SAT Scores for Admission to Public Universities

Do you have the SAT scores you need to get into a competitive public university? This article compares the SAT scores of accepted students for 22 highly ranked public universities. If your scores fall within or above the range in the chart below, you're on target for admission to one of these great public universities. Also check out the SAT comparison chart for the top 10 public universities.

SAT scores are just one part of the application. It's possible to have scores above the averages presented here and still get rejected if other parts of your application are weak. Similarly, some students with scores significantly below the ranges listed here gain admission because they demonstrate other strengths.

Also, if you are an out-of-state applicant, you may need to have SAT scores significantly higher than those shown here. Most state-funded universities give preference to in-state applicants.

To see a full profile of each public university including acceptance rates and financial aid information, click on the names in the chart below. You can also check out these other SAT charts (or ACT charts):

SAT Comparison Charts: Ivy League | top universities | top liberal arts | top engineering | more top liberal arts | top public universities | top public liberal arts colleges | University of California campuses | Cal State campuses | SUNY campuses | more SAT charts

Data from the National Center for Educational Statistics

Top Public University SAT Scores (mid 50%)
(Learn what these numbers mean)

	SAT Scores
	Reading		Math		Writing
	25%	75%	25%	75%	25%	75%
Binghamton	580	670	620	700	570	660
Clemson	550	650	590	680	540	640
Connecticut	550	640	580	670	-	-
Delaware	540	650	560	660	540	640
Florida	570	670	590	690	-	-
Georgia	560	660	560	670	560	660
Indiana	510	630	540	650	510	620
James Madison	540	640	550	650	540	640
Maryland	580	680	610	710	-	-
Minnesota	540	690	610	740	550	670
Ohio State	540	660	600	700	550	650
Penn State	530	630	560	670	530	640
Pitt	570	680	600	690	560	660
Purdue	490	610	550	690	500	610
Rutgers	520	630	560	680	560	640
Texas	540	670	580	710	540	680
Texas A&M	530	650	570	670	510	620
UC Davis	520	650	570	680	530	650
UC Irvine	510	620	560	680	520	640
UCSB	540	650	550	670	540	650
Virginia Tech	540	640	570	670	540	630
Washington	520	650	580	700	540	650
See the ACT version of this table