<p>As students try to figure out how to classify various schools as Reach/Match/Safety, some will use standardized test scores to help them do this. Standardized test scores are a blunt instrument for evaluating schools and are only one part of one’s application (albeit frequently an important part). But in terms of slotting oneself and thinking about what other schools are in the same statistical neighborhood, some students will use them as a starting point. I thought it might be helpful to the CC community to compare a large number of schools, many of which are frequently discussed here.</p>
<p>Below are the SAT scores for the 25th and 75th percentiles and the Acceptance Rates for the USNWR Top 70 National Universities and the USNWR Top 35 LACs. Other schools outside of this group might score higher than some I have included. BTW, nothing magical about the number of schools chosen-I just got tired after doing 100+ colleges.</p>
<p>Others may have more creative, insightful ways to use this data, but as a very rough rule-of-thumb, I consider the following:</p>
<li> For a Safety, look at the 75th percentile. If you’re above it, your chances are probably pretty good.</li>
<li> For a Match, look at the range and especially how close you are to the upper and lower ends of the range.<br></li>
<li> For a Reach, look at the 25th percentile. If you’re below it, then your chances aren’t very good.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>Again, these are very rough and there will undoubtedly be much more in the consideration of your application, particularly if your standardized test scores are out of sync with other parts of your application (Rigor, GPA, Rank, etc.). And for the most highly-ranked schools, eg, HYPSM and some would include almost all colleges with acceptance rates below 20%, these are probably a reach for everyone. </p>
<p>All data is taken from Peterson’s and reflects the statistics for the class that entered in Fall, 2008. I think we all know that the numbers for Fall, 2009 were more competitive at many of these colleges.</p>
<p>SAT 25 - SAT 75 , Acceptance Rate , College</p>
<p>1470 - 1560 , 17% , Caltech
1420 - 1570 , 36% , Harvey Mudd
1400 - 1590 , 9% , Yale</p>
<p>1390 - 1580 , 8% , Harvard
1390 - 1580 , 10% , Princeton
1390 - 1560 , 16% , Pomona
1380 - 1560 , 12% , MIT
1380 - 1540 , 22% , Wash U
1360 - 1550 , 11% , Columbia
1360 - 1530 , 26% , Northwestern
1350 - 1520 , 16% , Swarthmore</p>
<p>1340 - 1540 , 22% , Duke
1340 - 1500 , 26% , Tufts
1330 - 1550 , 13% , Dartmouth
1330 - 1540 , 9% , Stanford
1330 - 1520 , 15% , Amherst
1330 - 1520 , 17% , U Penn
1330 - 1500 , 25% , Vanderbilt
1320 - 1540 , 14% , Brown
1320 - 1520 , 17% , Williams
1320 - 1500 , 27% , Notre Dame
1320 - 1480 , 17% , W&L
1320 - 1470 , 25% , Vassar
1310 - 1530 , 28% , U Chicago
1310 - 1530 , 25% , Rice
1310 - 1500 , 27% , Emory
1310 - 1490 , 27% , Carleton
1310 - 1490 , 19% , Georgetown
1300 - 1510 , 19% , Bowdoin
1300 - 1500 , 21% , Cornell
1300 - 1480 , 27% , Haverford
1300 - 1480 , 27% , Wesleyan
1300 - 1450 , 28% , Hamilton</p>
<p>1290 - 1510 , 25% , Johns Hopkins
1290 - 1500 , 38% , Carnegie Mellon
1290 - 1490 , 22% , Claremont McK
1290 - 1450 , 33% , Brandeis
1280 - 1430 , 31% , Colby
1270 - 1480 , 17% , Middlebury
1270 - 1475 , 36% , Wellesley
1270 - 1470 , 22% , USC
1270 - 1460 , 26% , Davidson
1270 - 1460 , 24% , Colgate
1270 - 1450 , 41% , Macalester
1260 - 1450 , 33% , Oberlin
1260 - 1440 , 43% , Scripps
1260 - 1430 , 29% , Bates
1250 - 1440 , 28% , Barnard
1250 - 1440 , 34% , W&M
1250 - 1440 , 32% , NYU
1250 - 1430 , 26% , Boston Coll
1250 - 1420 , 61% , Georgia Tech
1250 - 1420 , 44% , Rensselaer
1250 - 1420 , 27% , Tulane</p>
<p>1240 - 1430 , 31% , Kenyon
1240 - 1400 , 38% , Wake Forest
1235 - 1450 , 43% , Grinnell
1230 - 1400 , 26% , Colorado College
1230 - 1400 , 28% , Lehigh
1230 - 1390 , 30% , Bucknell
1220 - 1440 , 37% , U Virginia
1220 - 1430 , 42% , U Michigan
1220 - 1430 , 43% , U Rochester
1210 - 1470 , 22% , UC Berkeley
1210 - 1420 , 53% , Mt. Holyoke
1210 - 1410 , 73% , Case Western
1210 - 1390 , 34% , U North Carolina
1200 - 1410 , 49% , Bryn Mawr
1200 - 1380 , 37% , Lafayette</p>
<p>1190 - 1380 , 18% , U Miami
1190 - 1370 , 37% , George Washington
1180 - 1400 , 42% , Trinity (CT)
1180 - 1350 , 34% , Holy Cross
1170 - 1410 , 23% , UCLA
1170 - 1410 , 71% , U Illinois
1170 - 1380 , 39% , U Maryland
1170 - 1370 , 59% , Boston University
1170 - 1360 , 32% , U Richmond
1160 - 1400 , 53% , U Wisconsin
1160 - 1380 , 39% , U Florida
1160 - 1370 , 12% , US Naval Acad
1160 - 1360 , 55% , U Pittsburgh
1150 - 1380 , 52% , Smith
1150 - 1350 , 16% , US Military Acad
1150 - 1340 , 50% , SMU</p>
<p>1140 - 1370 , 42% , UCSD
1130 - 1330 , 62% , Ohio State
1130 - 1330 , 42% , Fordham
1130 - 1320 , 56% , U Georgia
1130 - 1320 , 58% , Clemson
1110 - 1380 , 53% , U Minnesota
1110 - 1350 , 44% , U Texas
1110 - 1350 , 34% , Pepperdine
1110 - 1290 , 54% , U Conn
1100 - 1300 , 51% , Penn State
1100 - 1290 , 80% , Miami U (OH)</p>
<p>1090 - 1320 , 65% , U Washington
1090 - 1310 , 56% , Rutgers
1090 - 1300 , 49% , UC Irvine
1080 - 1300 , 70% , Texas A&M
1070 - 1340 , 82% , U Iowa
1070 - 1310 , 54% , UC Santa Barbara
1070 - 1270 , 53% , Syracuse
1050 - 1300 , 53% , UC Davis</p>
<p>1020 - 1270 , 72% , Purdue</p>