How to Get Into SUNY SAT and ACT Scores, GPA, and More about SUNY Admissions

How do you get into SUNY? What are the SUNY SAT scores, SUNY ACT scores, SUNY admissions statistics, etc. for your target SUNY school? SUNY Admissions, SUNY SAT Scores, and SUNY ACT Scores: One System, Many Campuses SUNY isnt just one of the best public university systems in the U.S. Its also one of the biggest and most complex groups of schools. SUNY administers or sponsors more than 30 universities, and quite a few community colleges as well. (For a full list and description of the many schools in the SUNY system, see this Wikipedia page.) In this article, were going to look at SUNYs top 6 schools, the ones that are rated as national universities by US News and World Report. These schools are: Binghamton University, University of Albany, Stony Brook University, University of Buffalo, Purchase College, and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. In the table below, Ive listed SUNY ACT scores and SUNY ACT scores for the SUNY top 6. Ive also listed each campuss US News and World Report national rank, its acceptance rate, and its GPA expectations. (Note: All data in the table comes either directly from SUNY, or from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or from US News and World Report.) SUNY School NameSAT RequirmentsACT RequirementsGPA ExpectationsAcceptance RateNational Ranking Binghamton UniversityReading Writing: 660-730 Math: 660-730 (middle 50%)27 Purchase CollegeNo requirements (submitting scores is optional)No requirements (submitting scores in optional)3.355 for all Binghamton applicants, but the mid-range for accepted freshman is 1290-100 SAT Score? Where SUNY admissions are concerned, a 1200 SAT score is good for most SUNY schools. However, a 1200 on the SAT is not-so-good for SUNY Binghamton or SUNY Stony Brook. At these two highly competitive SUNY campuses, a 1200 would put you in the bottom 25%. But a 1400 on the SAT is good by the standards of any SUNY school. With that impressive score, youll be in the middle 50% or top 25% of any SUNY pool of applicants. Is 24 good by the standards of SUNY ACT Scores? Students often ask about that 24 ACT score benchmark. As you saw in the table near the beginning of this article, a 24 for the ACT is less-than-stellar for SUNY. That ACT 24 will either put you in the bottom 25% of applicants or in the lower part of the middle 50%, depending on which SUNY school you apply to. SUNY GPAs are listed in 0 to 4.0 range. How do my letter grades translate into that GPA? The system for converting letter grades to GPA is a little complicated, but have no fear! Magoosh has created an easy, user-friendly set of tables for calculating your GPA. See our article How to Convert your GPA for all the GPA conversion tools you need. How can I get good letters of recommendation to attach to my SUNY application? The best letters of recommendation tend to come from your high school teachers. In fact, many SUNY campuses specifically ask for recommendations from teachers, rather than ones from work supervisors, clergy, family, etc. For tips on how to approach your teachers and round up some good letters of recommendation, Magoosh again has you covered. Check out our article How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation. What does SUNY Admissions look for in an application essay? SUNY ACT Scores and SUNY SAT scores for the essay portions of those tests are not-so-emphasized and are sometimes optional. But SUNY admissions will always want to see a good application essay. Andyou guessed itMagoosh has a guide that covers this frequently-asked question as well. See our guide to writing a typical type of college admissions essay (Common App), and youll be on your way to SUNY admissions success. How to Get Into SUNY: The Takeaway SUNY emphasizes personality and long-term hard work over test scores. By all means, study to get good SAT or ACT results. But remember that your test scores are part of a larger picture. Good test scores plus good efforts at high school courses will appeal to SUNY. Then, let your unique personality shine through, on your application and in life. With your spirit as an eager learner added to the equation, your application will be SUNY-ready.