What’s the Difference Between the PSAT and the SAT?
If you’re planning to go to college, you’ve probably heard of College Board, and you’ve probably heard of the standardized exams . . .
read moreLet's dig into average scores, the scoring range, college averages and more
Let's talk about SAT scores! We're going to discuss the SAT score range, SAT percentiles and talk about what constitutes a good, bad and average SAT score. We'll also lay out the average test scores at colleges, helping you target schools that match your score. Let's go!
1. SAT Scores Introduction
• What is a good SAT score?
• SAT Score Percentiles
• SAT Scores: the Good, the Bad and the Average
• What is a good SAT score for you?
2. College SAT Scores Data
• SAT Scores Range at Select Colleges
• SAT Scores Averages at 50 Popular Universities
• SAT Scores and College Admissions
3. How to Raise Your SAT Score
4. SAT Scores Final Thoughts
5. SAT Scores FAQ
SAT scores range from 400 to 1600, and there are two main subsections that are worth 800 points each. The SAT Math Test features scores ranging from 200-800, and these points come from two different sections. The Reading and Writing Section combines for the other 800 points, with 400 points coming from each of the reading and writing portions.
A few other key points:
SAT scores for the reading section range from 10-40. This 10-40 score is your scaled score, and you can convert this to your actual score (out of the 400 available points) by multiplying by ten. The general process here is that the SAT knows different tests can vary in terms of difficulty. Getting 42 questions right shouldn't always mean the same score if not all test versions are equally difficult. As a result, the SAT will convert your raw SAT score (out of 52 for the reading section) to a scaled score out of 40 based on the difficulty of the specific test version you took. You can then just multiply by ten to get the total number of points you have earned for the section.
The SAT Writing section works exactly like reading did: Your raw score is converted to a scaled score (10-40) that is shown on your score report. To convert that to actual SAT points, multiply by ten. Your SAT Writing and SAT Reading scores are then just added together to produce your Evidence-Based Reading & Writing score, which is worth 800 total points. Since we're digging into the details here, you should know that getting one more question right or wrong won't always impact your score in equal ways -- it depends on what your score is. If you are scoring near the national average, getting one more question right or wrong usually has less of an impact that getting one more question right or wrong at the top end of the score chart.
While there is only one SAT Math subscore, which ranges from 200-800 points, this score comes from two different sections. Section three is a 20-question section that does not allow the use of a calculator, and section four is a 38-question section that does allow a calculator. Your total number of correct answers from both sections is totalled to form your raw math score, and then this is converted to your scaled score out of 800 points. Your SAT score report will breakdown your performance across a variety of content areas within the SAT Math Test.
A good score gets you into the college you want to attend and gets you a scholarship if you need it. Okay, duh. But what sort of score actually does that? Maybe you’ve taken the test and know your score, or maybe you’re still picking your test date and are trying to make your college shortlist.
Either way, we're about to lay out everything you need to know about SAT scores, including percentiles, the average score at a ton of top colleges and the amount of improvement you might see in your SAT score with some prep.
See how your SAT score stacks up against other test takers:
SAT Score | Nationally-Representative Percentile | Percentile Among Actual SAT Test Takers |
---|---|---|
1600 | 99+ | 99+ |
1590 | 99+ | 99+ |
1580 | 99+ | 99+ |
1570 | 99+ | 99+ |
1560 | 99+ | 99+ |
1550 | 99+ | 99 |
1540 | 99+ | 99 |
1530 | 99+ | 99 |
1520 | 99+ | 99 |
1510 | 99 | 98 |
1500 | 99 | 98 |
1490 | 99 | 98 |
1480 | 99 | 97 |
1470 | 99 | 97 |
1460 | 99 | 97 |
1450 | 99 | 96 |
1440 | 98 | 96 |
1430 | 98 | 95 |
1420 | 98 | 95 |
1410 | 97 | 94 |
1400 | 97 | 94 |
1390 | 97 | 93 |
1380 | 96 | 92 |
1370 | 96 | 92 |
1360 | 95 | 91 |
1350 | 94 | 90 |
1340 | 94 | 89 |
1330 | 93 | 89 |
1320 | 93 | 88 |
1310 | 92 | 87 |
1300 | 91 | 86 |
1290 | 90 | 85 |
1280 | 89 | 84 |
1270 | 88 | 83 |
1260 | 87 | 82 |
1250 | 86 | 81 |
1240 | 85 | 80 |
1230 | 84 | 78 |
1220 | 83 | 77 |
1210 | 82 | 76 |
1200 | 81 | 74 |
1190 | 80 | 73 |
1180 | 78 | 72 |
1170 | 77 | 70 |
1160 | 76 | 69 |
1150 | 74 | 67 |
1140 | 73 | 66 |
1130 | 71 | 64 |
1120 | 70 | 62 |
1110 | 69 | 61 |
1100 | 67 | 59 |
1090 | 65 | 57 |
1080 | 63 | 55 |
1070 | 61 | 54 |
1060 | 60 | 52 |
1050 | 58 | 50 |
1040 | 56 | 48 |
1030 | 54 | 46 |
1020 | 52 | 45 |
1010 | 50 | 43 |
1000 | 48 | 41 |
990 | 46 | 39 |
980 | 44 | 38 |
970 | 42 | 36 |
960 | 40 | 34 |
950 | 38 | 33 |
940 | 36 | 31 |
930 | 35 | 29 |
920 | 33 | 28 |
910 | 31 | 26 |
900 | 29 | 25 |
890 | 27 | 23 |
880 | 26 | 22 |
870 | 24 | 20 |
860 | 23 | 19 |
850 | 21 | 18 |
840 | 20 | 16 |
830 | 18 | 15 |
820 | 17 | 14 |
810 | 16 | 12 |
800 | 14 | 11 |
790 | 13 | 10 |
780 | 11 | 9 |
770 | 10 | 8 |
760 | 9 | 7 |
750 | 8 | 6 |
740 | 7 | 5 |
730 | 6 | 5 |
720 | 5 | 4 |
710 | 4 | 3 |
700 | 4 | 3 |
Scores range from 400 to 1600, and the average SAT score in 2020 is 1059. Even though there are four sections that students take on the test, these sections combine to produce just two scored sections, Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing. The average Math score is 528, and the average Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score is 531.
Okay, so that’s the average. But what’s a good score? What’s a bad one? What kind of score will make you cry? Those are much tougher questions to answer. A good place to start is a few key score percentiles from our chart above:
That gives us a starting point to understand what counts as a good SAT score. But what about a good score for you?
Unfortunately, this question is not an easy one to answer. For most students, their college prospects depend largely on two things:
SAT Scores
GPA and class rank
Both of these factors are absolutely huge, and at competitive colleges, both need to be strong. A student with a 1530 but a bad GPA is probably an outsider at most Ivy League schools. Similarly, a student with a great GPA but a poor test performance isn’t super competitive at a lot of really competitive universities. Thus, we can’t really talk about bad scores without having the context of GPA.
Instead, we can say this: A bad SAT score is one that is weaker than your GPA.
Okay, that’s kind of a non-answer. But it’s the truth. If you want to go to a top-tier state university like the University of Texas-Austin, a 1200 is probably a bad score. However, a 1200 might be a great score if you want to go to a lot of other pretty good schools. Many students would be thrilled to have a 1200, but others might feel devastated.
Bottom line: The SAT score you need is determined by the college you want to attend.
Since good SAT scores are determined by target universities, let’s look at what types of colleges have average SAT scores in various ranges:
1500+: The best universities in the world, including Harvard, Stanford, Cal Tech, MIT and Princeton.
1400-1500: Almost-Ivies, like UC-Berkeley, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, UCLA and Notre Dame.
1300-1400: Tons of good private and public universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, University of Florida, George Washington University and Pepperdine.
1200-1300: This is probably the most common range for quality state universities, including the University of Colorado, University of Arizona and Texas A&M. There are also many quality private schools in this range, including TCU and Syracuse.
1100-1200: Broad range of schools, including flagship state universities like the University of Missouri and Ole Miss and quality second-tier state universities like the University of Illinois-Chicago and UC-Riverside.
Below 1100: There are actually quite a few universities in this category, including tons of non-flagship state universities and a lot of small private colleges. Some examples include Arkansas State University, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Regis University and Illinois State.
What can you gather from this? Three things:
There’s a school to match your SAT score. Quality universities can be found up and down this list, so you’re not destined to a life on the streets if you end up with an 1120.
200 points can make a HUGE difference. The 1300s can put you at UT-Austin, which is a top-10 public school in America. The 1100s can put you at some good schools, but nothing of that caliber.
The best schools are really, really competitive. If you were to line a hundred students up, on average, only one would be seriously competitive at schools in the first group. Even for the second group, only a few students would have a real chance.
SAT scores at competitive universities have gotten really, really high.
College Name | Average SAT Score |
---|---|
Arizona State University | 1245 |
Cal Tech | 1545 |
Colorado State University | 1180 |
Florida International University | 1195 |
Florida State University | 1270 |
Harvard University | 1520 |
Indiana University | 1255 |
Kansas State University | 1160 |
Louisiana State University | 1180 |
MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) | 1535 |
Michigan State University | 1210 |
NYU | 1440 |
Northern Arizona University | 1135 |
Oklahoma State University | 1160 |
Princeton University | 1505 |
Rice University | 1505 |
Rutgers | 1300 |
San Diego State University | 1215 |
SMU (Southern Methodist University) | 1390 |
Stanford University | 1505 |
Texas A&M | 1275 |
Texas Tech University | 1155 |
The Ohio State University | 1355 |
UCLA | 1405 |
University of Alabama | 1180 |
University of Arizona | 1235 |
University of Arkansas | 1210 |
University of California at Berkeley | 1415 |
University of Calfornia at Irvine | 1310 |
University of Central Florida | 1330 |
University of Chicago | 1520 |
University of Florida | 1360 |
University of Georgia | 1325 |
University of Illinois | 1350 |
University of Illinois at Chicago | 1120 |
University of Kansas | 1240 |
University of Maryland | 1380 |
University of Michigan | 1435 |
University of Minnesota | 1350 |
University of Missouri | 1190 |
University of Oklahoma | 1210 |
University of South Florida | 1250 |
University of Southern California | 1440 |
University of Texas at Austin | 1355 |
University of Washington | 1340 |
University of Wisconsin | 1390 |
Vanderbilt University | 1505 |
Virginia Tech | 1285 |
Yale University | 1515 |
Like we said above, SAT scores and GPA/class rank make up the vast majority of the admissions calculation. In fact, many schools will use these figures as their initial filter before moving on to further aspects of a student’s application.
For many schools, a great SAT score can help offset a mediocre GPA or class rank. Schools differ in how they weight the various portions of a student’s application, but a less-than-stellar GPA will always look better next to a strong SAT score.
Of course, if you plan on targeting top-tier colleges, you will need a sufficiently high SAT score and GPA. At the most competitive universities, standards are so high that very, very few students are shoo-ins, regardless of their SAT scores and GPA. I’ve known of perfect-scoring students who were rejected at multiple Ivy League schools!
We have spent thousands and thousands of hours figuring out how to help students do better on this test. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for every student, but there are some things that will work for the vast majority of students. This information isn't a replacement for a comprehensive prep program, but it will be useful to any student looking to raise their SAT score. While you're at it, you might want to check out our Free SAT Prep Guide.
It's tempting to try to cram for the SAT. But remember that the test covers years of school concepts. It's a ton of material, and you won't be able to get it done in a week and do it justice. So don't try. Instead, start early and make consistent, steady progress.
Most students are surprised at the progress they can make in 6-8 weeks of dedicated prep. Just four or five hours a week for a couple months is enough for most students to significantly improve their academic concept understanding and become confident in the most important test-taking strategies.
You hear a lot of people talk about little tricks that can massively raise your score. Don't buy into it. The big gains come from getting better on the actual grammar, algebra, etc. that is tested.
There is no substitute for putting in the time, and you should spend this time on official practice tests. The good news is that there are a lot of free official practice tests
Based on your practice test results, you should know where you are weak and where you are strong. Make a list of your biggest weaknesses and move through the relevant content in a methodical way. Rinse and repeat.
A good plan is one that leads you up to a specific test date and also features weekly goals for the amount of time you should spend on prep. Use your practice tests to track your progress toward your goal and determine where this time should be spent.
There is no magic number for what constitutes a great SAT score. Your starting point of reference is your targeted schools list. That will tell you what your goal should be. Once you’ve created your list and looked at the average SAT scores for your target schools, you should have an idea of what kind of score you will need in order to be competitive. If you have a low GPA, you’ll need to be even higher.
To some people, a 1200 is a great score. If you’re looking at colleges with an average score of 1080, a 1200 is fantastic. You’re likely to get in, assuming your GPA is in order. However, that same 1200 becomes much less impressive if you are targeting a school with an average SAT score of 1350. If they have an average of 1500, you have some serious work to do.
Fortunately, scores can improve, and if you’ve made it through this entire post, you might have the commitment needed to get YOUR great SAT score :).
Still have questions on how your scores fit into the college admissions puzzle? We'll try to answer them.
Maybe! Different colleges give different weight to scores and GPA. Having a good score but a bad GPA is certainly better than having a bad score and a bad GPA, but how much that bad GPA will hurt your really does depend on the colleges you are considering. Obviously, a good GPA is better than a bad GPA, but there is a good chance you will find some competitive universities that will give significant weight to a great score.
The answer is pretty much the same as the good score/bad GPA question: Maybe. Just as some colleges will give weight to a great score, some will give less weight to SAT scores and more weight to GPA and class rank. There is a limit to this potential, however. The odds of getting into Harvard with an 1150 are extremely low, regardless of your GPA. The lesson here is that top colleges expect both high scores and a high GPA. Having one or the other is better than having neither, though.
Most students can raise their scores significantly through consistent hard work. What does "significantly" mean? It means you will be competitive at colleges you are not currently competitive at. Going from a 1050 to a 1200 is a significant jump, just as going from a 1410 to a 1500 is a significant jump. That doesn't mean all students will do this, though. The reason is simply that not all students are prepared to put in consistent hard work. A tutor can help with this, but plenty of students can do it on their own.
No. Both tests are standardized, which means they are scored in comparison to other students who take the test. The way SAT scores are compared to ACT scores is through percentiles, and a 50th percentile score on the ACT means you did better than 50% of other test takers -- which is exactly what a 50th percentile score the SAT means. Neither test is easier than the others in general, but there are some considerations that could make one a better pick than the other for you. Request a diagnostic quiz to see which one is right for you.
"Superscore" refers to the practice of taking the highest sub-score for each section across all testings and combining them to make the highest possible test score. For example, if you scored a 580/640 (reading & writing/math) on one test date and a 620/610 on the next, your superscore would be 620/640. That 1260 would be 30 points higher than your otherwise-best score (1230, on your second test). Some colleges do this, some don't. It varies greatly. There are even some colleges that do this for admissions purposes but not for scholarships, and some colleges do the exact opposite. Most schools will state their policy on their website.
No, probably not! Your SAT scores are just one part of your college preparation, and they don't say anything great about you as a person. The biggest indicator of your potential for success in college is your willingness to put in the work. While it is a good idea to get the best score you can, which will allow you to get into the college of your choice, don't fret if you end up with a less-than-stellar score. Plenty of successful people didn't do well on the SAT.
Some students can get meaningfully higher scores by prepping on their own. Some can't. Doing SAT tutoring with a professional prep company has its advantages. You can work more efficiently because the tutor will help you prioritize where to spend time, you can move through the material in an organized, systemic way and the tutor can help you through your content weaknesses, whether those include brushing up on old algebra you haven't done in years or fixing some bad grammar habits. Students who can get the same results on their own usually have a lot of time and no shortage of drive to do it. If this isn't you, or if you need results now, a tutor might be a good option.
No. This is a myth. Because the tests are standardized, there's no advantage to taking one test date over another.
If you’re planning to go to college, you’ve probably heard of College Board, and you’ve probably heard of the standardized exams . . .
read moreAs SAT prep experts, we talk a lot about how to raise your test score: getting better at the content that the SAT tests . . .
read moreLet's talk about SAT scores! We're going to discuss SAT percentiles and talk about what constitutes a good, bad and average . . .
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