SAT Cut-off

: Some universities require a consolidated SAT cutoff while the other universities may resort their admission policies towards SAT sectional cutoffs.

According to the College Board, the average score is 1050. Above-average SAT scores exceed 1050 and scoring 1350 or higher will put you in the top 10% of test takers and increase your competitiveness at more selective colleges.

As per the recent data of 2023, the following are the SAT Math cutoffs for the top 10 US universities:Top US UniversitiesSAT Math CutoffHarvard University740-800Stanford University740-800Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)780-800University of California Berkeley (UCB)680-790University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)715Yale University720-770Columbia University740-800Princeton University740-800New York University (NYU)690-790University of Pennsylvania750-800

The following are the SAT cutoffs for RW section for US universities for the year 2023:Top US UniversitiesSAT - Reading & Writing CutoffHarvard University710-770Stanford University700-770Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)730-770University of California Berkeley (UCB)650-740University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)690Yale University740-800

No, usually Australian universities do not release SAT cutoffs, and some of them may not require them also. Only a handful universities of Australia accept SAT scores from international students for admission. The ones who accept SAT scores, may or may not publish SAT cut-offs or minimum SAT score requirements. Even if some universities do that, they give it for a specific course and not for all courses offered at that level in the university in question. Thus, be careful while checking admission requirements.

Yes, since a lot of US universities have become test optional it may be difficult to find their cutoffs. But those who intend on submitting SAT scores despite the test optionality choice, can look up for previous year's SAT cutoffs on the official websites if available. This way the applicant will have an idea of what score is required and plan a strategy to aim for the said cutoff. The previous year's SAT cutoff will not however be the ideal support but it will just give the applicant an idea of what and how to aim for in SAT. 

The SAT cutoff for best colleges in the world as ranked by QS for the year 2024 are as follows:University of Cambridge: 1460-1500University of Oxford: 1480 and aboveHarvard University: 1480-1580Stanford University: 1440-1505UCL: 1440 and aboveUniversity of California Berkley: 1140-1530University of Chicago: 1510-1560Cornell University: 1470-1550Yale University: 1470-1490Princeton University: 1510-1560This data is dynamic and is subject to change. Thus, please visit the official website for more details. 

In case the applicant is submitting SAT scores and the SAT cutoff is mentioned, then it is likely that the applicants will have to submit the SAT cutoff based on the given requirements. It is important to meet SAT cutoffs if the applicants have them mentioned in the admission requirements. Thus, if the applicant has not taken the test it becomes less important to submit these scores, but if the applicant feels that the scores will enhance their applications and give a better impression, then they should go for it.