Should I submit a 1400 to Notre Dame?

A 1400 SAT score at the University of Notre Dame is slightly below their typical middle 50% range (around 1470-1550), so while you can submit it, it won't necessarily strengthen your application, requiring exceptional compensating factors like a stellar GPA, rigorous coursework, and standout essays to compete. If your score is in the lower quartile and you have strong extracurriculars or a compelling story, going test-optional might be better than submitting a score that puts you at a disadvantage against the high-achieving applicant pool.

Should I submit a 1400 SAT to Notre Dame?

There's no absolute SAT requirement at Notre Dame, but they really want to see at least a 1470 to have a chance at being considered. Exclusive: Want to learn how to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score.

Can I get into Notre Dame with a 1420?

SAT Requirements

The University of Notre Dame is test optional currently. Notre Dame University's SAT scores for admitted students range from 1420 - 1550, with an average score of 1490.

Is 1480 good for Notre Dame?

Standardized admissions testing is a critical component of the evaluation process. University of Notre Dame's incoming class typically presents exceptionally high academic qualifications, with mean SAT scores around 1480 and mean ACT scores near 34, both within the highest performance percentiles nationally.

What was Mark Zuckerberg's SAT score?

Mark Zuckerberg reportedly scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT, showcasing exceptional academic ability before attending Harvard, though he later dropped out to focus on Facebook. His perfect score is often cited alongside other tech leaders and celebrities who achieved top marks, highlighting his strong academic foundation. 

What Test Optional REALLY Means (according to Ivy League Admission Officers!)

What was Taylor Swift's SAT score?

Taylor Swift's SAT score is not publicly known because she left high school early to pursue her music career and never officially took the SATs for college admission, though she was academically successful in high school, graduating early with a 4.0 GPA before focusing on music. She famously called out a practice test for misquoting her lyrics, highlighting her strong grasp of grammar despite not needing the test.
 

How rare is a 1400 SAT score?

A 1400 SAT score puts you at the 95th percentile, meaning you scored higher than 95% of all test takers.

What was Bill Clinton's SAT score?

Bill Clinton

The 42nd president of the United States scored a 1032—12 points above average—on his SAT. Still, Clinton excelled at Georgetown University, where he majored in Foreign Service and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Later, Clinton attended Yale Law School and earned a Juris Doctor in 1973.

Is it harder to get into UCLA or Notre Dame?

While both are extremely selective, UCLA is generally harder to get into than Notre Dame based on acceptance rates, with UCLA often seeing rates around 9% compared to Notre Dame's ~11-12%, but Notre Dame's focus on a strong, holistic "story" and extracurriculars makes it intensely competitive in its own right, especially for out-of-state students for UCLA. 

Is 1480 enough for the Ivy League?

A 1480 SAT score is a strong score, placing you in the competitive range for Ivy League schools, but it's often below the average accepted student's score for the most selective Ivies like Harvard or Princeton; you'd need a very strong overall application (essays, extracurriculars, GPA) to stand out, as many top-tier Ivies see middle 50% scores in the 1500-1580 range, though a 1480 is competitive for schools like Cornell or Dartmouth, notes this Reddit post and this Quora post.
 

Is a 1490 superscore good?

97th–98th percentile

Several test-prep and admissions platforms treat 1490 as a clear marker of top performance. A 1490 lands in the 98th percentile and leaves only about 25,000 students at or above your score out of more than 2 million test-takers. That is a very small comparison group.

Does Notre Dame consider legacy?

Ultimately, legacy admissions is Notre Dame's thank you to the community that makes what the university is and does possible, and up to 25% of first-year admits are legacies. But they insist that they don't admit unqualified applicants, even if they are a legacy.

Is 1400 SAT good enough for ivy?

A 1400 SAT score is very good nationally (around the 95th percentile) but is generally considered below the average for admitted students at Ivy League schools, where scores often range from 1480 to 1580. While some students with 1400s get in, it's often because they have exceptional achievements in other areas (athletics, extracurriculars, personal circumstances) that compensate, as Ivy League admissions look at the whole applicant, not just test scores. For strong Ivy League competitiveness, aiming for 1500+ is recommended. 

Can you get into Notre Dame with B's?

There is no minimum grade point average or class rank required to apply to Notre Dame.

Is a 4.27 unweighted GPA good?

A 4.2 indicates that you are earning Bs and B+s in high level classes or As and A+s in mid level classes. This is a very good GPA, and it should give you a strong chance of admission at most colleges. 99.62% of schools have an average GPA below a 4.2. You can apply to colleges and have a good shot at getting admitted.

Where do the 1% go to college?

The 1% of the wealthiest Americans disproportionately attend highly selective, elite universities, particularly Ivy League schools (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, Penn, Columbia) and other top institutions like MIT, Stanford, Duke, and UChicago, where they make up a large percentage of the student body, often outnumbering students from the bottom 60% of income earners combined. Liberal arts colleges and prestigious public universities also attract many wealthy students, with specific examples including WashU St. Louis, UVA, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Vanderbilt, and Johns Hopkins.
 

Which school is harder to get into, Penn State or Notre Dame?

Therefore, the acceptance rate alone is not a good indicator that University of Notre Dame is a better school or will be more difficult for you specifically to get into. On the flipside, Penn State University (PSU) is easier to get into based on acceptance rate alone.

Did Notre Dame get snubbed?

"Notre Dame snubbed" refers to the Fighting Irish football team being left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) for the 2025 season, despite a strong late-season run, leading to disappointment, criticism of the committee, and the team opting out of a bowl game, fueling a "Leave No Doubt" mentality for the 2026 season under Coach Marcus Freeman. 

What did Taylor Swift score on the SAT?

Taylor Swift's SAT score is not publicly known because she left high school early to pursue her music career and never officially took the SATs for college admission, though she was academically successful in high school, graduating early with a 4.0 GPA before focusing on music. She famously called out a practice test for misquoting her lyrics, highlighting her strong grasp of grammar despite not needing the test.
 

What was Elon Musk's SAT score?

Elon Musk scored a 1400 on the SAT in the late 1980s, according to biographer Walter Isaacson, a score that would correlate to an IQ in the mid-130s, suggesting above-average intelligence but not necessarily genius-level, though his massive accomplishments spur ongoing debate about his true cognitive abilities. He took the test twice, getting 670 verbal and 730 math on his second attempt, with scores calibrated for that era. 

What did Ben Affleck get on his SAT?

Ben Affleck reportedly had a "near-perfect" or "almost perfect" SAT score, rumored to be 1600, on the old 1600-point scale, though the exact score isn't officially confirmed, with sources citing sources like the New York Times on his high aptitude despite poor high school attendance.
 

Should I retake the SAT if I got a 1400?

College Admissions Perspective

For top-30 and especially top-20 schools (especially Ivies and Stanford, MIT, and Caltech), however, a 1400 is not as competitive. If your goal is to get into one of these top schools, we recommend you retake the SAT and try to score at least 1500.

What SAT score is top 1%?

A top 1% SAT score is generally considered to be 1530 or higher, with scores in the 1530-1600 range falling into the 99th percentile or above, making it an exceptionally strong score competitive for elite universities. While a perfect score is 1600, achieving even 1500+ puts you in the top 1-2% of test-takers, though specific percentiles can vary slightly year to year.
 

Should I submit a 1400 to Princeton?

For the 2026 class, 95.3% of accepted students had an SAT score range between 1400-1600. 96.83% had an ACT composite range between 30-36. Again, there isn't a “hard requirement.” But if you want to be the exception to the rule, your application will need to shine brightly in a different way.