MVA Highly-Selective Colleges and Universities Fact Sheet

ABOUT OUR
SCHOOL
Founded in 1912, Montverde Academy is a
college preparatory, coeducational boarding
and day school serving grades Pre-K3-12
and post-graduates. The boarding program
serves boys and girls in grades 7-12 and
post-graduates.
Academics are the foundation at Montverde
Academy. MVA’s Upper School experience
focuses on an comprehensive collegepreparatory
curriculum. Our distinct
program emphasizes small class sizes,
advisories, in-depth support of learning
specialists, guidance counselors, and
a department solely focused on finding
resources and the best university/college
for our graduates starting in grade 9.
7 %
Percentage of applicants accepted into
highly-selective colleges and universites.
3 %
Number of colleges and universities that
are considered highly-selective.+
95 th
The percentile where SAT or ACT
scores should be for test takers
1,550
Average SAT score of admitted students.
Average ACT score is 35.
HIGHLY-SELECTIVE COLLEGES
AND UNIVERSITIES FACT SHEET
Highly-Selective Colleges accept fewer than 7 percent of all applicants.
Students applying to highly selective schools have perfect or near-perfect grades, demonstrate a
strong intellectual curiosity, and are highly involved in high school extracurricular activities that have
a positive impact on their communities
Highly-Selective College Admissions: Primary Factors
Excellent grades within rigorous courses: At any highly-selective university, the strength of the student’s
transcript is of the greatest importance. These colleges will expect students to have taken the most
rigorous coursework available to them.
SAT or ACT Scores:
Most highly-selective schools require the SAT or ACT and scores that are typically above the 95th
percentile of all test takers.
Even though many colleges are test-optional, SAT/ACT scores reflect students’ qualifications and
talents. Submitting SAT/ACT scores is a way to strengthen their applications. When preparing for the
SAT, students applying to highly selective colleges should aim to score in the 75th percentile.
However, achieving a perfect SAT score does not ensure acceptance. Even students who have perfect
or near-perfect results must compete with other applicants who have perfect or near-perfect marks.
Consider this: The highly selective schools can fill their freshman classes three times over with
students who have a perfect SAT math score. They can fill those four times over with students who
have an unweighted GPA of 4.0.
Highly-Selective College Admissions: Secondary Factors
• Essays
• Demonstrated interest
• Letters of recommendation
• Extracurricular activities
• Athletics
• Job experience
Recommendations for students (and their families)
• Remember: The competition at a highly-selective college doesn’t end after admission. The academic
pace is extremely intense, as you will be surrounded by top-achieving students (like you!).
Professors will expect you to master challenging course material without much assistance. Even
students who excelled in high school often struggle to earn top grades and be noticed by professors.
• Go for it! If you have the GPA, extracurricular activities, and test scores to be a contender for
admission to a highly selective school (and you aren’t afraid of receiving a denial of admission
to a school), then send in that application! The College Counseling office will assist with putting
together the strongest application packet possible.
• Have several options. Work with your college counselor to develop a list of a variety of colleges:
those that can be classified as “Likely,” “Target,” and “Reach” schools for your unique situation.
• Consider very carefully the option of Early Decision or Early Action, if available. You and your family

HIGHLY-SELECTIVE COLLEGES
AND UNIVERSITIES
FACT SHEET
Changes in Volume of
Applications 2012-22
(HS Graduation Year)
Highly-Selective Colleges SAT and ACT Scores
College
SAT
25th percentile
Changes in
Admission
Rate
Brown 77% -44%
Columbia 90% -38%
Cornell N/A N/A
Dartmouth 23% -41%
Harvard 79% -38%
MIT 88% -53%
Penn 76% -53%
Princeton N/A -38%
Yale 73% -28%
• For applicants in 2012: One in 12 were accepted
• For applicants in 2022: One in 20 were accepted
• International Applicants: One in 50 were accepted
SAT
75th percentile
ACT
25th percentile
ACT
75th percentile
Brown 1440 1560 33 35
Columbia 1450 1560 33 35
Cornell 1400 1560 32 35
Dartmouth 1440 1560 32 35
Harvard 1450 1570 33 35
Penn 1450 1560 33 35
Princeton 1450 1570 33 35
Yale 1460 1570 33 35
Duke 1450 1570 33 35
Florida 1280 1440 28 32
Georgia Tech 1390 1540 31 34
NYU 1350 1530 30 34
Rice 1500 1560 34 35
Stanford 1460 1590 32 35
Vanderbilt 1450 1560 33 35
Average 1428 1553 32 35
College/University
Acceptance Rates 2024-26
Class of
2024
Class of
2025
Class of
2026
Amherst 12% 9% 7%
Barnard 14% 10% 8%
Boston College 23% 19% 17%
Boston University 20% 18% 14%
Brown 8% 5% 5%
Cal Tech 7% 4% N/A
Colgate 27% 17% 12%
Columbia 6% 4% 4%
Cornell 11% 9% 7%
Dartmouth 9% 6% 6%
Davidson 20% 17% 17%
Dickinson 52% 40% 35%
Duke 8% 6% 6%
Emory 17% 13% 10%
Florida 30% 29% 15%
Florida State 32% 32% 23%
Georgetown 16% 12% 12%
Georgia Tech 22% 18% 17%
Harvard 5% 3% 3%
Johns Hopkins 9% 6% 6%
MIT 7% 4% 4%
New York University 15% 13% 12%
Northeastern 21% 18% 7%
Notre Dame 19% 15% 13%
Penn 9% 6% 6%
Princeton 6% 4% N/A
Rice 10% 9% 8%
Stanford 5% 4% N/A
Swarthmore 9% 8% 7%
University of Chicago 6% 6% 5%
University of Southern
California
16% 12% 11%
Vanderbilt 9% 7% 6%
Wesleyan 20% 19% 14%
Yale 7% 5% 4%
17235 Seventh Street, Montverde, Florida 34756 | 407.469.2561 | montverde.org | mvasports.com
+irp.cdn-website.com (2022); *sbac.edu (2022)