Stony Brook University SAT & ACT Scores

On your application, you answer a question about whether you want your test scores considered. If you say yes, official scores must come directly from College Board or ACT. Stony Brook does not use self-reported scores or scores passed along by your school counselor. If you say no, your scores are not used in the decision, and your choice becomes final once your application is under review. Stony Brook says it treats applicants with and without scores equally for every undergraduate major, and students without scores are still considered for merit scholarships. The exception is the Scholars for Medicine and Scholars for Dental Medicine honors programs, which require an SAT or ACT score. The Honors College, WISE, University Scholars, Simons STEM Scholars and Yardi Scholars programs do not. International applicants can use an SAT or ACT score as one way to show English proficiency.

Among enrolled students in the fall 2025 entering class who submitted the SAT, the middle 50% scored 1350–1470, and the median was 1410. A quarter scored 1350 or lower, and a quarter scored 1470 or higher. Section ranges were 650–730 in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and 680–760 in Math.

Only 38% of the enrolled class sent SAT scores, so this range describes a self-selected group. Students tend to submit when their scores help them, which pushes the range up. Stony Brook's own advice is that a score may add value if it is above your high school's average or above Stony Brook's first-year average.

Scores also run higher in some majors. Stony Brook says submitted scores were higher among applicants to restricted majors such as engineering and computer science, and that strong engineering applicants typically did very well on the Math section of the SAT or ACT. If you are applying to one of those majors, weigh your Math score against the 680–760 range before you decide to submit.

4% of the fall 2025 entering class submitted the ACT, compared with 38% for the SAT. Their middle 50% composite was 30–34, with a median of 32. English scores ran 28–35 and Math scores ran 28–34.

Because the ACT group is small, its range can move more from year to year than the SAT range. The same logic applies as for the SAT: a composite at or above 32 sits in the top half of enrolled submitters, while one below 30 is under the middle 50%. If you apply to Scholars for Medicine or Scholars for Dental Medicine, you must send an SAT or ACT score no matter where it falls.

For fall 2027, Stony Brook offers non-binding Early Action and Regular Decision, and no Early Decision. Both deadlines are completion deadlines, so your transcript, recommendation and any test scores must arrive by early November for Early Action or by mid-January for Regular Decision. Stony Brook warns that official scores can take up to two weeks to arrive from College Board or ACT, so send them well before the deadline.

A practical target for fall 2027 is 1470 or higher on the SAT or 34 or higher on the ACT, which would put you in the top quarter of enrolled students who submitted. A score near 1410 or 32 sits at the middle of that group. If your best score is below 1350 or 30, applying without scores is a reasonable choice, since Stony Brook says applicants who submit are not prioritized over those who don't.

In its 2025–26 Common Data Set, Stony Brook rates the rigor of your high school record, your GPA, the application essay and test scores as very important, and recommendations as important. Class rank, interview, activities, talent, character, first-generation status, residency, volunteer work, work experience and your level of interest are also considered. If you apply without scores, Stony Brook looks at your GPA, course rigor, grades and number of classes in core subjects, leadership, talents and activities, plus the context in your recommendation and essay.