top 10 that are good to know about. There are also a couple of schools on this list that are test-required, but they are test-flexible. So, I will also talk about what that means. 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. I had a student’s mom ask me this year that the student wants to take the AP class because she knows the teacher’s an easy A, but she doesn’t want to study for the AP test, so is it okay if she just doesn’t take it? Colleges are asking questions now, so we’re going to get into this.
Okay, so here is my test-required list: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford, Yale—test flexible—Caltech, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Carnegie Mellon—which is now test flexible—Georgetown, UNC—but 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. So, you can see anything in Florida, you probably 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. So you can check into their exact policies on their websites, and you do need a test score of some sort. 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, so I’ll just add that in there. Most of their departments are test-flexible, and you can learn more about that on Carnegie Mellon’s website.
There you go; that’s where you absolutely need a test score. 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 guys. If you’re there, just submit it. 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, so just keep that in mind.
| 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 basically all of the University of California system schools, so Berkeley, UCLA, Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz, as well as Worcester Polytechnic Institute. That’s probably the only top 100 engineering school I know of that’s test-blind besides the UCs. Pretty brief list.
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—that’s seven in front. If you’ve got a seven in front, it might be worth sending on. So, that’s my general rule of thumb. Do I look at all these percentiles for sure? If I see that sum as over 70%, you better believe I’m pushing for sending it if you’ve got over a 700.
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, or I might withhold if it’s right at the 25th percentile.
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