I'm thinking of applying to Princeton, but I'm concerned about my SAT scores. I didn't do too well on the PSAT. What's the minimum score goal that I should shoot for if I want to have a good shot at being accepted?
The average SAT score for admitted students at Princeton is a 2250, but that's for the old SAT. There aren't any statistics on Princeton's admissions threshold for the new SAT yet, but we can estimate what it might be using this calculator. I plugged in all the current average section scores, and the estimated new SAT average for Princeton comes out to a 1505 out of 1600, with a 760 Math score and a 745 Reading score.
This is the minimum score you should aim for because it's the lowest you can go without potentially damaging your chances. If your score falls below average, you'll have to rely on some other aspect of your application to make up the difference. In fact, it's an even better idea to aim for the 75th percentile score at a given college (higher than 75 percent of admitted students), although for Princeton that's a tall order. The 75th percentile score on the old SAT was a near-perfect 2390, translating to a 1595 on the new version.
For more information on finding your target SAT score, check out this article!