<p>For the most selective colleges, I don’t think that it’s quite as formulaic as many suggest here as the admissions process is highly subjective and oftentimes student decisions are made based on institutional needs that might trump, or at least damp down, the importance of things like standardized test scores. </p>
<p>SAT scores can be very helpful to guiding students to colleges where they might be appropriate applicants (reach, match, safety), but the line that I often hear (and which I agree with) is that, for the most selective colleges, the standardized test scores won’t automatically get you in, but sometimes they will keep you out. You need a score that gets you in the conversation so that other parts of your application can come into play and hopefully differentiate you from the other applicants. </p>
<p>The needed score is a moving target depending on the college. Below is a listing of SAT and ACT scores that I did recently using the mid-point of each school’s 25/75 range:</p>
<p>Rank Score College</p>
<pre><code> THE PLATINUM ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>1 , 2240 , Yale
2 , 2235 , Harvard
2 , 2235 , Cal Tech
4 , 2230 , Harvey Mudd
5 , 2220 , Princeton</p>
<pre><code> THE GOLD ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>6 , 2175 , MIT
7 , 2170 , Duke
7 , 2170 , Swarthmore
7 , 2170 , Pomona
10 , 2155 , Stanford
10 , 2155 , Dartmouth
12 , 2145 , Amherst
13 , 2140 , Brown
13 , 2140 , Northwestern
15 , 2140 , Williams
16 , 2130 , U Penn
17 , 2120 , Tufts</p>
<pre><code> THE SILVER ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>18 , 2105 , Rice
19 , 2100 , Columbia
20 , 2090 , Carleton
20 , 2090 , Wesleyan
22 , 2085 , Wellesley
22 , 2085 , Middlebury
22 , 2085 , Haverford
25 , 2080 , Notre Dame
26 , 2075 , Emory
26 , 2075 , Vanderbilt
26 , 2075 , Carnegie Mellon
26 , 2075 , Bowdoin
26 , 2075 , Vassar
31 , 2065 , J Hopkins
32 , 2045 , USC</p>
<pre><code> THE BRONZE ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>33 , 2015 , W & M
34 , 2000 , NYU
35 , 1995 , Boston College
36 , 1975 , UC Berkeley
37 , 1965 , U Virginia
38 , 1960 , Rensselaer
39 , 1955 , U Michigan
39 , 1955 , Georgia Tech
41 , 1940 , UCLA
42 , 1935 , Case Western
43 , 1925 , U North Carolina
43 , 1925 , Tulane
45 , 1910 , Smith
46 , 1895 , U Wisconsin
47 , 1865 , UCSD
48 , 1840 , U Texas
49 , 1780 , U Washington
49 , 1780 , UC S Barbara
51 , 1760 , UC Irvine
52 , 1720 , UC Davis</p>
<pre><code> INSUFFICIENT DATA
</code></pre>
<p>na , na , Brandeis
na , na , CMC
na , na , Colgate
na , na , Cornell
na , na , Davidson
na , na , Georgetown
na , na , Grinnell
na , na , Hamilton
na , na , Lehigh
na , na , Oberlin
na , na , Penn State
na , na , Syracuse
na , na , U Chicago
na , na , U Florida
na , na , U Illinois UC
na , na , U Rochester
na , na , W&L
na , na , Wake Forest
na , na , Wash U StL</p>
<pre><code> SORTED BY 1600 SCORE
</code></pre>
<p>Rank Score College</p>
<pre><code> THE PLATINUM ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>1 , 1520 , Cal Tech
2 , 1505 , Harvey Mudd
3 , 1495 , Yale
3 , 1495 , Harvard
5 , 1485 , Princeton</p>
<pre><code> THE GOLD ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>6 , 1470 , MIT
7 , 1455 , Pomona
8 , 1450 , Swarthmore
8 , 1450 , Wash U StL
10 , 1445 , Stanford
11 , 1440 , Duke
12 , 1440 , Dartmouth
12 , 1435 , Northwestern
14 , 1430 , Amherst
14 , 1430 , Brown
14 , 1430 , Williams
14 , 1430 , U Chicago
18 , 1425 , U Penn
19 , 1420 , Rice
19 , 1420 , Columbia</p>
<pre><code> THE SILVER ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>21 , 1415 , Tufts
22 , 1410 , Carnegie Mellon
23 , 1405 , Notre Dame
24 , 1400 , Carleton
25 , 1395 , Wesleyan
25 , 1395 , Middlebury
25 , 1395 , Cornell
25 , 1395 , Georgetown
29 , 1390 , Wellesley
29 , 1390 , Haverford
29 , 1390 , Vanderbilt
29 , 1390 , J Hopkins
33 , 1385 , Emory
33 , 1385 , Bowdoin
33 , 1385 , CMC
33 , 1385 , W&L
37 , 1380 , Vassar
38 , 1370 , Brandeis
38 , 1370 , Hamilton
40 , 1365 , USC
40 , 1365 , Oberlin
42 , 1360 , Grinnell
43 , 1355 , Davidson</p>
<pre><code> THE BRONZE ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>44 , 1350 , W & M
45 , 1340 , Wake Forest
45 , 1340 , Colgate
47 , 1335 , NYU
47 , 1335 , Rensselaer
49 , 1330 , Boston College
49 , 1330 , Georgia Tech
51 , 1325 , UC Berkeley
51 , 1325 , U Rochester
53 , 1320 , U Michigan
54 , 1315 , Lehigh
55 , 1310 , U Virginia
56 , 1305 , Case Western
57 , 1295 , UCLA
57 , 1295 , U North Carolina
59 , 1290 , U Illinois UC
60 , 1280 , Tulane
60 , 1280 , U Wisconsin
62 , 1265 , Smith
63 , 1250 , UCSD
63 , 1250 , U Florida
65 , 1240 , U Texas
66 , 1220 , Syracuse
67 , 1205 , U Washington
68 , 1190 , UC S Barbara
69 , 1185 , UC Irvine
70 , 1180 , Penn State
71 , 1155 , UC Davis</p>
<pre><code> SORTED BY ACT SCORE
</code></pre>
<p>Rank Score College</p>
<pre><code> THE PLATINUM ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>1 , 33.0 , Harvard
2 , 32.5 , MIT
2 , 32.5 , Notre Dame
4 , 32.0 , Yale
4 , 32.0 , Princeton
4 , 32.0 , Northwestern</p>
<pre><code> THE GOLD ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>7 , 31.5 , Duke
7 , 31.5 , Pomona
7 , 31.5 , Dartmouth
7 , 31.5 , Amherst
7 , 31.5 , Rice
7 , 31.5 , Vanderbilt
7 , 31.5 , Wash U StL
14 , 31.0 , Stanford
14 , 31.0 , Williams
14 , 31.0 , U Penn
14 , 31.0 , Carleton
14 , 31.0 , Middlebury
14 , 31.0 , Emory
14 , 31.0 , Carnegie Mellon
14 , 31.0 , Bowdoin
14 , 31.0 , Georgetown
14 , 31.0 , Grinnell</p>
<pre><code> THE SILVER ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>24 , 30.5 , Brown
24 , 30.5 , Tufts
24 , 30.5 , Columbia
24 , 30.5 , Wellesley
24 , 30.5 , Vassar
24 , 30.5 , U Chicago
24 , 30.5 , Colgate
31 , 30.0 , Swarthmore
31 , 30.0 , J Hopkins
31 , 30.0 , USC
31 , 30.0 , Boston College
31 , 30.0 , Cornell
31 , 30.0 , Brandeis
31 , 30.0 , Davidson
38 , 29.5 , Wesleyan
38 , 29.5 , W & M
38 , 29.5 , NYU
38 , 29.5 , W&L</p>
<pre><code> THE BRONZE ELITES
</code></pre>
<p>42 , 29.0 , U Michigan
42 , 29.0 , Georgia Tech
42 , 29.0 , Tulane
42 , 29.0 , U Rochester
42 , 29.0 , Oberlin
47 , 28.5 , Case Western
48 , 28.5 , U Illinois UC
49 , 28.0 , U Wisconsin
50 , 27.5 , U North Carolina
51 , 27.5 , Smith
52 , 27.0 , Rensselaer
52 , 27.0 , UCLA
52 , 27.0 , U Florida
55 , 26.5 , Syracuse
56 , 26.0 , UCSD
56 , 26.0 , U Texas
56 , 26.0 , U Washington
56 , 26.0 , UC S Barbara</p>
<pre><code> INSUFFICIENT DATA
</code></pre>
<p>na , na , Cal Tech
na , na , CMC
na , na , Hamilton
na , na , Harvey Mudd
na , na , Haverford
na , na , Lehigh
na , na , Penn State
na , na , U Virginia
na , na , UC Berkeley
na , na , UC Davis
na , na , UC Irvine
na , na , Wake Forest</p>