CUNY York SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

CUNY York College sits in Jamaica, in the Queens borough of New York, and enrolls about 4,345 students, which makes it one of the smaller campuses in the CUNY system. If you are researching CUNY York SAT scores, the picture is friendlier than at most 4 year schools in the city: the middle 50 percent of enrolled students scored between 790 and 960 on the SAT in the 2024-2025 data, with an average right around 880. As a public university, York keeps its admissions bar within reach for a wide range of applicants, and the 64.1% acceptance rate backs that up. Roughly 2 out of 3 applicants get in.

The section numbers tell you where the weight falls. The Reading and Writing middle 50 runs from 410 to 480, while Math runs from 380 to 480. That means the verbal side sets a slightly higher floor, and a Math score in the low 400s is common among admitted students. In the most recent federal data, York's testing policy is listed as test optional, so you decide whether your score goes in the file. A result above 960 clears the 75th percentile here, which is a bar many students can reach with a focused prep block rather than a full year of study.

Read your own score against the 790 to 960 window. Below 790 puts you under 3 out of 4 enrolled students. With a 64.1% acceptance rate and a test optional policy, that is not disqualifying, but submitting a score down there rarely helps, and withholding it is usually the better call. Inside the range, say an 850 or a 900, you look like a typical York student, and submitting adds a solid, neutral to positive signal. Above 960 puts you in the top quarter of the class, and at that point your score is an asset you should absolutely send.

The section splits sharpen this. Reading and Writing runs 410 to 480 and Math runs 380 to 480, so the verbal section sets the higher bar at the 25th percentile by 30 points. A student with 460 in Reading and Writing and 420 in Math sits comfortably inside both ranges. If your Math is under 380, that is the single number most worth fixing before you submit anything.

Admitted students at CUNY York College typically present an unweighted GPA somewhere around 3.3 to 3.7. That band is an estimate built from the school's 64.1% acceptance rate, and it should be read as a center of gravity, not a cutoff. Students get in below it and plenty apply above it.

What matters as much as the number is what sits behind it. A 3.4 earned in honors and AP sections reads stronger than a 3.6 built on the lightest schedule available, because admissions readers look at course rigor alongside the average. If your GPA lands at the lower edge of that band, the fastest offset you control is your SAT score. Grades take semesters to move. A test score can move in weeks. At a school where the 75th percentile is 960, a strong submitted score does real work: it gives the file a second data point that says you can handle college level reading and math, whatever your transcript shows.

Set 2 concrete targets. First, 790 overall, which is the 25th percentile: at or above it, you are in range and a submitted score will not hurt you. Second, 960, the 75th percentile: at or above it, you outscore 3 out of 4 enrolled students and your score becomes a genuine plus in a test optional file. Per section, aim for at least 410 in Reading and Writing and 380 in Math to clear both floors, then push toward 480 on each side.

Getting there is a matter of knowing your gap. Take a short diagnostic to find your current baseline, then look at score plans matched to the points you need. Moving from an 850 to a 970 is about 120 points, which is a realistic jump over a couple of months of steady practice. Your next step: sit the diagnostic this week, write down your section scores, and compare them against 410 and 380 to see exactly which side needs the work.