SAT Scores for Admission to Top Public Universities

If you're wondering if you have the SAT scores you'll need to get into one of the top public universities in the United States, here's a side-by-side comparison of scores for the middle 50% of enrolled students. If your scores fall within or above these ranges, you're on target for admission to one of these top universities.

Realize, of course, that SAT scores are just one part of the application. Perfect 800s don't guarantee admission if other parts of your application are weak. Admissions officers will also want to see a strong academic record, a winning essay, meaningful extracurricular activities and good letters of recommendation.

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

To see a full profile of each college, click on the names in the chart below. You can also check out these other SAT charts (or ACT charts):

SAT Comparison Charts: the Ivy League | top universities (non-Ivy) | top liberal arts colleges | more top liberal arts | top public universities | top public liberal arts colleges | University of California campuses | Cal State campuses | SUNY campuses | more SAT charts

2007-08 data from 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%
College of William and Mary	630	740	620	710	620	710
Georgia Tech	590	690	650	730	580	670
UC Berkeley	580	710	620	740	590	710
UCLA	570	680	610	720	580	690
UC San Diego	540	660	600	700	560	670
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign	550	670	640	740	-	-
University of Michigan	590	690	630	730	-	-
UNC Chapel Hill	590	690	610	700	580	680
University of Virginia	590	700	610	720	600	700