What’s the “golden” score range for the SAT? What score do I have to achieve to get considered by most schools?

While there’s no SAT score that will guarantee you admission into any school (even a 1600), breaking a 1400 will get you strongly considered by any school in the country. If you can get a 700+ on your Verbal and Math sections, every college, including the Ivies, will view you as an eligible candidate. Getting higher scores is even better, but once you hit that mark, you’re in excellent shape. Of course, every college is different. The scores that you need to become a stellar candidate are totally different depending on the competitiveness of the particular schools to which you’re applying, but if you break a 1400 on the SAT, you’re good to go no matter where you apply!