Ivy League SAT Scores: Fall 2010 Enrollees

This article ranks the eight Ivy League colleges and universities by average (midhinge) SAT scores for Fall 2010 enrollees.

The SAT college placement exam is a standardized test that comprises three sections: Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing. Each section of the SAT is worth a total of 800 points; therefore, a perfect score is 2400.

The eight Ivy League colleges and universities are historically and perennially among the most selective in the world. Acceptance rates for these institutions is invariably less than 20% and in many cases less than 10%. For Fall 2010 Ivy League applicants, acceptance rates ranged from 7% to 18% while enrolllment rates ranged between 48% and 76%.

Whether an applicant is accepted for admission to an Ivy League school is largely dependent on his or her SAT score. Average SAT scores for recent enrollees at these eight institutions ranged from 2084 to 2255. Five of these schools rank among the top ten in the United States in average SAT scores.

The following Ivy League SAT score rankings include each institution's location, average SAT score, acceptance rate, and enrollment rate.

1. Ivy League SAT Scores: Yale University

Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Average SAT Score: 2255
Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment Rate: 67%*

2. Ivy League SAT Scores: Harvard University

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Average SAT Score: 2245
Acceptance Rate: 7%
Enrollment Rate: 76%

3. Ivy League SAT Scores: Princeton University

Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Average SAT Score: 2235
Acceptance Rate: 9%
Enrollment Rate: 57%

4. Ivy League SAT Scores: Columbia University

Location: New York, New York
Average SAT Score: 2215
Acceptance Rate: 10%
Enrollment Rate: 57%*

5. Ivy League SAT Scores: Dartmouth College

Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
Average SAT Score: 2205
Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment Rate: 48%*

6. Ivy League SAT Scores: University of Pennsylvania

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Average SAT Score: 2165
Acceptance Rate: 14%
Enrollment Rate: 63%

7. Ivy League SAT Scores: Brown University

Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Average SAT Score: 2150
Acceptance Rate: 9%
Enrollment Rate: 53%

8. Ivy League SAT Scores: Cornell University

Location: Ithaca, New York
Average SAT Score: 2093**
Acceptance Rate: 18%
Enrollment Rate: 48%

*Extrapolated from 2009-2010 data.
**Cornell University does not report SAT Writing scores: an average Writing score was statistically imputed.

Source(s):

"COLLEGE Navigator," ies NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS
"College Search," College Boards