At five colleges, the 25 percent of new students with the highest scores in critical reading on the SAT college-entrance examination all attained the highest possible score: 800. For the SAT mathematics exam, the top quarter of students at those same five colleges, as well as six other institutions, attained 800. Among colleges for which the ACT was the predominant test taken by first-time new students, Vanderbilt University had the strongest overall showing, with a composite score of 35 out of a possible 36 achieved by the top 25 percent of students. The score that the top 25 percent of students attained or exceeded is identified in this table as the “75th-percentile score.”
SAT: critical reading
1. | California Institute of Technology | 184 | 76% | 800 |
1. | Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | 51 | 67% | 800 |
1. | Harvard U. | 1,333 | 80% | 800 |
1. | U. of Chicago | 965 | 63% | 800 |
1. | Yale U. | 1,006 | 74% | 800 |
6. | Princeton U. | 1,048 | 80% | 790 |
7. | Brown U. | 1,153 | 71% | 780 |
7. | Columbia U. | 1,054 | 69% | 780 |
7. | Dartmouth College | 656 | 59% | 780 |
7. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 889 | 80% | 780 |
7. | Stanford U. | 1,377 | 80% | 780 |
7. | Williams College | 411 | 75% | 780 |
13. | Amherst College | 252 | 53% | 773 |
14. | Duke U. | 1,174 | 67% | 760 |
14. | Harvey Mudd College | 169 | 79% | 760 |
14. | Haverford College | 238 | 69% | 760 |
14. | Pomona College | 244 | 61% | 760 |
14. | Reed College | 311 | 74% | 760 |
14. | Rice U. | 697 | 72% | 760 |
14. | Swarthmore College | 297 | 73% | 760 |
14. | U. of Pennsylvania | 1,408 | 58% | 760 |
22. | Claremont McKenna College | 198 | 58% | 750 |
22. | Cornell U. | 2,387 | 75% | 750 |
22. | Georgetown U. | 1,228 | 78% | 750 |
22. | Johns Hopkins U. | 999 | 73% | 750 |
22. | Middlebury College | 375 | 64% | 750 |
22. | Tufts U. | 730 | 54% | 750 |
22. | Vassar College | 392 | 59% | 750 |
SAT: mathematics
1. | California Institute of Technology | 184 | 76% | 800 |
1. | Carnegie Mellon U. | 1,316 | 84% | 800 |
1. | Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | 51 | 67% | 800 |
1. | Harvard U. | 1,333 | 80% | 800 |
1. | Harvey Mudd College | 169 | 79% | 800 |
1. | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 889 | 80% | 800 |
1. | Princeton U. | 1,048 | 80% | 800 |
1. | Rice U. | 697 | 72% | 800 |
1. | Stanford U. | 1,377 | 80% | 800 |
1. | U. of Chicago | 965 | 63% | 800 |
1. | Yale U. | 1,006 | 74% | 800 |
12. | Columbia U. | 1,054 | 69% | 790 |
12. | Duke U. | 1,174 | 67% | 790 |
12. | U. of Pennsylvania | 1,408 | 58% | 790 |
15. | Amherst College | 252 | 53% | 780 |
15. | Brown U. | 1,153 | 71% | 780 |
15. | Claremont McKenna College | 198 | 58% | 780 |
15. | Cornell U. | 2,387 | 75% | 780 |
15. | Dartmouth College | 656 | 59% | 780 |
15. | Johns Hopkins U. | 999 | 73% | 780 |
ACT: composite
1. | Vanderbilt U. | 1,014 | 63% | 35 |
2. | Northeastern U. | 1,194 | 43% | 34 |
2. | Northwestern U. | 1,253 | 62% | 34 |
2. | U. of Notre Dame | 1,194 | 59% | 34 |
2. | Washington U. in St. Louis | 1,185 | 68% | 34 |
6. | Carleton College | 288 | 59% | 33 |
6. | Case Western Reserve U. | 778 | 62% | 33 |
6. | Grinnell College | 272 | 62% | 33 |
6. | U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor | 5,132 | 85% | 33 |
6. | U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2,124 | 52% | 33 |
6. | Washington and Lee U. | 241 | 53% | 33 |
12. | Colorado School of Mines | 854 | 90% | 32 |
12. | Hendrix College | 356 | 90% | 32 |
12. | Macalester College | 336 | 58% | 32 |
12. | Rhodes College | 433 | 77% | 32 |
12. | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 409 | 75% | 32 |
12. | Southern Methodist U. | 931 | 68% | 32 |
12. | Trinity U. | 311 | 52% | 32 |
12. | Tulane U. | 1,043 | 61% | 32 |
12. | U. of Miami | 961 | 46% | 32 |
12. | U. of Tulsa | 537 | 75% | 32 |
12. | Wheaton College (Ill.) | 415 | 69% | 32 |
ACT: English
1. | Northwestern U. | 1,253 | 62% | 35 |
1. | Vanderbilt U. | 1,014 | 63% | 35 |
1. | Washington U. in St. Louis | 1,185 | 68% | 35 |
4. | Case Western Reserve U. | 778 | 62% | 34 |
4. | Grinnell College | 272 | 62% | 34 |
4. | Hendrix College | 356 | 90% | 34 |
4. | Macalester College | 336 | 58% | 34 |
4. | Northeastern U. | 1,194 | 43% | 34 |
4. | Rhodes College | 433 | 77% | 34 |
4. | Tulane U. | 1,043 | 61% | 34 |
4. | U. of Miami | 961 | 46% | 34 |
4. | U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor | 5,132 | 85% | 34 |
4. | U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2,124 | 52% | 34 |
4. | Washington and Lee U. | 241 | 53% | 34 |
4. | Wheaton College (Ill.) | 415 | 69% | 34 |
ACT: mathematics
1. | Northwestern U. | 1,253 | 62% | 35 |
1. | Vanderbilt U. | 1,014 | 63% | 35 |
1. | Washington U. in St. Louis | 1,185 | 68% | 35 |
4. | Case Western Reserve U. | 778 | 62% | 34 |
4. | Northeastern U. | 1,194 | 43% | 34 |
4. | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 409 | 75% | 34 |
4. | U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor | 5,132 | 85% | 34 |
8. | Colorado School of Mines | 854 | 90% | 33 |
8. | Grinnell College | 272 | 62% | 33 |
8. | Hendrix College | 356 | 90% | 33 |
8. | St. Olaf College | 609 | 80% | 33 |
Notes: Scores in this table represent degree- or certificate-seeking students who enrolled in college for the first time in 2015-16. The highest possible score for SAT critical-reading or math tests is 800, while the highest possible score for ACT tests is 36. The 75th-percentile score is the one that 25 percent of first-time enrolled students attained or exceeded. Colleges were ranked only for the college-entrance examination for which the higher percentage of their first-time enrollees submitted scores. Institutions with tied scores are listed alphabetically. Colleges with fewer than 50 first-time enrollees submitting scores for a particular test were excluded. Scores for the ACT and SAT writing tests were excluded because they were neither required nor recommended by many colleges in 2015-16. Questions or comments on the Chronicle List should be sent to Ruth Hammond.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data