SAT Scores Guide for 2026

SAT Percentiles for 2026

Before we lay out the exact percentile chart below, let's talk about a few cornerstone levels. Last year, the mean SAT score was 1029. The average math score was 508, and the average reading and writing score was 521. The top 1%, or the 99th percentile, is right around 1500, or possibly a shade higher. The 90th percentile is 1350 and the 75th percentile, which means you are doing better than three out of four students, is right around 1200.

Below you can find the percentiles for the full range of SAT scores. Note that there are technically two different ways of discussing SAT percentiles. Because not all students actually take the test, and the group who takes the test tends to be more academically competitive than the group that does not take the test (that's probably pretty intuitive), A simple comparison to other students who took the test is not the same thing as a comparison to all high school students.

College Board, the maker of the SAT, describes The comparison to all high school students as "nationally representative percentiles," and the comparison to only students who took the test as "user group percentiles." For our percentiles below, we are giving user group percentiles, or the comparison only to students who took the test.

SAT Total Score	Percentile
1600	99+
1590	99+
1580	99+
1570	99
1560	99
1550	99
1540	99
1530	99
1520	99
1510	99
1500	98
1490	98
1480	97
1470	97
1460	96
1450	96
1440	95
1430	95
1420	94
1410	94
1400	93
1390	92
1380	92
1370	91
1360	91
1350	90
1340	89
1330	88
1320	87
1310	87
1300	86
1290	85
1280	84
1270	83
1260	82
1250	81
1240	80
1230	79
1220	78
1210	77
1200	75
1190	74
1180	73
1170	71
1160	70
1150	68
1140	67
1130	66
1120	64
1110	63
1100	60
1090	59
1080	57
1070	56
1060	54
1050	51
1040	50
1030	48
1020	46
1010	44
1000	43
990	41
980	39
970	37
960	36
950	35
940	33
930	31
920	30
910	29
900	27
890	26
880	25
870	24
860	23
850	22
840	21
830	20
820	19
810	18
800	16
790	15
780	14
770	13
760	12
750	11
740	10
730	9
720	8
710	7
700	6
690	5
680	4
670	3
660	2
650	1

Average SAT Score by College

Before we jump into average SAT scores by college, it's important to point out that the median accepted score represents roughly the middle student that got into a university. That means about half of students did not reach that number yet still got into that university! Think about that for a second: at your target university, about half of students did worse than the median number you see. That should give you some hope If your score is falling short of the numbers you see.

A metric that can often be more useful is the 25th to 75th percentile score range, so we have also included that figure below. Think of this as the middle 50% of students at a given university. If you are in that group, you are certainly competitive. Parents and students often ask what kind of score makes a student competitive for a given university, and the short answer to this question is the 25th-percentile number you see below.

If you can get to that number, you are competitive at a given university.

University	Median SAT Score	25th–75th Percentile SAT Score
Harvard University	1540	1500–1580
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	1540	1520–1570
Stanford University	1540	1510–1570
Duke University	1550	1520–1570
University of Virginia	1440	1360–1510
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	1430	1350–1500
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor	1440	1360–1530
The University of Texas at Austin	1360	1240–1470
University of Florida	1400	1330–1470
University of Wisconsin–Madison	1430	1370–1490
Georgia Institute of Technology	1450	1380–1520
University of California, Berkeley	1420	1300–1530
University of California, Los Angeles	1400	1290–1510
Penn State University (University Park)	1330	1250–1410
The Ohio State University	1360	1280–1430
Arizona State University	1230	1120–1340
University of Arizona	1240	1140–1340
University of Colorado Boulder	1280	1190–1380
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities	1370	1300–1440
Michigan State University	1220	1130–1320

Dealing with a Low SAT Score

Wouldn't it be great if every student got the score they needed to go to their dream school and get a full ride? Unfortunately, this is not always a world built for dreamers, and some of you may not end up at the score you have in your head. But don't despair! You can still end up as a smashing success in life, and we will give you some tips on how to deal with that low SAT score.

There are four ways you can up your chances of getting into a great college despite a low SAT score:

Remember to apply broadly. Let's say your score is a fair bit below the median for a given college, and maybe it's even below the 25th-percentile marker for that college. Let's hypothetically say you have a 10% chance of getting in. Guess what happens if you apply to five schools like that? You up your chances of getting into at least one of them to 50%! That's a coin flip, and coins land on heads all the time.

Students get into universities that, at least on paper, they should have no business getting into. It happens regularly, and you can be one of those students if you apply broadly and focus on the other elements of your application that stand out.

You are more than an SAT score. The SAT is only part of your college Application. GPA matters greatly, and if you can carve out some unique elements to your profile through serious extracurricular success, that can also be meaningful.

Focus on universities that give less weight to the SAT. Traditionally, small overall arts colleges can offer a great education, and many of them give less weight to standardized tests. Similarly, California public schools are prohibited by law from considering test scores as part of the admissions process. This means they are "test blind." Test blind universities do not consider test courses as part of the admissions process, and such schools can be good targets for good students who have a good body of work in high school but don't have test scores to match.

Hard work that is directed in the right way can raise your SAT score. This is proven. Test Geek averages a 210 point improvement for its students, and many of them end up with bigger improvement than that. There are also enough free resources available online for an organized, motivated student to get significant improvement by working on their own. However you approach it, your SAT score today does not have to be the SAT score mark on your application.

Good luck! And remember, your SAT score does not define who you are, good or bad. This is a hoop to jump through to get you to the next part of your life. Be sure to have some fun along the way : ).

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SAT Percentiles for 2026

Average SAT Score by College

Dealing with a Low SAT Score

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