What are the SAT score requirements for different colleges?

I'm trying to figure out what kind of SAT score I need to aim for to get into a decent college. I've heard that some schools have specific score requirements for admissions, but I'm not sure how that works. Do most colleges publish a minimum SAT score requirement? How do these requirements vary between reach, target, and safety schools? I'm planning to apply to a mix, but I want to make sure my SAT score is competitive enough. Any advice on how to interpret these requirements would be super helpful!

Most schools don't publish a strict minimum SAT score requirement, instead, they often provide the middle 50% SAT scores of their admitted students. It's called the middle 50% because 50% of admitted students had SAT scores within this range. For instance, if University X's middle 50% is between 1450 and 1550, this means that 25% of admitted students had an SAT score less than 1450, 50% had scores between 1450 and 1550, and 25% had a score higher than 1550.

When it comes to reach, target, and safety schools, different rules apply. Reach schools are those where your SAT scores are below the middle 50% range, meaning it's more difficult, but not impossible, to receive an offer of admission. For target or match schools, you're aiming to be within the middle 50% range, or even higher, if possible. You know a school is a safety when your SAT scores are reliably above the 75th percentile – this means you are amongst the top test scorers that are admitted to that particular college.

The variance in requirements from school to school largely rests upon the selectivity of the institutions and their average admitted student profile. For instance, for highly selective colleges like Harvard or Stanford, the middle 50% range tends to hover around the upper-1400s to 1600, which is the max score. In less selective universities or colleges, the range might start around 1100 or even lower.

Keep in mind though that SAT scores are just one part of your college application. Many schools consider your academic record, your extracurricular activities, your essays, your letters of recommendation, and other factors when deciding admissions. Also, some schools are test-blind or test-optional, which means they don't consider SAT or ACT scores at all, or they leave it up to the student to decide whether to submit the scores or not. A good example of the latter would be New York University (NYU).

The best way to apply this information is to use these score ranges as reference, but also take note of the overall strength of your application when defining what a reach, target, or safety school might be for you. Remember, achieving competitiveness isn't necessarily about hitting a specified number on a test, it’s about presenting a strong academic profile and a good fit for the school's community.