Let's take a quick look at the link between college selectivity, college rankings, and the average ACT & SAT scores of college applicants. As the following table demonstrates, the general trend is that as a college's ranking rises, so does it's selectivity, and the ACT and SAT scores of its applicants.
However, ACT and SAT scores should always be placed in context against GPA. As the following graphs of acceptances and denials in 2012 for USC, Notre Dame, and Stanford demonstrate, it is not just standardized scores that rise with college selectivity, but also GPA.
