The honest answer: it depends entirely on your schools. We know that's not very satisfying, but it is the truth.
For example, a 1300 SAT is incredibly high for some schools, right on target for others, and below average for a few. There's no universal "good score" because every school has its own admitted-student range, and you're not being compared against the national average; you're being compared against the students applying to that specific school. Scores are also just one piece of the admissions puzzle. Every school that uses SAT/ACT scores does so in conjunction with your GPA (which is far and away the largest factor used in admissions decisions), extracurriculars, personal essay, letters of recommendation, etc.
Unfortunately, understanding the context surrounding admissions is tricky, so many students and parents instead focus on abstract numbers: they've heard that you need a 1400 to get into a particular school, and so a 1390 simply won't do. This isn't how admissions works, and the most important thing you can do when trying to determine a target score is to figure out what the schools you are interested in actually want. There are quite a few resources out there for doing research, but we're partial to our College Fit Check. Search any school, and you'll see the admitted-student score range (the "middle 50%"), the admit rate, the net cost by family income, and where your score lands against the school's actual incoming class.
01Yeah, okay - but give me a ballpark
We know. You want numbers. Here's a general outline of scores at schools where DFW students tend to apply, but keep in mind that just because your SAT or ACT results are good enough to get you into the school of your dreams, that doesn’t necessarily mean you will actually be accepted. Remember, schools look at many factors when weighing admissions decisions, and test scores are just one piece of that.
1450+ SAT / 33+ ACT. The most selective tier. Rice, Vanderbilt, Tulane, the Ivies, MIT, Stanford. At this level, a strong score is the floor, not the ceiling. Plenty of deserving applicants in this band don't get in because almost every applicant has a strong score, and so the rest of the application has to be doing the actual work. For schools that are this competitive, it helps to think of your application as a three-legged stool. GPA and test scores are two of the legs, but you typically need a third leg to give you a realistic chance. That third item could be sports, music, community service, etc, but it needs to be very compelling.
1250 to 1450 SAT / 26 to 33 ACT. Texas A&M, TCU, SMU, UT Dallas, and a long list of well-regarded private universities outside Texas. Solidly competitive territory for the typical strong DFW applicant. The thing to watch in this band is your intended major. Engineering, Computer Science, and Business at the majority of these schools are all meaningfully more selective than the published mid-50% range suggests, often requiring scores closer to the top of the range or higher.
1100 to 1250 SAT / 22 to 26 ACT. Texas Tech, University of Houston, OU, Arkansas, Alabama. Solid state flagships in Texas and across the South, where admission is generally accessible for students hitting the middle of this band. This is also where automatic merit aid starts to matter, particularly at the upper end - more on that in a moment.
Below 1100 SAT / below 22 ACT. UNT, UT Arlington, Texas State. Admission at most of these schools is straightforward, and a strong score isn't required to get in. These schools look more at GPA and course rigor than at test scores.
02UT Austin is weird
UT Austin's published mid-50% SAT range is 1250-1510 (with an ACT score range reflecting similar numbers), but that figure is heavily skewed by automatic admits. Texas's auto-admit rule guarantees admission to UT Austin for students in the top 5% of their Texas high school class (down from the top 6% in recent years), and those auto-admits make up 75% of the in-state freshman class regardless of test score. Students who are admitted automatically tend to bring down the average SAT/ACT score because many of those students have UT as their number one option, and since they are already guaranteed admission, they don’t worry about trying to do anything to improve their standardized test scores.
What this means in practice: for applicants who aren't auto-admits and therefore go through the holistic admissions review process, the practical SAT/ACT threshold for admissions is closer to the top of the published range, and the bar can run higher still for competitive majors like Engineering, Business, and Computer Science. If you're applying to UT Austin without an auto-admit cushion, plan accordingly.
For all other Texas public universities, the top 10% rule still applies. Auto-admit students are guaranteed admission to a Texas public university regardless of test score, but the test scores still matter for honors programs, competitive majors, and scholarship money.
03The merit aid angle
A higher score doesn't just open admissions doors. At many out-of-state public universities, it directly triggers scholarship money. A good example of this is the University of Alabama, which automatically offers full tuition to out-of-state students with at least a 32 ACT or 1400 SAT and a 3.5 GPA. Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and OU run similar tiered automatic merit programs that can substantially close the gap between out-of-state and in-state cost.
If your student is targeting any of these schools, the question stops being "will my score get me in?" and becomes "what's my score worth in scholarship dollars?", and a 30 on the ACT can be the difference between paying full out-of-state tuition and paying close to in-state.
04What to do
To get a sense of what is realistic for you (or your student), run your real or projected score through our College Fit Check for the schools you're actually considering to see exactly where you stand. Then decide whether prep is worth it to move into a higher admissions bracket, qualify for merit aid, or both.
If you'd like to talk through what your scores actually mean for your school list, get in touch with us or call (214) 295-8265.
