SAT distribution for top colleges--see how they hoover up the top scorers, leaving crumbs for the rest

[Anonymous]

1530 becomes 99th percentile. 1500 is 98th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why are you only focused on the very specific score of 1530 or above?

Most school AOs I talked to consider 1500+ top tier and the percent would be more interesting if you shared info on percentage of 1500+ not just limiting it to 1530+.

1530 is the midpoint for T20. The choice makes sense.
But yeah, you can do the same for other points, for example, 75 percentile or 1570.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The CB figures on number over 1530 or 15whatever does not include superscorers.

I thought the same thing. There are probably a lot more 1530+ scorers with superscoring, so while I'm sure many high scorers get into these top schools I am really not convinced it is the majority.

[Anonymous]

In a normal distribution, scores cluster around the mean, making small improvements in the lower and middle ranges relatively easier to achieve compared to the upper tail, where scores are sparser. This statistical property means that moving from a 1500 to a 1530 requires outperforming a much larger proportion of test-takers, as the density of high scores decreases exponentially.

[Anonymous]

I dont know if the "consensus" is 1 or 1.5% score that but you have to also factor in all the kids that get a 35 on the ACT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 1570 single sitting scorer didn’t apply to any of these schools. I’m sure she isn’t the only one.

80% of 1560+ end up at one of T20. The chance is even higher if taking out some who never apply to T20 like PP.

i think this is a gross exaggeration. See national merit scholars by school. Majority are not at top 20

[Anonymous]

Our private college counselor said the cut off for the sat scores was 1540/35 not 1500 or even 1530.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 1570 single sitting scorer didn’t apply to any of these schools. I’m sure she isn’t the only one.

80% of 1560+ end up at one of T20. The chance is even higher if taking out some who never apply to T20 like PP.

i think this is a gross exaggeration. See national merit scholars by school. Majority are not at top 20

NMS is not nearly as important as SAT score.
Everyone can just look at own school's naviance to verify this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 1570 single sitting scorer didn’t apply to any of these schools. I’m sure she isn’t the only one.

80% of 1560+ end up at one of T20. The chance is even higher if taking out some who never apply to T20 like PP.

i think this is a gross exaggeration. See national merit scholars by school. Majority are not at top 20

Since the NMSF index is state-based, you have scores much lower than an SAT equivalent 1560 to qualify for a majority of states. 1570+ on the SAT is a "rare" score.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 1570 single sitting scorer didn’t apply to any of these schools. I’m sure she isn’t the only one.

80% of 1560+ end up at one of T20. The chance is even higher if taking out some who never apply to T20 like PP.

i think this is a gross exaggeration. See national merit scholars by school. Majority are not at top 20

Since the NMSF index is state-based, you have scores much lower than an SAT equivalent 1560 to qualify for a majority of states. 1570+ on the SAT is a "rare" score.

Also test prep, superscoring, multiple sitting have much smaller boost for 1570+. It's just hard.

[Anonymous]

An analysis of the SFFA v Harvard data indicates that an applicant to Harvard who had a 1570+ SAT had a 15% (Asian) to 25% (non-hispanic white) chance of admission.

Post SFFA Asians and Whites have a 25%-30% chance.

That's how hard it is to get a 1570, even superscored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An analysis of the SFFA v Harvard data indicates that an applicant to Harvard who had a 1570+ SAT had a 15% (Asian) to 25% (non-hispanic white) chance of admission.

Post SFFA Asians and Whites have a 25%-30% chance.

That's how hard it is to get a 1570, even superscored.

Those percent chances don’t seem as high as I’d expect for a 1570. That said, it appears that places like Caltech, UPenn, and John’s Hopkins get (attract) the really high scorers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An analysis of the SFFA v Harvard data indicates that an applicant to Harvard who had a 1570+ SAT had a 15% (Asian) to 25% (non-hispanic white) chance of admission.

Post SFFA Asians and Whites have a 25%-30% chance.

That's how hard it is to get a 1570, even superscored.

How about a Hispanic who scored a 1570?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An analysis of the SFFA v Harvard data indicates that an applicant to Harvard who had a 1570+ SAT had a 15% (Asian) to 25% (non-hispanic white) chance of admission.

Post SFFA Asians and Whites have a 25%-30% chance.

That's how hard it is to get a 1570, even superscored.

Those percent chances don’t seem as high as I’d expect for a 1570. That said, it appears that places like Caltech, UPenn, and John’s Hopkins get (attract) the really high scorers.

They are applying to multiple T20s, not just Harvard. It's the accumulated probablity over multiple schools that counts. A harvard reject may get admitted to several other T20s.

Even for Harvard, the chance increased from 3-4% to 15-25%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The consensus is that at between 1% to 1.5% of all test takers, including super scorers, score above 1530. There were approximately 1.97 million test takers according to the college board. 19,700 to 29,500 SAT takers scored above 1530.

Data is based mostly on 2024-2025. SAT above 1530:
Harvard: 54% submitted an SAT (892 students). 65% scored above 1530. 580 students
Yale: 61% submitted an SAT (950 students). 50% scored above 1530. 475 students
Princeton: 56% submitted an SAT (783 students). 50% scored above 1530. 391 students
Columbia: Those applying to Columbia know why it isn't here
Brown: 61% submitted an SAT (1,046 students). 40% scored above a 1530. 418 students
Cornell: 44.9% submitted an SAT (1,583 students). 35% scored above a 1530. 554 students
Dartmouth: (2020 data) Dartmouth as you know started to hid its SAT scores post-covid. 57% submitted an SAT. 682 students. 30% score above a 1530. 204 students
UPenn: 50% submitted an SAT. 1,204 students. 80% scored above a 1530. 963 students.
MIT: 83% submitted an SAT. 918 students. 65% scored above 1530. 596 students
Stanford: 50% submitted an SAT. 857 students. 60% scored above a 1530. 514 students
Caltech: Pre-covid: 79% submitted an SAT. 186 students 75% scored above a 1530. 140 students.
Duke: 47% submitted an SAT. 824 students. 65% scored above a 1530. 535 students
Rice: 48% submitted an SAT score. 546 students. 60% scored above a 1530. 262 students.
Northwestern: 46% submitted an SAT score. 963 students. 55% scored above a 1530. 529 students.
Georgetown: 78% submitted an SAT score. 1232 students. 30% scored above a 1530. 369 students.
Notre Dame: 684 submitted an SAT score. 30% scored above a 1530. 205 students.
Vanderbilt: 27% submitted an SAT score. 447 students. 60% scored above a 1530. 268 students.
Emory: 43% submitted an SAT score. 623 students. 30% scored above a 1530. 186 students.
WashU: 29% submitted an SAT score. 538 students. 60% scored above a 1530. 322 students.
Johns Hopkins 50% submitted an SAT score. 691 students. 75% scored above a 1530. 518 students
NYU: 28% submitted an SAT score. 1598 students. 35% scored above a 1530. 559 students.
Georgia Tech: 77% submitted an SAT score. 2,966 students. 25% scored above a 1530. 741 students.
USC: 30% submitted an SAT score. 1044 students. 55% scored above a 1530. 574 students.
Illinois: 41% submitted an SAT score. 3,719 students. 15% scored above a 1530. 550 students.
UMichigan: 51% submitted an SAT score. 3,697 students. 25% scored above a 1530. 924 students.
Tufts: 38% submitted an SAT score. 687 students. 30% scored above a 1530. 206 students
Northeastern: 24% submitted an SAT score. 653 students. 20% scored above a 1530. 130 students
Boston University: 33% submitted an SAT score. 1,093 students. 25% scored above a 1530. 273 students
Boston College: 28% submitted an SAT score. 662 students. 20% scored above a 1530. 132 students.
Univ of Washington: 1,069 submitted an SAT score. 10% scored above 1530. 106 students
UVA: 45% submitted an SAT score. 1,805 students. 15% scored above a 1530. 270 students.
UNC: 28% submitted an SAT score. 1,320 students. 25% scored above a 1530. 330 students.
Williams College: 35% submitted an SAT score. 190 students. 55% scored above a 1530. 104 students.
Amherst College. 39% submitted an SAT score. 187 students. 55% scored above a 1530. 103 students

Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Claremont-McKenna, Pitzer, and Scripps: Average about 50-75 students each who score above 1530. Purdue's SAT 75% is only 1470, but 9000 submitted an SAT. I estimate that at least 500 students there have an SAT above 1530. 200-250 total.

This figure doesn't include those SAT scorers above 1530 who enroll at UC Berkeley or UCLA. Pre-covid, combined they had about 2,500 SAT scorers above 1530.

Chances are very good that if you scored above 1530 on an SAT you are attending one of these colleges.

These numbers are made up. How does USC have 55% of students scoring 1530 or higher when their median is 1480?