Understanding where your student’s SAT score falls relative to each college’s enrolled class is one of the most important steps in building a smart college list. This guide shows the 25th–75th percentile SAT score ranges (the “middle 50%”) for 60+ colleges organized by selectivity tier.
A score at or above the 75th percentile makes your student a strong academic match. A score below the 25th percentile means the school is a reach — but not impossible. Aim to have a balanced list with reach, match, and likely schools.
| 🌟 Tier 1 — Most Selective (Ivy League + MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Duke, UChicago) | ||
|---|---|---|
| School | SAT Middle 50% Range | Acceptance Rate (approx.) |
| MIT | 1510–1580 | ~4% |
| Caltech | 1530–1580 | ~3% |
| Harvard University | 1500–1580 | ~4% |
| Yale University | 1500–1570 | ~5% |
| Princeton University | 1500–1570 | ~5% |
| Columbia University | 1500–1560 | ~4% |
| Stanford University | 1500–1570 | ~4% |
| University of Chicago | 1500–1570 | ~5% |
| Duke University | 1490–1570 | ~7% |
| Penn (UPenn) | 1490–1560 | ~7% |
| Dartmouth College | 1480–1560 | ~7% |
| Brown University | 1480–1560 | ~5% |
| Cornell University | 1470–1560 | ~8% |
| ⭐ Tier 2 — Highly Selective (Top 25 Private Universities) | ||
|---|---|---|
| School | SAT Middle 50% Range | Acceptance Rate (approx.) |
| Northwestern University | 1480–1560 | ~7% |
| Vanderbilt University | 1500–1570 | ~7% |
| Johns Hopkins University | 1480–1560 | ~7% |
| Rice University | 1480–1560 | ~9% |
| Notre Dame | 1450–1540 | ~13% |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 1490–1570 | ~11% |
| Georgetown University | 1380–1540 | ~12% |
| Emory University | 1400–1530 | ~14% |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 1480–1560 | ~11% |
| Tufts University | 1430–1530 | ~11% |
| Boston College | 1390–1520 | ~17% |
| Tulane University | 1350–1510 | ~11% |
| ★ Tier 3 — Selective (Top 50 Private & Strong Public Universities) | ||
|---|---|---|
| School | SAT Middle 50% Range | Acceptance Rate (approx.) |
| UNC Chapel Hill (in-state) | 1300–1490 | ~19% |
| University of Virginia | 1360–1530 | ~19% |
| UC Berkeley | 1310–1530 | ~14% |
| UCLA | 1290–1510 | ~9% |
| University of Michigan | 1360–1530 | ~20% |
| Georgia Tech | 1360–1530 | ~17% |
| University of Southern California | 1390–1530 | ~11% |
| New York University (NYU) | 1350–1530 | ~12% |
| Wake Forest University | 1350–1500 | ~29% |
| University of Florida | 1290–1470 | ~24% |
| University of Texas at Austin | 1200–1430 | ~31% |
| Penn State (University Park) | 1180–1380 | ~55% |
| ★ Tier 4 — Competitive State Universities & Strong Regionals | ||
|---|---|---|
| School | SAT Middle 50% Range | Acceptance Rate (approx.) |
| NC State University | 1210–1400 | ~45% |
| University of Wisconsin–Madison | 1290–1470 | ~49% |
| Ohio State University | 1270–1440 | ~53% |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 1290–1490 | ~45% |
| Purdue University | 1190–1430 | ~53% |
| University of Georgia | 1210–1390 | ~43% |
| University of South Carolina | 1180–1380 | ~63% |
| Clemson University | 1230–1410 | ~47% |
| Virginia Tech | 1210–1400 | ~57% |
| University of Tennessee–Knoxville | 1160–1360 | ~72% |
Students should aim for a list of 8–12 colleges with roughly: 2–3 reaches (score below 25th percentile), 4–5 matches (score within middle 50%), and 2–3 likelies (score at or above 75th percentile). RLC’s SAT prep programs are designed to move students from “reach” to “match” range at their target schools.
*Score ranges are approximate 25th–75th percentile figures based on Common Data Set reports and institutional profiles (2023–2025). Ranges shift year to year. Verify current data at each school’s official Common Data Set.