SAT Scores 1986–2023

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These tables accompany “It’s Still Hard to Earn Admission to America’s Top Colleges . . . and Getting Harder,” by Michael J. Petrilli and Heena Kuwayama.


Increase in Median SAT Scores, 1986–2023

Scroll for results. Colleges in red required SAT scores from all applicants for admission in 2023.

 

College 1986 2016 2023 Score change 2016 to 2023
Elon University 1032 1262 1280 18
New York University 1275 1410 1520 110
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill 1230 1323 1460 137
Boston College 1260 1420 1490 70
Emory University 1290 1420 1500 80
SUNY at Stony Brook University 1190 1350 1400 50
University of Massachusetts–Amherst 1175 1300 1380 80
Loyola Marymount University 1155 1290 1360 70
University of Richmond 1280 1380 1460 80
University of Miami 1230 1360 1410 50
North Carolina State University–Raleigh 1180 1323 1360 37
Case Western Reserve University 1310 1460 1490 30
University of Pittsburgh 1182 1340 1360 20
Villanova University 1263 1380 1440 60
Fordham University 1230 1340 1400 60
Hamilton College 1310 1440 1480 40
Gonzaga University 1157 1260 1325 65
Wake Forest University 1285 1365 1450 85
Tufts University 1337 1440 1500 60
Wellesley College 1350 1447 1510 63
Denison University 1210 1346 1370 24
Vassar College 1333 1460 1490 30
Tulane University 1295 1400 1450 50
Boston University 1297 1370 1450 80
Purdue University 1177 1310 1330 20
Washington and Lee University 1340 1430 1490 60
Middlebury College 1350 1455 1500 45
University of Notre Dame 1350 1480 1500 20
University of Chicago 1391 1540 1540 0
Pepperdine University 1213 1297 1360 63
Southern Methodist University 1258 1380 1405 25
Brown University 1395 1520 1540 20
Johns Hopkins University 1410 1440 1550 110
Skidmore College 1240 1300 1380 80
Binghamton University–SUNY 1270 1380 1410 30
Florida State University 1180 1310 1320 10
Clemson University 1182 1312 1320 8
University of Florida 1253 1335 1390 55
American University 1235 1310 1370 60
Smith College 1340 1415 1470 55
Kenyon College 1310 1392 1440 48
Georgia Institute of Technology 1310 1460 1440 -20
Grinnell College 1331 1445 1460 15
New Jersey Institute of Technology 1207 1280 1335 55
Indiana University–Bloomington 1161 1241 1280 39
Rice University 1424 1510 1540 30
Macalester College 1308 1430 1420 -10
Lehigh University 1325 1380 1430 50
University of Virginia 1347 1410 1450 40
Dickinson College 1252 1353 1355 2
Princeton University 1439 1530 1540 10
Williams College 1420 1490 1520 30
Swarthmore College 1420 1490 1520 30
Davidson College 1357 1420 1455 35
Lafayette College 1320 1348 1410 62
Brandeis University 1360 1420 1450 30
Colorado School of Mines 1310 1375 1400 25
Oberlin College 1350 1420 1440 20
Furman University 1254 1290 1340 50
University of Delaware 1198 1280 1280 0
Virginia Tech 1249 1285 1330 45
Yale University 1460 1540 1540 0
Marquette University 1197 1260 1270 10
Texas A&M University–College Station 1190 1270 1260 -10
Pennsylvania State University–University Park 1244 1260 1310 50
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1490 1540 1550 10
Harvey Mudd College 1460 1520 1520 0
Rensselaer Polytechnic University 1370 1430 1430 0
Clark University 1265 1300 1320 20
DePauw University 1230 1250 1280 30
College of the Holy Cross 1310 1354 1340 -14
Drexel University 1310 1270 1330 60
Miami University–Oxford 1254 1310 1270 -40
Wesleyan University 1420 1420 1430 10
United States Military Academy 1340 1343 1350 7
The University of the South 1300 1310 1290 -20
Bryn Mawr College 1410 1370 1390 20
Bucknell University 1312 1360 1270 -90


Median SAT Scores, 1986–2023 (“twin” results)

Scroll for full results

Median score 2023 colleges 2016 colleges 1986 colleges
1160 Berea College UC-Irvine

IU-Bloomington

Loyola Marymount

Gonzaga

1180 Pomona

UC-Santa Cruz

NC State-Raleigh

University of Pittsburgh

Clemson University

UC-Riverside

Purdue University

UMass-Amherst

1240 IU-Bloomington Skidmore College

Penn State

UC-Santa Cruz

American University

1250 DePauw University Miami University

Dickinson College

Furman University

University of Florida

Virginia Tech

1260 Texas A&M Gonzaga University

Penn State

Elon University

Marquette University

Boston College

Villanova University

Southern Methodist University

1270 Bucknell University

Miami University

Marquette University

Drexel University

Texas A&M

Thomas Aquinas University

Binghamton University-SUNY

Clark University

1280 IU-Bloomington

DePauw University

Elon University

University of Delaware

University of San Diego

University of Delaware

New Jersey Institute of Technology

University of Richmond

New York University

1290 The University of the South Furman University

Loyola Marymount University

Virginia Tech

Emory University

Wake Forest University

1300 Skidmore College

UMass-Amherst

Clark University

Pepperdine University

The University of the South

UC-Berkeley

Tulane University

Boston University

1310 Penn State American University

Purdue University

Florida State University

Clemson University

The University of the South

Miami University

Drexel University

Kenyon College

Hamilton College

Case Western Reserve University

Colorado School of Mines

College of the Holy Cross

Georgia Tech

Bucknell University

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Macalester College

1320 Clark University

Florida State University

Clemson University

Thomas Aquinas University

NC State-Raleigh

UNC-Chapel Hill

Lafayette College
1330 Drexel University

Virginia Tech

Purdue University

Gonzaga University

Vassar College

Grinnell College

Lehigh University

1340 Furman University

College of the Holy Cross

New Jersey Institute of Technology

OSU-Columbus

US Military Academy

University of Pittsburgh

Fordham University

University of Florida

Washington and Lee University

Smith College

US Military Academy

Tufts University

1350 US Military Academy SUNY-Stonybrook University

Dickinson College

College of the Holy Cross

Pitzer College

Lafayette College

Denison University

Duke University

Wellesley College

Middlebury College

Oberlin College

University of Notre Dame

University of Virginia

1360 Loyola Marymount University

Pepperdine University

NC State-Raleigh

University of Pittsburgh

Dickinson College

University of Miami

Bucknell University

Brandeis University

Davidson College

US Naval Academy

1370 American University

Denison University

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Bryn Mawr College

Boston University

Wake Forest University

Rensselaer Polytechnic University
1380 Skidmore College

UMass-Amherst

University of Richmond

Villanova University

Lehigh University

Binghamton University-SUNY

Southern Methodist University

UCLA

Colorado School of Mines

1390 University of Florida

Bryn Mawr College

Kenyon College Pomona College

University of Chicago

1400 Fordham University

SUNY-Stonybrook University

Colorado School of Mines

US Naval Academy

Tulane University

UC-San Diego

Duke University

Brown University

1410 Lafayette College

University of Miami

Binghamton University-SUNY

Southern Methodist University

New York University

University of Virginia

Johns Hopkins University

Bryn Mawr College

1420 Macalester College Emory University

Boston College

Davidson College

Brandeis University

Oberlin College

Wesleyan University

Smith College

Rice University

Swarthmore College

Williams College

Wesleyan University

1430 Rensselaer Polytechnic University

Wesleyan University

Lehigh University

Washington and Lee University

Rensselaer Polytechnic University

Macalester College

UC-Berkeley

1440 Georgia Tech

Oberlin College

Kenyon College

Villanova University

Johns Hopkins University

Tufts University

Hamilton College

Princeton University
1450 Wake Forest University

Boston University

Tulane University

University of Virginia

Brandeis University

Wellesley College

Grinnell College

1460 UNC-Chapel Hill

University of Richmond

Grinnell College

Davidson College

Georgia Tech

Vassar College

Case Western Reserve University

Middlebury College

Harvey Mudd College

Yale University

1480 Hamilton College University of Notre Dame
1490 Vassar College

Case Western Reserve University

Washington and Lee University

Boston College

Williams College

Swarthmore College

MIT
1510 Wellesley College Rice University
1520 Pomona College

New York University

Swarthmore College

Williams College

Harvey Mudd College

Brown University

Harvey Mudd College

1540 Rice University

Brown University

Princeton University

University of Chicago

Yale University

MIT

University of Chicago

Yale University

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