Lists · 2026–27
US universities for a 1500 SAT score: 84 where it's in the middle 50%
At these 84 US universities on the Common App, a 1500 SAT falls within the middle 50% of first-year students who enrolled in fall 2024 and sent the SAT. They're sorted from the lowest acceptance rate. A score in the middle 50% makes you competitive on tests; grades, essays and activities decide the rest.
Updated September 25, 2026
Your plan checks deadlines, fees and tests against the rest of your list.
84 of 84 universities
| University | SAT middle 50% | Acceptance rate | SAT/ACT | Intl fee | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yale University | 1470–1570 | 3.9% | Required | $85 | New Haven |
| Northeastern University | 1440–1540 | 5.2% | Optional | $75 | Boston |
| Dartmouth College | 1500–1570 | 5.4% | Required | $85 | Hanover |
| Duke University | 1500–1570 | 5.7% | Optional | $85 | Durham |
| Vanderbilt University | 1500–1570 | 5.9% | Optional | $50 | Nashville |
| Bowdoin College | 1470–1550 | 7.1% | Optional | $70 | Brunswick |
| Colby College | 1460–1550 | 7.1% | Optional | $0 | Waterville |
| Pomona College | 1490–1560 | 7.1% | Optional | $80 | Claremont |
| Swarthmore College | 1490–1560 | 7.5% | Optional | $60 | Swarthmore |
| Williams College | 1490–1570 | 8.3% | Optional | $65 | Williamstown |
| Barnard College | 1470–1560 | 8.8% | Optional | $75 | New York |
| Cornell University | 1500–1570 | 8.8% | Required | $85 | Ithaca |
| Amherst College | 1490–1580 | 9% | Optional | $75 | Amherst |
| New York University (NYU) | 1480–1560 | 9.2% | Optional | $85 | New York |
| Claremont McKenna College | 1470–1560 | 9.6% | Optional | $70 | Claremont |
| University of Southern California (USC) | 1450–1550 | 9.8% | Optional | $85 | Los Angeles |
| Emory University | 1470–1550 | 10.6% | Optional | $75 | Atlanta |
| Middlebury College | 1445–1550 | 10.7% | Optional | $0 | Middlebury |
| Boston University (BU) | 1420–1530 | 11.1% | Optional | $80 | Boston |
| University of Notre Dame | 1455–1560 | 11.3% | Optional | $85 | Notre Dame |
| Tufts University | 1470–1560 | 11.5% | Optional | $75 | Medford |
| Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) | 1500–1570 | 11.7% | Sometimes | $75 | Pittsburgh |
| Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) | 1500–1570 | 12.1% | Optional | $75 | St. Louis |
| Haverford College | 1460–1550 | 12.4% | Optional | $65 | Haverford |
| Harvey Mudd College | 1500–1570 | 12.7% | Optional | $70 | Claremont |
| Georgetown University | 1390–1550 | 12.9% | Required | $80 | Washington |
| Bates College | 1420–1530 | 13.3% | Optional | $0 | Lewiston |
| Davidson College | 1400–1530 | 13.4% | Optional | $0 | Davidson |
| Hamilton College | 1450–1550 | 13.6% | Optional | $65 | Clinton |
| Colgate University | 1430–1540 | 13.9% | Optional | $0 | Hamilton |
| Washington and Lee University | 1430–1540 | 14% | Optional | $60 | Lexington |
| Webb Institute | 1430–1530 | 14% | Required | $70 | Glen Cove |
| Wellesley College | 1460–1560 | 14% | Optional | $0 | Wellesley |
| Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) | 1370–1540 | 14.1% | Required | $85 | Atlanta |
| Grinnell College | 1410–1540 | 14.5% | Sometimes | $0 | Grinnell |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) | 1390–1530 | 15.3% | Sometimes | $85 | Chapel Hill |
| University of Michigan | 1360–1530 | 15.6% | Flexible | $75 | Ann Arbor |
| Boston College (BC) | 1440–1540 | 16.4% | Optional | $85 | Chestnut Hill |
| Wesleyan University | 1415–1540 | 16.5% | Sometimes | $65 | Middletown |
| University of Virginia (UVA) | 1410–1540 | 16.8% | Optional | $75 | Charlottesville |
| Babson College | 1390–1530 | 17.1% | Optional | $75 | Wellesley |
| Vassar College | 1450–1550 | 18.6% | Optional | $65 | Poughkeepsie |
| Rhode Island School of Design | 1396–1530 | 18.7% | Optional | $60 | Providence |
| Carleton College | 1450–1560 | 20.4% | Optional | $0 | Northfield |
| Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science & Art | 1295–1501 | 20.7% | Sometimes | $75 | New York |
| Smith College | 1420–1540 | 21% | Optional | $0 | Northampton |
| Wake Forest University | 1410–1520 | 21.7% | Optional | $85 | Winston-Salem |
| University of Richmond | 1410–1530 | 22.2% | Sometimes | $50 | University of Richmond |
| Reed College | 1290–1520 | 24.6% | Optional | $0 | Portland |
| Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | 1493–1558 | 25.2% | Optional | $85 | Needham |
| Lehigh University | 1370–1500 | 25.9% | Optional | $75 | Bethlehem |
| Trinity University | 1340–1500 | 25.9% | Optional | $0 | San Antonio |
| The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) | 1250–1510 | 26.6% | Required | $90 | Austin |
| Villanova University | 1395–1510 | 27% | Optional | $80 | Villanova |
| Macalester College | 1350–1510 | 28.5% | Optional | $0 | Saint Paul |
| Bryn Mawr College | 1280–1510 | 29.4% | Optional | $0 | Bryn Mawr |
| Kenyon College | 1358–1503 | 31% | Optional | $0 | Gambier |
| Lafayette College | 1350–1500 | 31.4% | Optional | $65 | Easton |
| William & Mary | 1400–1530 | 34.1% | Optional | $75 | Williamsburg |
| Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences | 1360–1520 | 34.2% | Optional | $0 | Oberlin |
| Oberlin Conservatory of Music | 1360–1520 | 34.2% | Optional | $100 | Oberlin |
| Mount Holyoke College | 1380–1530 | 36% | Optional | $0 | South Hadley |
| Case Western Reserve University | 1430–1540 | 36.5% | Optional | $0 | Cleveland |
| Connecticut College | 1350–1500 | 37% | Optional | $0 | New London |
| Fisk University | 1140–1510 | 37.4% | Flexible | $35 | Nashville |
| Scripps College | 1440–1540 | 38.3% | Optional | $60 | Claremont |
| SUNY Binghamton University | 1340–1500 | 38.6% | Optional | $50 | Vestal |
| University of Rochester | 1410–1540 | 40.1% | Optional | $50 | Rochester |
| Brandeis University | 1390–1520 | 40.5% | Optional | $80 | Waltham |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) | 1310–1520 | 42.4% | Optional | $75 | Champaign |
| Soka University of America | 1333–1510 | 43.4% | Optional | $30 | Aliso Viejo |
| Occidental College | 1380–1520 | 44.2% | Optional | $0 | Los Angeles |
| University of Maryland | 1400–1530 | 44.8% | Flexible | $80 | College Park |
| University of Wisconsin- Madison | 1380–1520 | 45.2% | Optional | $80 | Madison |
| The George Washington University (GWU) | 1350–1500 | 47.1% | Sometimes | $80 | Washington |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | 1380–1505 | 47.6% | Sometimes | $75 | Hoboken |
| List College The Jewish Theological Seminary | 1440–1580 | 48.6% | Optional | $65 | New York |
| SUNY Stony Brook University | 1330–1500 | 49% | Sometimes | $50 | Stony Brook |
| University of Massachusetts Amherst | 1310–1500 | 59.7% | Optional | $90 | Amherst |
| The University of Tulsa | 1223–1530 | 61.5% | Sometimes | $0 | Tulsa |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) | 1375–1510 | 63.5% | Sometimes | $0 | Troy |
| University of Missouri- Kansas City | 1290–1550 | 72.2% | Sometimes | $75 | Kansas City |
| Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 1320–1500 | 76.9% | Optional | $65 | Terre Haute |
| University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 1300–1500 | 79.7% | Optional | $55 | Minneapolis |
Built from each university's 2026–27 requirements as published on the Common App (updated September 25, 2026). Universities can change them during the season: confirm on the official page before you apply. Acceptance rates, international enrollment and costs come from the US Department of Education (IPEDS): fall 2024 admissions and enrollment, 2024–25 published tuition and fees. Download as CSV
Questions
Is 1500 a good SAT score?
It sits in the middle 50% of enrolled students at 84 US universities on the Common App, and above the middle 50% at 597 more.
What colleges can I get into with a 1500 SAT?
Your score is in range at universities such as Yale University, Duke University, University of Michigan, Cornell University and Dartmouth College. Admission also depends on your grades, essays and activities.
Should I send a 1500 SAT to a test-optional university?
At a test-optional university, send it if it's at or above the middle of that university's range. 62 universities on this list are test-optional or test-blind for 2026–27.
How is the range calculated?
We add the 25th and the 75th percentiles of the two SAT sections (Math, Reading and Writing) published by the US Department of Education for fall 2024. It's the usual approximation of the total-score range.