This is one of those questions that people often ask without thinking. When I hear the question, the first thing that comes to my mind is “for which college?”
What SAT Score Do I Need for Stanford University?
Even after a clarification that the school in question is Stanford, the answer may not be that meaningful. I am sure that there are students at Stanford University with an SAT score of less than 1000. Likewise, there are probably thousands of students with an SAT score of 1580 who do not get accepted.
Consider the Middle 50%
A more meaningful statistic is the middle 50%. Schools will often list their SAT scores (or ACT score or GPA) as a pair of numbers called the middle 50%. For Stanford University, the middle 50% is 1420-1570. Here is what that means: If you have 1420 on the SAT, you did better than 25% of the students, but 75% did better than you. If you have 1570 on the SAT, you did better than 75% of the students, but 25% did better than you.
So, if you have the 25% number, you need to have a super-impressive profile in other aspects. If you have the 75% number, your chances are better than many others, but it’s still no guarantee of admissions.
Anecdotal Stories are Misleading
I often hear parents talk about their co-worker’s kid who got into this college or that college with a certain SAT score, and that score becomes Gospel. However, SAT scores (and GPA) are only a part of the consideration, and it would be a serious mistake to determine chances of admissions without considering a myriad of other factors.
