SAT Score Range

Colleges with Average SAT 1500–1600

Schools where the average SAT score falls between 1500 and 1600. Compare admissions, costs, and graduate outcomes — updated 2026.

Schools in range: 42

Avg admit rate: 10.8%

Avg grad earnings: $95,186

Schools with Average SAT 1500–1600

Sorted by median graduate earnings. SAT average is the mean of enrolled students (not the middle 50 range).

#	School	SAT Avg	Grad Earnings	Admit Rate	Grad Rate	Out-of-State
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA· Most Selective	1,553	$143,372	4.7%	96.1%	$60,156
2	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA· Highly Selective	1,537	$138,687	13.1%	93.8%	$66,255
3	Franklin W Olin College of Engineering Needham, MA· Highly Selective	1,540	$129,455	21.7%	92.2%	$64,458
4	Stanford University Stanford, CA· Most Selective	1,553	$124,080	3.9%	92.8%	$62,484
5	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA· Highly Selective	1,545	$114,862	11.4%	92.5%	$63,829
6	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA· Most Selective	1,545	$111,371	5.9%	96.8%	$66,104
7	Princeton University Princeton, NJ· Most Selective	1,535	$110,066	4.5%	97.1%	$59,710
8	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA· Highly Selective	1,514	$104,736	11.1%	95.2%	$64,150
9	Cornell University Ithaca, NY· Most Selective	1,520	$104,043	8.2%	95.1%	$66,014
10	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA· Highly Selective	1,501	$103,937	15.7%	91.0%	$67,680
11	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY· Most Selective	1,547	$102,491	4.2%	95.0%	$69,045
12	Harvard University Cambridge, MA· Most Selective	1,553	$101,817	3.5%	97.3%	$59,076
13	Yale University New Haven, CT· Most Selective	1,534	$100,533	4.5%	96.3%	$64,700
14	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN· Highly Selective	1,510	$99,980	12.4%	96.8%	$62,693
15	Duke University Durham, NC· Most Selective	1,539	$97,800	6.8%	95.8%	$65,805
16	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH· Most Selective	1,533	$97,434	6.2%	96.0%	$65,739
17	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA· Highly Selective	1,504	$94,810	17.4%	94.9%	$64,525
18	Brown University Providence, RI· Most Selective	1,546	$93,487	5.2%	96.0%	$68,230
19	Jewish Theological Seminary of America New York, NY· Selective	1,507	$92,751	45.1%	86.8%	$65,545
20	Northeastern University Boston, MA· Most Selective	1,505	$92,538	9.9%	90.4%	$63,141
21	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA· Highly Selective	1,501	$92,498	10.0%	92.0%	$68,237
22	University of Chicago Chicago, IL· Most Selective	1,554	$91,885	4.8%	94.9%	$66,939
23	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN· Most Selective	1,550	$91,565	6.3%	92.7%	$63,946
24	Rice University Houston, TX· Most Selective	1,553	$89,718	7.9%	95.7%	$58,128
25	Northwestern University Evanston, IL· Most Selective	1,526	$89,363	7.1%	95.9%	$65,997
26	Williams College Williamstown, MA· Most Selective	1,527	$88,665	10.0%	96.5%	$64,860
27	Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH· Selective	1,501	$87,989	28.7%	87.0%	$64,671
28	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD· Most Selective	1,553	$87,555	7.6%	94.6%	$63,340
29	Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO· Highly Selective	1,530	$86,182	12.0%	94.5%	$62,982
30	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA· Highly Selective	1,513	$84,803	13.9%	91.2%	$64,320
31	Tufts University Medford, MA· Highly Selective	1,513	$83,214	10.1%	93.3%	$67,844
32	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME· Most Selective	1,514	$82,735	8.0%	95.6%	$64,910
33	New York University New York, NY· Most Selective	1,527	$82,509	9.4%	88.5%	$60,438
34	Barnard College New York, NY· Most Selective	1,500	$80,516	8.0%	92.9%	$66,246
35	Colby College Waterville, ME· Most Selective	1,500	$80,490	6.8%	90.2%	$66,600
36	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA· Most Selective	1,527	$80,257	6.9%	94.1%	$62,412
37	Emory University Atlanta, GA· Highly Selective	1,507	$80,137	11.1%	91.8%	$60,774
38	Emory University-Oxford College Oxford, GA· Highly Selective	1,513	$80,137	17.3%	N/A	$60,774
39	Pomona College Claremont, CA· Most Selective	1,520	$77,779	6.8%	93.2%	$62,326
40	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT· Highly Selective	1,500	$76,310	10.4%	92.6%	$65,280
41	Wesleyan University Middletown, CT· Highly Selective	1,513	$73,897	17.1%	91.6%	$67,316
42	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY· Highly Selective	1,513	$71,366	17.7%	89.1%	$67,805

What Does an SAT Score of 1500–1600 Mean?

Schools with an average SAT in this range tend to be highly selective universities where most applicants are not admitted.

An SAT average is not the same as the 25th–75th percentile range you see in admissions profiles. Many schools on this list will consider students with scores somewhat above or below this average.

Score Range Context

800–1000Open / Less Selective

1000–1200Moderately Selective

1200–1400Selective

1400–1500Highly Selective

1500–1600Most Selective

← SAT 1400–1500