SAT Requirements by College: Current Policies and Published Score Ranges

A college’s SAT requirement answers whether you must submit a test. Its middle-50% range describes scores reported by a particular group of students. Those are different facts: a school can require testing without having an SAT cutoff, and an optional school can publish a high range because only some students submitted scores.

Use the policy table to plan fall 2027 applications, then use the dated profiles to compare academic context. Record the applicant group and cohort with each range.

Current testing policies for selected colleges

These first-year policies were checked November 2, 2026. Track transfer, program-specific, and English-proficiency requirements separately.

College	Required or optional?	SAT handling and submission detail
MIT	SAT or ACT required	Considers highest section scores; self-report full sittings rather than inventing a superscore sitting
Stanford	SAT or ACT required	Superscores SAT sections; permits self-reporting during application
Georgia Tech	SAT or ACT required	Highest Reading and Writing and Math sections; self-report through Common App or admission portal
University of Florida	SAT, ACT or CLT required	Superscores; allows official reports or self-reporting through applicant status page
Illinois Urbana-Champaign	SAT/ACT optional	Report highest total from one sitting; no total superscoring, but report highest subscores separately
Georgetown	SAT or ACT required	Requires at least one full official test report; current policy says it does not accept superscores
UCLA and other UC campuses	SAT/ACT not considered for admission or scholarships	A high SAT does not strengthen the admission review

The linked institutional sources below establish these distinctions. For additional schools and changes by entering year, see our test-optional admissions guide.

Add an English-proficiency row to the checklist where applicable, using the college’s own eligibility and exemption rules.

Published middle-50% SAT profiles

The range covers the 25th through 75th percentiles for the population identified. Some sources describe admitted students, others a class’s score submitters; the rows deliberately retain those labels.

Institution or program	Published SAT range	Population and period
MIT	Math 780–800; Reading/Writing 740–780	Admitted Class of 2029; separate section percentiles
Stanford	1520–1570 total	Class of 2029 SAT submitters; testing was optional for this class
Illinois Urbana-Champaign	1440–1540 total	Current profile of students admitted over the past three years
Illinois Grainger Engineering	1490–1550 total	College-level portion of that three-year admitted profile
Purdue, West Lafayette and Indianapolis	1230–1480 total	University admission/test-score table in fall 2026 profile
Purdue Engineering	1390–1520 total	Engineering row in that 2026 profile
University of Florida	1420–1520 total	Admitted Class of 2030, 2026; accurate as of July 2026

Sources: MIT statistics, Stanford testing, Illinois profile, Purdue profile and Florida decision process.

Keep MIT’s Math and Reading/Writing percentiles separate, as the university publishes them. Use a total-score distribution only when the source reports one; section percentiles can represent different students.

Read the range and its reporting population

A middle-50% range runs from the 25th to 75th percentile. Roughly one-quarter of the relevant scores fall below and one-quarter above those boundaries, allowing for ties and rounding. Read that distribution alongside the population named in the source.

An admitted-student profile describes students offered places. An enrolled-student profile describes those who accepted and attended. Use matching populations when comparing colleges.

MIT publishes no SAT/ACT cutoff or recommended score, and Stanford sets no minimum admission score. Use their profiles to compare the strength of testing alongside coursework and the rest of the application.

Use the range to identify preparation priorities and academic context. Build the college list with the full admission requirements, major access, and affordability in view.

Match the profile to the intended program

Illinois reports a campus range of 1440–1540 and a Grainger range of 1490–1550. Purdue’s university and engineering ranges also differ. An engineering applicant should therefore read the college-level information rather than rely only on the university row.

Record whether a range covers the entire college or a particular major, honors program, or direct-admission cohort. Look for the most relevant published group for your intended degree.

Record score submission where it is reported. Illinois lists 63% campus-wide test-score submission and 84% for Grainger in its current profile. These figures cover test submission generally, so preserve that label beside the SAT ranges.

If comparing colleges across years, note whether the policy changed. Stanford’s optional Class of 2029 profile is useful historical information, but fall 2027 applicants face a required-testing policy.

Superscoring and reporting are separate steps

Suppose a student has these hypothetical SAT results:

Sitting	Reading and Writing	Math	Total
First	740	690	1430
Second	710	770	1480

The highest individual sections sum to 1510. The highest actual sitting is 1480. Which number the college uses depends on its policy; what the application asks you to enter is another question.

MIT asks applicants to report full sittings and then considers superscores itself. Illinois asks for the highest total without superscoring while also collecting highest subscores. Georgetown’s current page requires an official full test and says it does not accept superscores. Follow the form rather than entering 1510 as though it occurred on a real test date.

Save the original test reports after self-reporting. Georgia Tech requires official scores from admitted students who enroll before orientation, so put that verification deadline on the enrollment checklist.

Decide whether another test is worth the time

Begin with the requirement and last accepted testing date. For MIT first-year applicants, required tests must be taken before November 30 for Early Action and before December 31 for Regular Action. Those testing dates are separate from application deadlines.

Then identify what you would change in preparation. Another sitting is more useful when an error log reveals a specific issue—such as missed algebra concepts or unfinished reading modules—than when the plan is simply to hope for a higher number.

Use a timed practice test and review errors before deciding how much additional preparation fits alongside schoolwork. Our SAT and ACT comparison explains the formats.

For an optional application, compare the score with the school’s guidance, your coursework, and the educational context it adds. Check how selective score submission affects the published profile before deciding.

Build a usable application record

For every school, save the entering year, testing policy, source URL, accepted exam, score-reporting method, superscore rule, last testing date and official-report deadline. In a separate column, record any historical profile and its population.

Confirm that required scores appear through an accepted channel. Georgia Tech uses Common App or its admission portal for self-reporting and does not use scores sent through transcripts, email, fax, or postal mail for that purpose.

Reserve time for course preparation, grades, essays, and supporting documents alongside testing. A useful plan meets the score-reporting requirements while leaving enough time to finish the complete application.

Sources

Policies checked November 2, 2026; historical data retain their original cohort labels.