In the absence of other information, undergraduate selectivity can serve as a rough predictor of the selectivity of a graduate program. It is not a perfect predictor, however. Institutions that are less selective in admitting undergraduates may nonetheless have very selective graduate programs in some fields, and graduate programs at highly selective undergraduate institutions may be less selective in some fields. If you think that you are likely to have a teaching assistantship, undergraduate selectivity will give you some idea of the caliber of students you would have in the classes you teach.

The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is commonly required as part of the undergraduate application process. The math and verbal sections of the SAT are each scored on a scale of 200 to 800. Learn more.