SAT Scores for Admission to Four-Year Oklahoma Colleges

Find out if you have the SAT scores you'll need to get into one of Oklahoma's four-year colleges and universities. The state offers a wide range of options: you'll find huge state universities and tiny private colleges. Along with comprehensive universities, you'll find specialized schools with missions that focus on health, technology, or religion. Admissions standards vary widely, from highly selective University of Tulsa to several schools with open admissions.

At many of Oklahoma's colleges and universities, the SAT or ACT is a required part of the application. The table below can help you figure out if your SAT scores are on target for admission. 

What These SAT Scores Mean

The table above can help guide you as you figure out if your SAT scores are on target for your top choice Oklahoma schools. The SAT scores in the table are for the middle 50% of matriculated students. In other words, half of students who attend a given school have scores within the ranges shown. If your scores fall within or above these ranges, you're on target for admission. If your scores are slightly below the range presented in the table, you can still get in. It's important to remember that 25% of enrolled students have SAT scores below the lower number in the table.

As an example, for Oklahoma State University, 50% of matriculated students had SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (ERW) scores between 540 and 640. This tells us that 25% of students had ERW scores of 640 or higher, and another 25% had ERW scores of 540 or lower.

Note that the ACT is much more popular than the SAT in Oklahoma, and at some schools over 90% of students submit ACT scores. Because of the low number of reported SAT scores, some colleges do not publish SAT data (this is true for Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and University of Central Oklahoma). If this is the case for a school that interests you, you can use the SAT to ACT conversion table and then look at the ACT version of the table below.

Holistic Admissions

It's also important to put the SAT in perspective. The test is just a single part of the application, and a strong academic record with challenging college preparatory courses is even more important than test scores. Many of the colleges will also be looking for a strong essay, meaningful extracurricular activities and good letters of recommendation. These non-numerical measures will be particularly important at selective schools such as the University of Oklahoma. 

Test-Optional Colleges in Oklahoma

If you're not happy with your SAT score (or ACT scores), you still have plenty of options in Oklahoma. The state is home to plenty of test-optional colleges and universities that do not consider standardized test scores when making admissions decisions.

For some schools, students who meet certain requirements for their high school GPA or class rank do not need to submit test scores. This is true for eleven Oklahoma colleges and universities: East Central University, Langston University, Northeastern State University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma State University-Stillwater, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Southwestern Christian University, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, University of Central Oklahoma, and University of Sciences and Arts of Oklahoma.

Other schools are test-optional for all applicants. Four universities have this policy: Cameron University, Mid-American Christian University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, and Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma Schools with Open Admissions

Five Oklahoma universities have open admissions: Cameron University, Langston University, Mid-America Christian University, Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City, and South Nazarene University. 

"Open" does not mean that everyone who applies will be admitted. Rather, it means that the school does not have holistic admissions and every student who meets certain requirements related to GPA, high school preparation, and test scores will be admitted. 

A Final Word About SAT Scores in Oklahoma

With the high number of test-optional and open admission schools, standardized tests will often not play a significant role in the admissions process in Oklahoma. That said, even if a school doesn't require scores, you should submit them if you did well on the SAT. Also keep in mind that SAT scores will often be used for advising purposes, class placement, NCAA reporting, and scholarship applications. 

Data Source: The National Center for Education Statistics