SAT Scores for Admission to Top Engineering Schools

A comparison of admissions data for top engineering schools is tricky since different universities handle engineering admissions differently. At some schools, engineering students apply for general admission just like all applicants. At others, the applicant pool for engineering is handled separately from other applicants. For example, at Illinois admission to the engineering school is far more competitive than general admissions.

Universities with a largely technological focus -- Caltech, MIT, and Georgia Tech -- do not have separate admissions for engineers. Also, Stanford believes that engineers should still have a broad general education and does not have a separate application for their engineering school. Nevertheless, universities will look for strong math skills from engineering applicants.

Many of the large comprehensive universities with separate engineering schools have different admissions standards for engineering applicants. This is true for Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Illinois, Michigan and Purdue. Berkeley's admissions are the messiest of all, for admissions are different for each engineering field. Students who apply to Berkeley with their engineering field "undeclared" face the toughest admissions standards of all.

When the data is available, the chart below represents SAT scores for the middle 50% of engineering students who enroll. Michigan and Berkeley do not post specific data for engineers, so the numbers below reflect university-wide general admissions. Engineering numbers are likely higher, especially for math.

Realize, of course, that SAT scores are just one part of the application. Admissions officers at the top engineering schools will also be looking for a strong high school record, good letters of recommendation, a well-crafted essay and meaningful extracurricular activities.

You can also check out these other SAT links:

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

data from National Center for Educational Statistics and University Web Sites

Top Engineering Schools SAT Score Comparison (mid 50%)
(Learn what these numbers mean)

	SAT Scores
	Reading		Math		Writing
	25%	75%	25%	75%	25%	75%
Berkeley (general admissions)	600	730	630	760	610	740
Caltech	700	790	760	800	700	790
Carnegie Mellon (CIT)	630	730	680	780	640	740
Cornell (engineering)	660	750	720	800	-	-
Georgia Tech	590	690	650	740	590	690
Illinois (engineering)	1920 - 2150 (reading, math, writing)
Michigan (general admissions)	630	730	670	770	650	750
MIT	670	770	740	800	660	770
Purdue (engineering)	1720 - 2010 (reading, math, writing)
Stanford	670	770	690	780	680	780