Colleges in Massachusetts for 1500 SAT Scores: Where You Fall in the Middle 50%
Massachusetts has 40 main-campus colleges that report SAT percentiles to College Scorecard. A score of 1500 on the SAT is inside the middle 50% at 13 of them, below the 25th percentile at 2 (a reach) and above the 75th percentile at 25 (above typical).
Those 13 typical colleges have a median net price of $26,441 and a median acceptance rate of 16%. By sector, 1 public and 12 private nonprofit; 13 report a test-optional policy.
Acceptance rates in this group run from 5% at Northeastern University to 60% at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, so a score inside the middle 50% says little about an admission decision. The lowest net price among them is $17,716 at Williams College.
Nationwide, the 85 typical colleges for this score have a median net price of $28,800 and a median acceptance rate of 19%; in Massachusetts the figures are $26,441 and 16%. Test-optional colleges among the 13 in Massachusetts: 13. Test-optional colleges often publish ranges that skew high.
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Typical
13
Your score is within the school's middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
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Reach
2
Your score is below the school's 25th percentile.
-
Above typical
25
Your score is above the school's 75th percentile.
How the groups are defined
One rule sorts every college, using the 25th and 75th percentile scores in the College Scorecard data. We never say a college will admit a score; we only show where it falls.
- Who is counted
- College Scorecard describes these percentiles as the middle 50% of first-time students who enrolled in the fall of 2024; admitted students who did not enroll are not included. Colleges can only report scores for students who submitted them, and colleges that do not require tests often report mostly higher scorers, so their ranges tend to skew high.
- Reach. Your score is below the school's 25th percentile.
- Typical. Your score is within the school's middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
- Above typical. Your score is above the school's 75th percentile.
- SAT totals are approximate. Scorecard publishes 25th and 75th percentiles for the Reading and Writing and Math sections but not for the total, so we add the two 25th percentiles and the two 75th percentiles. Across the 866 colleges that also report Scorecard's average SAT score, the midpoint of that range differs from the average by a median of 15 points (90% are within 45).
- We do not convert between the SAT and the ACT. This page uses SAT scores only; the other test has its own pages.
- Test policy
- The test policy comes from the admissions field Scorecard calls ADMCON7. We tag a college as test-optional when it reports that tests are neither required nor recommended, or are considered only if submitted. Test-optional colleges among the 13 typical ones: 13.
- Left out: 1,471 of 2,356 main-campus colleges with missing or suppressed SAT percentiles, and 19 dropped because their figures contradict themselves: Scorecard's own average SAT score falls outside the summed section range, so the percentiles and the average describe different groups of students. None had a 25th percentile above the 75th or a value outside the valid range. 866 colleges are counted.
- Data periodTest score percentiles: fall 2024 entering class. Acceptance rate: fall 2024 applicants. Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24 (in-state price at public colleges).
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Read the full methodology Test-optional colleges and how to read SAT/ACT ranges
Typical: the middle 50% includes 1500 (13)
Your score is within the school's middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile. Sorted by net price, lowest first; colleges with no reported net price come last. Showing all 13.
| College | Middle 50% | Net price | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williams College Williamstown, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $17,716 · Acceptance rate: 8% | 1490–1570 | ||
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $22,383 · Acceptance rate: 60% | 1310–1500 | ||
| Amherst College Amherst, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $23,367 · Acceptance rate: 9% | 1490–1580 | ||
| Boston University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $24,402 · Acceptance rate: 11% | 1420–1530 | ||
| Franklin W Olin College of Engineering Needham, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $25,171 · Acceptance rate: 25% | 1493–1558 | ||
| Wellesley College Wellesley, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $25,496 · Acceptance rate: 14% | 1460–1560 | ||
| Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $26,441 · Acceptance rate: 36% | 1380–1530 | ||
| Smith College Northampton, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $27,579 · Acceptance rate: 21% | 1420–1540 | ||
| Northeastern University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $30,915 · Acceptance rate: 5% | 1440–1540 | ||
| Brandeis University Waltham, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $35,736 · Acceptance rate: 41% | 1390–1520 | ||
| Tufts University Medford, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $39,998 · Acceptance rate: 11% | 1470–1560 | ||
| Babson College Wellesley, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $40,514 · Acceptance rate: 17% | 1390–1530 | ||
| Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $41,704 · Acceptance rate: 16% | 1440–1540 |
Reach: 1500 is below the 25th percentile (2)
Your score is below the school's 25th percentile. Closest first: the colleges whose 25th percentile is nearest above 1500. Showing all 2.
| College | Middle 50% | Net price | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard University Cambridge, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year Net price: $19,066 · Acceptance rate: 4% | 1510–1580 | ||
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year Net price: $20,111 · Acceptance rate: 5% | 1520–1580 |
Above typical: 1500 is above the 75th percentile (25)
Your score is above the school's 75th percentile. Closest first: the colleges whose 75th percentile is nearest below 1500. Showing 20 of 25.
| College | Middle 50% | Net price | Acceptance rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clark University Worcester, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $28,714 · Acceptance rate: 40% | 1288–1460 | ||
| Bentley University Waltham, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $37,930 · Acceptance rate: 45% | 1280–1430 | ||
| Emerson College Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $49,180 · Acceptance rate: 51% | 1270–1420 | ||
| Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $39,545 · Acceptance rate: 85% | 1160–1416 | ||
| College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $38,782 · Acceptance rate: 18% | 1240–1410 | ||
| Simmons University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $25,265 · Acceptance rate: 70% | 1220–1390 | ||
| Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Norton, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $29,822 · Acceptance rate: 68% | 1220–1390 | ||
| University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $17,163 · Acceptance rate: 83% | 1180–1370 | ||
| Gordon College Wenham, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $24,883 · Acceptance rate: 69% | 1130–1355 | ||
| Emmanuel College Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $26,706 · Acceptance rate: 76% | 1170–1340 | ||
| Endicott College Beverly, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $40,654 · Acceptance rate: 71% | 1193–1340 | ||
| Springfield College Springfield, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $30,587 · Acceptance rate: 72% | 1080–1330 | ||
| Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $34,170 · Acceptance rate: 91% | 1110–1320 | ||
| Western New England University Springfield, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $27,290 · Acceptance rate: 83% | 1090–1300 | ||
| Suffolk University Boston, MA Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $29,618 · Acceptance rate: 82% | 1090–1300 | ||
| University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $17,707 · Acceptance rate: 84% | 1070–1290 | ||
| Worcester State University Worcester, MA Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $13,381 · Acceptance rate: 88% | 1026–1283 | ||
| Framingham State University Framingham, MA Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $16,114 · Acceptance rate: 84% | 1100–1280 | ||
| University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $20,927 · Acceptance rate: 91% | 1050–1270 | ||
| Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA Public · 4-year · Test-optional Net price: $16,383 · Acceptance rate: 88% | 1060–1263 |
National view
See all 85 typical colleges nationwide for 1500 SAT