What is a Good SAT Score for the Ivy League?

If you’re aiming for admission to an Ivy League university, one of the first questions you’re likely to ask is: what is a good SAT score for the Ivy League? With acceptance rates sitting firmly in the single digits, understanding how your SAT results compare to successful applicants is essential.

Although the Ivy League does not publish official SAT cut-offs, the data shows a clear pattern. Students who gain admission typically achieve exceptionally high SAT scores, placing them among the top 1–2% of all test-takers. A score that might be considered excellent nationally can still fall short in the context of Ivy League admissions.

What SAT Score is Required for the Ivies?

There is no official SAT score requirement for the Ivy League. None of the eight Ivy League universities publishes a minimum or cut-off score. However, successful applicants almost always achieve exceptionally high SAT results, placing them among the top scorers globally.

We can illustrate this using the average SAT score  for applicants who were accepted by each Ivy League college.

Average SAT score for Accepted Applicants – Ivy League

	Average SAT score	25th Percentile	75th Percentile
Dartmouth	1540	1500	1580
Princeton	1535	1510	1560
Cornell	1535	1510	1560
Brown	1535	1510	1560
Harvard	1530	1500	1580
Yale	1530	1500	1560
Upenn	1500	1430	1570
Columbia	1500	1470	1530

As we can see, the 25^th percentile for admitted applicants rarely falls below 1500 at Ivy League schools. This means that fewer than 25% of successful applicants had SAT scores below 1500.

The 75^th percentile score varies, but generally sits at 1560-1580: in other words, for your SAT score to start really impressing Ivy League admissions teams, you need to be scoring in the mid to high 1500s. A good SAT score for the Ivy League can thus be considered to be 1560+, though you may still be competitive with a lower score.

The average SAT score for Harvard is 1530, while the Ivy League college with the highest average score is Dartmouth, with 1540. At the lower end, UPenn and Columbia have an average score of 1500. As we shall see, this would still require you to score in the top 2% of all test-takers.

Average SAT Score for Accepted Applicants – Selected Other Universities

	Average SAT score	25th Percentile	75th Percentile
MIT	1550	1520	1580
Stanford	1540	1510	1570
Northwestern	1530	1500	1560
Duke	1525	1490	1560
Georgetown	1460	1390	1530
UCLA	1400	1290	1510
Penn State	1330	1250	1410

A survey of other popular US universities reveals that many non-Ivy League colleges also have punishingly high average SAT scores. The average SAT score for MIT is 1550, higher than any Ivy, while at Stanford, it is 1540.

Other Ivy Plus schools like Duke and Northwestern have average scores for successful applicants at around the same level as Harvard and Yale.

SAT Score Percentiles

We’ve seen that a good SAT score for the Ivy League and other competitive US universities is often 1560+. But how difficult is it to achieve that score?

One way to answer this question is to look at the SAT score percentiles.

Percentile	Score
99+	1560
98	1500
90	1350
80	1230
70	1150
60	1080
50	1010
40	940
30	880
20	810
10	740

What is the average SAT score?

From this table, we can tell that the (median) average SAT score is currently 1010 – though this varies from year to year; it is usually between 1000 and 1050.

What else do the SAT Score Percentiles Tell Us?

What if you scored in the 90^th percentile, i.e. the top 10%? That would ‘only’ get you to 1350, still hundreds of points away from a good score for most Ivies.

To score 1500, usually around the 25^th percentile for admitted students at most Ivies, you’d need to come int the top 2% of all test-takers. And to get that coveted 1560+ score and stand out in the Ivy League admissions process, you’d have to come in the top 0.5% of all students who took the SAT.

Good SAT Score by Section

So far, we’ve looked at good composite SAT scores – i.e. your total score, taking into account both sections of the test. But what is a good score for each section?

Math

A good Math SAT score depends on what you are aiming for. In 2022, College Board reported that the average score for the Math section was 521 (they have not publicly reported that stat since). From one point of view, scoring higher than this is good, as it would place you in the top half of test-takers.

A Math SAT score of 600+ would comfortably put you in the top 25% of all students who took the test. But if you’re aiming for the Ivy League, you’ll need to score a lot higher. Most admitted students to Harvard have a Math score of 760+, with many hitting a perfect 800.

The very highest sores are slightly more common in Math than in Reading – around 1% of students get 800 in Math but less than 0.5% do so in Reading.

Reading

As with Math, a good SAT Reading score depends on your aims. In 2022, the average for this section was 529, so scoring higher than that would mean you did better than most students.

A Reading score of 600+ would place you in the top quartile of all test-takers. But once again, a good SAT Reading score for the Ivy League will be much more demanding. Taking Harvard as our example again, the middle 50% of accepted students achieve scores of 740-780 in the Reading section.

How many people get a 1600 on the SAT?

1600 on the SAT is a perfect score – if you achieve this, there’s nothing more you could have done to impress the Ivies.

But how many people actually get a 1600? Well, to score 1600, you need to get 800 on both sections.

As we know, around 1% get 800 on Math but less than 0.5% get 800 on Reading – so the number getting 1600 will be less than 0.5% – in other words, it’s incredibly rare.

If you’re aiming for 1600, our webinar on ‘How to get 1500+ in the SAT’ contains expert test tips from Charlotte McKechnie, a Harvard grad who was admitted by four Ivies.

How to Improve Your Score

Dukes Plus’s SAT preparation offers the highest level of support for students getting ready to take the test. From elite SAT tutoring with graduates of top colleges to rigorous courses, our support is proven to boost students’ scores. Our average tutee improves their score by 200+ points after a 25-hour programme.