What kind of SAT are most Big Ten Schools looking for?
When applying to schools such as Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State, and Indiana, what type of SAT scores are generally regarded as a "good" range for these colleges? And will taking specific SAT subject tests and AP classes help in making an application look better if an SAT score is on the lower range?
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2 answers
Big 10 schools have a wide variety of academic rankings and there are 14 schools in this conference.
At the Top you have
Northwestern (1450/1550) 50% 1500 followed by
UMich (1340/1530) 50% 1435
UWisc (1330/1450) 1390
UIllinois (1230/1460) 1345
Ohio State (1300/1420) 1360
Purdue (1190/1440) 1315
UMaryland (1290/1460) 1375
Penn State (1160/1370) 1265
Rutgers (1210/1430) 1320
UMinn (1270/1440) 1365
Indiana State
Mich State (1120/1310) 1215
U Iowa (1140/1330) 1235
U Nebraska (1140/1360) 1250
If you want the whole list just google search on the missing school name followed by "common data set 2019/2020" for the most recent stats.
Aside from NW/UMich, if you are aiming for the middle of the pack you want a 1300-1400 SAT score which will put you firmly in the middle of the 50% percentile.
Honestly, rather than hedging your bets with more tests like SAT Subject Tests and AP Scores, it would make more sense to grind on the SAT and take 10 practice tests and put in about 100-200 hours of work and get your target score. All of these schools do not require Subject Tests or APs scores. It won't hurt to submit high Subject and AP scores but they are going to look at your SATs first. If you can't get to 1300, then try the ACT test and try to get a score between 28 (equiv. to 1300) and 31 (equiv. to 1400).
Take both practice tests if you can and see which one works best for you.
So as Cameron said SATs/ACTs importance is diminished but still almost lightyears ahead of subject tests and AP scores. But rigor is still super important especially at schools with SATs on the higher end. Rigor is incredibly important so definitely take AP/IB/College classes and honors to a lesser but noticeable extent but the tests themselves are barely even a data point in college admissions. Like for example a student with a perfect gpa but takes normal classes despite AP being a opportunity will likely be rejected for a student with a 3.8gpa with numerous AP classes assuming all else is equal. So personally at least I rate SAT and rigor as about equal in importance.
Hope this helps and comment if you need clarification.
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hoping this doesn't come off as too much of a "chance-me" question, just wondering about applications and what they are looking for