SAT Scores for Admission to Four-Year South Dakota Colleges

A Side-by-Side Comparison of Admissions Data for South Dakota Colleges

SDSU
South Dakota State University. Don Graham / Flickr

Non of South Dakota's four-year colleges are overly selective, and students with average SAT scores and decent grades should have little trouble getting in. The options represent an interesting mix of public and private institutions. The state's schools vary widely in size, personality, and mission. To help you determine if your SAT scores are on target for your top choice South Dakota colleges, the table below can guide you.

SAT Scores for South Dakota Colleges (mid 50%)

(Learn what these numbers mean)

Reading
25%
Reading
75%
Math 25% Math 75% Writing
25%
Writing
75%
Augustana College 440 610 490 620
Black Hills State University 440 570 440 530
Dakota State University 430 580 430 585
Dakota Wesleyan University 380 480 420 530
Mount Marty College
Northern State University 420 510 450 540
Oglala Lakota College open-admissions open-admissions open-admissions open-admissions open-admissions open-admissions
Presentation College 400 493 420 530
Sinte Gleska University open-admissions open-admissions open-admissions open-admissions open-admissions open-admissions
South Dakota School of Mines 490 630 550 660
South Dakota State University 440 580 450 580
University of Sioux Falls 470 550 440 540
University of South Dakota 440 610 450 590

The SAT scores listed in the table are for the middle 50% of enrolled students. If your scores fall within or above these ranges, you're on target for admission to one of these South Dakota colleges. Don't give up hope if your scores fall below these numbers--25% of all matriculated students fall below the lower numbers. And if you're a strong student, you'll find plenty of company at many of the schools. A school like the South Dakota School of Mines, for example, has a significant number of students with excellent skills in math and the sciences.

If your SAT scores aren't what you had hoped for, be sure to check out this article on low SAT scores. You should also put the SAT in the proper perspective. The exam is just one part of a college application, The most important part of your application will be a strong academic record. Colleges will be looking for solid grades in college preparatory classes, and AP, IB, Honors, and dual enrollment classes all serve an important roll in demonstrating your college readiness.

For colleges with holistic admissions, qualitative measure can also play a meaningful roll in the process:  a winning essay, meaningful extracurricular activities and good letters of recommendation can all help improve your chances of getting in.

You can see that quite a few schools don't post SAT scores. This is because the ACT is much more popular than the SAT in South Dakota, and the number of students submitting SAT scores is so low that some colleges do not report the scores. That said, you can always look at the ACT version of the table and then use this SAT to ACT conversion table to see how you measure up.

More SAT Comparison Tables:

Ivy League | top universities | top liberal arts | top engineering | more top liberal arts | top public universities | top public liberal arts colleges | University of California campuses | Cal State campuses | SUNY campuses | more SAT charts

SAT Tables for Other States:

AL | AK | AZ | AR | CA | CO | CT | DE | DC | FL | GA | HI | ID | IL | IN | IA | KS | KY | LA | ME | MD | MA | MI | MN | MS | MO | MT | NE | NV | NH | NJ | NM | NY | NC | ND | OH | OK | OR | PA | RI | SC | SD | TN | TX | UT | VT | VA | WA | WV | WI | WY

data from the National Center for Educational Statistics

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Grove, Allen. "SAT Scores for Admission to Four-Year South Dakota Colleges." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/sat-four-year-south-dakota-colleges-788766. Grove, Allen. (2021, February 16). SAT Scores for Admission to Four-Year South Dakota Colleges. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/sat-four-year-south-dakota-colleges-788766 Grove, Allen. "SAT Scores for Admission to Four-Year South Dakota Colleges." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/sat-four-year-south-dakota-colleges-788766 (accessed April 19, 2024).