Research · Test scores · October 2026
What counts as a good SAT score for the Ivy League, college by college
As of October 2026: Across the six Ivies that publish a combined SAT band, the 75th percentile is 1550 or 1560 and the 25th runs from 1440 to 1510, so a score at or above 1550 reads as strong at all six. Six of the eight require the SAT or ACT from students applying for fall 2027, and Columbia and Princeton stay optional for that cycle.
The table holds each Ivy's testing policy and its published SAT and ACT bands, next to the share of first-years who sent each test. The bands describe enrolled first-years who sent a score, except at Brown, which publishes a band for admitted students.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
The top of the SAT band is nearly identical across the Ivy League. Columbia, Princeton and Yale report a 75th percentile of 1560. Brown, Cornell and Dartmouth report 1550. The bottom of the band varies more: Dartmouth starts at 1440, Brown at 1470, Yale at 1480, Cornell and Princeton at 1490, and Columbia at 1510. A score above 1550 clears the 75th percentile at all six.
Harvard and Penn publish no combined SAT band. Each one reports a reading and writing band and a math band in its Common Data Set, and no total. So the SAT columns are blank in those two rows. We do not add the sections together, because neither college reports that sum. Both do publish an ACT band: Harvard 33 to 35, Penn 34 to 35.
A required test is now the Ivy norm. Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and Yale require the SAT or ACT from students applying for fall 2027. Columbia and Princeton are optional for that cycle, and both return to requiring a test the year after, for students entering in fall 2028. Yale's older policy also accepted AP or IB scores; from this cycle it takes the SAT or ACT.
Ivy League testing policy and published score bands
Listed alphabetically, with each college's own document behind the source link.
| College | Policy for fall 2027 applicants | SAT 25th | SAT 75th | ACT 25th | ACT 75th | Share who sent an SAT | Share who sent an ACT | Who the band describes | What the policy covers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown University | required | 1,470 | 1,550 | 34 | 36 | — | — | admitted students (Brown reports admitted, not enrolled, scores) | SAT or ACT required for first-year applicants beginning with the 2024-25 admission cycle (Class of 2029, entering fall 2025); continues for later cycles | Source |
| Columbia University | optional | 1,510 | 1,560 | 34 | 35 | 50% | 17% | enrolled first-years, Class of 2029 (Fall 2025, test-optional cohort) | test-optional for the 2026-27 admissions cycle (fall 2027 entering); required beginning the 2027-28 cycle (fall 2028 entering) | Source |
| Cornell University | required | 1,490 | 1,550 | 33 | 35 | — | — | enrolled first-years, Class of 2029 (Fall 2025, test-optional cohort) | SAT or ACT required for students applying to enroll fall 2026 or beyond, across all 8 undergraduate colleges and schools; the Class of 2029 (fall 2025) shown here still applied under the prior test-optional policy | Source |
| Dartmouth College | required | 1,440 | 1,550 | 32 | 35 | 69% | 33% | enrolled first-years, Class of 2029 | SAT or ACT required; policy in effect for students applying for fall 2027 as stated on Dartmouth's 2025-2026 Common Data Set, continuing from the Class of 2029 (fall 2025) reinstatement | Source |
| Harvard University | required | — | — | 33 | 35 | 79% | 27% | enrolled first-years, Class of 2029 | SAT or ACT required; policy in effect for students applying for fall 2027 as stated on Harvard's 2025-2026 Common Data Set, continuing from the required policy that began with the 2024-25 application cycle (Class of 2029) | Source |
| University of Pennsylvania | required | — | — | 34 | 35 | 52% | 18% | enrolled first-years, Class of 2029 (Fall 2025, test-optional cohort) | SAT or ACT required starting with the Class of 2030 (fall 2026 applicants) and continuing for fall 2027 applicants; the Class of 2029 (fall 2025) shown here still applied under the prior test-optional policy | Source |
| Princeton University | optional | 1,490 | 1,560 | 34 | 35 | 60% | 20% | enrolled first-years, Class of 2029 (Fall 2025, test-optional cohort) | test-optional through the 2026-27 cycle (fall 2027 entering); required beginning the 2027-28 cycle (fall 2028 entering) | Source |
| Yale University | transitioning from test-flexible to required | 1,480 | 1,560 | 33 | 35 | 67% | 25% | enrolled first-years, Class of 2029 | Fall 2025 entering class (Class of 2029) was test-flexible (SAT, ACT, AP, or IB); beginning the 2026-27 cycle (fall 2027 entering) Yale requires SAT or ACT specifically | Source |
Each band runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile of first-years who submitted that test. Seven rows come from the college's own 2025-26 Common Data Set and describe enrolled first-years, mostly the class that entered in fall 2025 under test-optional or test-flexible rules; Brown's row comes from its own admissions facts page and describes admitted students. A blank SAT band means the college publishes section scores only, as Harvard and Penn do. A blank submission share means the college does not report it: Cornell leaves that field empty in its Common Data Set, and Brown's facts page carries no share.
How to read these bands
A band is two numbers: the 25th percentile and the 75th. Half of the counted students scored between them. A quarter scored below the lower number, so a score under the 25th percentile is not a closed door.
The counted students are the ones who chose to send that test, and at most of these colleges that was a minority of the class. Harvard reports 79% sent an SAT, Dartmouth 69%, Yale 67%, Princeton 60%, Penn 52% and Columbia 50%. Students who send scores are mostly the ones whose scores help them, so a band sits above the class as a whole.
What the policy change means for this year's applicants
The bands in the table come from classes that applied under test-optional or test-flexible rules. Those students could stay out of the count. As the requirement takes hold, the band will describe more of each class.
Columbia and Princeton are the two to watch. A student applying for fall 2027 may leave scores out at both. A sibling applying one year later may not.
What a family should do with this
Judge a score against one college's band, not against an Ivy League average. The 25th percentiles run from 1440 to 1510, so the same score can be mid-range at Dartmouth and low at Columbia.
Two practical steps. Check the policy for the exact cycle your student applies in, since two of the eight change within a year. Then treat 1550 as the line that reads as strong, and a score under the 25th percentile as a reason to test again rather than to drop the college.
Questions parents ask
What is a good SAT score for the Ivy League?
Across the six Ivies that publish a combined SAT band, the 75th percentile is 1550 or 1560 and the 25th runs from 1440 to 1510, so a score at or above 1550 reads as strong at all six.
Does Harvard publish an SAT range?
Harvard and Penn publish no combined SAT band.
Which Ivy League colleges require the SAT or ACT?
Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn and Yale require the SAT or ACT from students applying for fall 2027.
Method & sources: The score bands come from each college's own 2025-26 Common Data Set, except Brown's, which come from Brown's own admissions facts page because Brown publishes no Common Data Set of its own. Policies come from each college's testing-policy page or its own news release. A band describes first-years who submitted that test, so it predates the required-testing cycles at every college here. Null values are printed as blanks and named in the table note, and no section scores are summed into a composite a college did not report. Rows are listed alphabetically.
- Brown University admissions facts
- Brown standardized testing policy
- Columbia Common Data Set 2025-26
- Columbia testing policy
- Cornell Common Data Set 2025-26
- Cornell admissions FAQ on the testing requirement
- Dartmouth Common Data Set 2025-26
- Harvard Common Data Set 2025-26
- Penn Common Data Set 2025-26
- Penn testing policy
- Princeton Common Data Set 2025-26
- Princeton standardized testing policy
- Yale Common Data Set 2025-26
- Yale news release on its testing policy
This brief as data: /research/good-sat-score-ivy-league.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
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