Understanding the 85th Percentile SAT Score

So, I've heard the term '85th percentile SAT score' being thrown around a bit. Could anyone clarify what this means exactly? And what kind of colleges usually look for scores in this percentile range?

The term '85th percentile SAT score' refers to a score that is higher than 85% of the other scores. If your score is at the 85th percentile, it means that out of 100 students, you scored higher than 85 of them.

This percentile rank is a way of comparing your score to others—in this case with SAT scores, other test takers. Percentiles are often used by educational institutions to understand how well a student has done in comparison to others.

As for what kind of colleges look for scores in the 85th percentile: it really varies. Many selective or highly selective schools will have average SAT scores that are around the 90th percentile or above. For the 85th percentile, you are looking at a score of approximately 1200 (though this number can slightly vary from year to year). Colleges that might accept an 85th percentile score could fall into the 'more selective' or 'selective' categories, but of course, this varies greatly. Some of these schools might include institutions like University of California schools (apart from the very top ones like Berkeley or LA), or University of Texas at Austin.

Remember, though, colleges also consider other factors in admission—like grades, course rigor, extracurricular activities, and essays—so the SAT score is just one part of the picture. Different schools also place different emphasis on SAT scores. Some schools might consider them very important, while others might place more emphasis on other aspects of a student's application.