# SAT Scores for Ivy League and Top 25 in 2026 | topin

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## Where these numbers come from

Every range is section C9 of the college’s own 2025–26 Common Data Set: the 25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-years (mostly autumn 2025 entrants) who submitted an SAT score. A quarter of enrolled students scored below the 25th-percentile figure. At test-optional colleges, students with lower scores are less likely to submit, so those ranges can sit higher than the whole class.

Harvard, Penn and Caltech report section ranges but no composite; adding the section figures does not give a valid composite, so the composite column says “not published”. Testing policies were checked separately on admissions pages on 4 October 2026 and apply to autumn 2027 entry.

## Ivy League SAT scores and 2027 testing policies

__2025–26 Common Data Sets (enrolled score submitters); policies for autumn 2027 entry__
| College                          | Total, middle 50% | Reading and Writing | Math    | Autumn 2027 testing                       |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| Brown                            | 1470–1550         | 730–770             | 730–790 | Required                                  |
| Columbia College and Engineering | 1510–1560         | 740–777             | 760–800 | Optional; required from autumn 2028       |
| Cornell                          | 1490–1550         | 730–770             | 770–800 | Required                                  |
| Dartmouth                        | 1440–1550         | 720–770             | 720–790 | Required; alternatives for schools abroad |
| Harvard                          | Not published     | 720–770             | 730–790 | Required                                  |
| Penn                             | Not published     | 740–770             | 770–800 | Required (hardship waiver)                |
| Princeton                        | 1490–1560         | 740–780             | 760–800 | Optional; required from autumn 2028       |
| Yale                             | 1480–1560         | 730–780             | 740–790 | Required                                  |

The Ivies do not share one policy. For autumn 2027, Princeton and Columbia are still test-optional and the other six require the SAT or ACT; [our tracker of colleges that require the SAT](/articles/colleges-requiring-sat-2026) has the details and the dates each change starts. Columbia reports its Reading and Writing 75th percentile as 777, and it is shown as published.

## MIT, Stanford and Caltech: Math is near the ceiling

__2025–26 Common Data Sets; policies for autumn 2027 entry__
| College  | Total, middle 50% | Reading and Writing | Math    | Autumn 2027 testing |
| -------- | ----------------- | ------------------- | ------- | ------------------- |
| MIT      | 1520–1570         | 740–780             | 780–800 | Required            |
| Stanford | 1520–1570         | 750–780             | 770–800 | Required            |
| Caltech  | Not published     | 760–780             | 790–800 | Required            |

At these three, a quarter of enrolled students scored 780 or above in Math at MIT and 790 or above at Caltech, so the total hides how concentrated the Math scores are. A 1520 built from 780 Reading and Writing and 740 Math sits below the middle of MIT’s Math range even though the total is in range. Neither MIT nor Stanford sets a minimum score.

Stanford’s figures describe a class admitted when testing was optional; applicants for autumn 2027 must submit a score.

## SAT ranges at 14 other top colleges

__Total score middle 50% from 2025–26 Common Data Sets; policies for autumn 2027 entry__
| College               | Total, middle 50%                            | Autumn 2027 testing                              |
| --------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Duke                  | 1510–1570                                    | Optional                                         |
| Johns Hopkins         | 1530–1565                                    | Required                                         |
| Northwestern          | 1520–1560                                    | Optional                                         |
| University of Chicago | 1500–1560                                    | Optional (“no harm” policy)                      |
| Rice                  | 1510–1560                                    | Recommended                                      |
| Vanderbilt            | 1510–1560                                    | Optional; required from autumn 2029              |
| Notre Dame            | 1460–1540                                    | Optional; required from autumn 2028              |
| WashU                 | 1500–1550                                    | Optional                                         |
| Emory College         | 1480–1540                                    | Optional                                         |
| Carnegie Mellon       | 1500–1560 (autumn 2024 entrants)             | Varies by college; required for Computer Science |
| Michigan, Ann Arbor   | 1370–1530                                    | Optional                                         |
| Virginia              | Not checked: Common Data Set page unreadable | Optional                                         |
| UC Berkeley           | Not reported                                 | Not considered                                   |
| UCLA                  | Not reported                                 | Not considered                                   |

Carnegie Mellon’s range covers the whole university, not its School of Computer Science. Berkeley and UCLA leave the SAT fields blank because the University of California does not consider scores for admission or scholarships, so a higher SAT does not help there.

## How to read your score against these ranges

__What your score means against a college’s middle 50%__
| Your score                | What it means                       | What to do                                                                      |
| ------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Above the 75th percentile | A strong score for that college     | Send it; focus on the rest of the application                                   |
| Between the 25th and 75th | Typical of enrolled students        | Send it where required; usually worth sending where optional                    |
| Below the 25th percentile | Lower than most enrolled submitters | Required: send it anyway, or retake. Optional: weigh it against your transcript |

Being inside the range is not a prediction of admission: at colleges this selective, most applicants with in-range scores are still turned down. Use the ranges to set a target, then [check what your score means in percentiles](/articles/good-sat-score) among all test takers.

## Setting your target and knowing when to stop

* List the colleges where your score will actually count; leave out the UC campuses.
* Take each college’s 75th-percentile section scores as your reach target and its midpoint as your floor.
* Find the section with the biggest gap; if your colleges [superscore](/articles/sat-superscore-colleges-2026), a retake only needs to raise that section.
* Stop testing once you are at or above the midpoint everywhere, and spend the time on essays and coursework.

There is no official answer to “how many questions can I miss for 1550”, because adaptive scoring depends on which questions you miss; [our SAT curve guide](/articles/sat-curve-test-dates-2026) explains why.

To see where you stand now, turn a timed practice test into estimated section scores with the [SAT score calculator](/sat/score-calculator).

## Try a full SAT mock free

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## FAQs

What SAT score do I need for the Ivy League?

There is no minimum. Middle-50% ranges run from about 1440–1550 at Dartmouth to 1510–1560 at Columbia, so 1500 puts you in range at most Ivies.

Is 1500 enough for MIT or Stanford?

It is below both colleges’ 25th percentile of 1520, so it is lower than most enrolled submitters, though it does not rule you out.

What is Harvard’s SAT range?

Harvard’s 2025–26 Common Data Set reports 720–770 in Reading and Writing and 730–790 in Math, with no composite range.

Do all Ivy League colleges require the SAT for 2027 entry?

No. Princeton and Columbia remain test-optional for autumn 2027 and require scores from autumn 2028.

Should I send an SAT score below a college’s 25th percentile?

If the college requires testing, yes. If it is optional, send it only if it fits the strength of the rest of your application.

Can an SAT score help at Berkeley or UCLA?

No. The University of California does not consider SAT or ACT scores for admission or scholarships.

## Sources (checked 4 October 2026)

* [Harvard: Common Data Set 2025–26 (mirror of university PDF)](https://api.collegedata.fyi/storage/v1/object/public/sources/harvard/2025-26/bc0d10385acded234651a302b4a890c89d2d30ee24476a079218244cfd554985.pdf)
* [Brown: Common Data Set 2025–26 (mirror of university PDF)](https://api.collegedata.fyi/storage/v1/object/public/sources/brown/2025-26/e45da2405f678ccaf78f36640359c83b4cec8c173a1b2ca93e7aefe3d899291c.pdf)
* [Penn: Common Data Set 2025–26 (mirror of university PDF)](https://api.collegedata.fyi/storage/v1/object/public/sources/upenn/2025-26/a93fd07e0e81c9e403b88390ddafdc08af3e7446a57e9f99904b037797f9cd65.pdf)
* [Princeton: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://ir.princeton.edu/document/606)
* [Yale: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://oir.yale.edu/sites/default/files/yale%5Fcds%5F2025-26%5Fmd%5F20260616.pdf)
* [Columbia: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://opir.columbia.edu/sites/opir.columbia.edu/files/content/Common%20Data%20Set/2025-26%5FColumbia%5FCollege%5Fand%5FColumbia%5FEnginnering%5FCDS.pdf)
* [Cornell: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://irp.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Cornell-Common-Data-Set-2025-26.pdf)
* [Dartmouth: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://www.dartmouth.edu/oir/pdfs/cds%5F2025-26.pdf)
* [MIT: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://ir.mit.edu/projects/2025-26-common-data-set/)
* [Stanford: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GIPKgVj1d86dkmLkHI%5FmZVCk%5FiY6kiCp/view)
* [Caltech: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://iro.caltech.edu/documents/35129/Caltech%5FCDS%5F2025-26%5FAugust%5F2026.pdf)
* [Duke: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://ir.provost.duke.edu/sites/default/files/CDS%5FPDF%5F2025-2026-20260622-website-published-version.pdf)
* [Johns Hopkins: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://oira.jhu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025-2026-CDS-Johns-Hopkins-University-v2.pdf)
* [Northwestern: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://enrollment.northwestern.edu/data/2025-2026.pdf)
* [University of Chicago: Common Data Set 2025–26 (mirror of university PDF)](https://api.collegedata.fyi/storage/v1/object/public/sources/uchicago/2025-26/492d2a3a1f9ad62cd207444d84b06ce8d83b4af4661efd5f8aadd526488cd58e.pdf)
* [Rice: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://ideas.rice.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/CDS%5F2025-26%5FWEBSITE%5FUpdated%5F9-28-2026.pdf)
* [Vanderbilt: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-wpfsx/wp-content/uploads/sites/70/2026/07/CDS%5F2025-2026.xlsx)
* [Notre Dame: Common Data Set 2025–26 (mirror of university PDF)](https://api.collegedata.fyi/storage/v1/object/public/sources/university-of-notre-dame/2025-26/8cc4d7972006ee3d6941fc89336a8cba4662437529290d9a5e6e2641b6602d1f.pdf)
* [WashU: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://washu.edu/app/uploads/2026/06/2025-2026-WashU-CDS.pdf)
* [Emory: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://provost.emory.edu/planning-administration/%5Fincludes/documents/sections/institutional-data/emory-common-date-set-2025-2026.pdf)
* [Carnegie Mellon: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://www.cmu.edu/ira/CDS/pdf/cds%5F2025%5F26/cds-2025-c-first-time-first-year-admission.pdf)
* [Michigan: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://obp.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/pubdata/cds/cds%5F2025-26%5Fumaa.pdf)
* [Virginia: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://ira.virginia.edu/common-data-set/common-data-set-2025-2026)
* [Berkeley: Common Data Set](https://opa.berkeley.edu/campus-data/common-data-set)
* [UCLA: Common Data Set 2025–26](https://apb.ucla.edu/file/d1ab04b3-ee89-4cf2-9124-8dc0471b5e5a)
* [MIT: Tests and scores](https://mitadmissions.org/apply/firstyear/tests-scores/)
* [Stanford: Testing](https://admission.stanford.edu/apply/first-year/testing.html)
* [Princeton: Standardized testing](https://admission.princeton.edu/apply/standardized-testing)
* [Columbia: Testing policy update](https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/testing-policy-update)
* [University of California: Standardized testing decision](https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/press-room/university-california-board-regents-unanimously-approved-changes-standardized-testing)

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