What Is a Good SAT Score? Ranges, Percentiles and Targets

A good SAT score is one that meets the expectations of the colleges you are applying to. As a general guide, College Board says the average SAT score is about 1050 and a score of 1350 or higher puts you in the top 10% of test takers. A score that is average at a highly selective college can be strong at many others, so set your target from your own college list.

How is the SAT scored?

The SAT total score ranges from 400 to 1600 and is the sum of two section scores, Reading and Writing and Math, each from 200 to 800. College Board scores each section using item response theory, so your score depends on which questions you got right and how hard they were, not only on how many you answered correctly.

Each section has two adaptive modules with 20-25 scored questions plus two unscored pretest questions. Two students with the same number of correct answers can receive different section scores. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so you should answer every question. Your score report also gives a score range showing how much your score might vary if you retested under the same conditions.

What is the average SAT score?

The average SAT score is about 1050, according to College Board's What Is a Good Score? page. Any score above that is above average, and 1350 or higher is in the top 10% of SAT takers. These figures describe the whole testing population, not the students admitted to any particular college.

The benchmarks come from College Board's SAT benchmarks, which estimate a high likelihood of success in related first-year college courses. College Board says they will be reexamined as more data becomes available.

What do SAT percentiles mean?

An SAT percentile tells you the percentage of comparison test takers who scored at or below your score. If your total is at the 80th percentile, you scored as well as or better than 80% of that group. Percentiles appear on your score report for the total and for each section.

Percentiles depend on the comparison group, so the same score can show slightly different percentiles in different years or reports. Use them to understand where you stand, but set targets using the score ranges of the colleges you are applying to.

Section percentiles are often more useful than the total. If your Math percentile is much higher than your Reading and Writing percentile, the weaker section is usually where extra practice will raise your total fastest.

What is a good SAT score for the colleges on your list?

A good SAT score for you is one at or above the middle of the range reported for admitted students at your target colleges. Look up each college's middle 50% range (the 25th to 75th percentile of admitted students) on BigFuture or the college's own admissions pages, then set your goal from it.

1. List your colleges and find each one's middle 50% SAT range and testing policy (required, optional or not considered).
2. Set a target at or above the midpoint of the range for your most selective realistic choice.
3. Compare with your baseline from an official Bluebook practice test.
4. Plan the gap. The size of the gap and the weeks left until test day decide how much practice you need.

Worked example (original): Suppose a college reports a middle 50% range of 1250-1400. Its midpoint is about 1325. A student whose practice score is 1210 has a gap of about 115 points. A sensible plan is to practice the two or three weakest domains, retest with an official practice test after four weeks, and adjust.

If you are applying to scholarship programs, check their requirements too. Some scholarships and honors programs publish minimum SAT scores that are separate from admission ranges, and these can raise the target you should aim for.

Is 1200 a good SAT score?

Yes, 1200 is a good SAT score in general: it is well above the average of about 1050 and above both readiness benchmarks combined. Whether it is good enough depends on your colleges. It may be competitive at many colleges and below the typical range at the most selective ones. The same logic applies to 1300, 1400 or any other score.

What are superscoring and Score Choice?

Superscoring means a college takes your highest Reading and Writing score and your highest Math score from different test dates and combines them. Score Choice means you choose which test dates' scores to send. Both can help if you take the SAT more than once, but each college sets its own policy.

• Superscoring: some colleges superscore, considering your highest section scores across multiple test dates. Others look at a single sitting.
• Score Choice: you can send scores from selected test dates. You cannot mix sections from different dates in one send; the college does that if it superscores. Some colleges require all scores, and you should follow their rules.
• Free score sends: each weekend registration lets you send scores to up to four institutions free, and you have until nine days after the test to choose or change them.

Details are on College Board's sending scores page.

Should you retake the SAT?

Retake the SAT if your score is below the middle of the range at your target colleges and you have time to prepare for another date. Many students take it two or three times. With superscoring and Score Choice, a retake rarely hurts, as long as you follow each college's score-sending rules.

• Leave a gap: allow enough weeks between dates to practice your weakest domains, not just repeat full tests.
• Use your score report: the knowledge and skills section shows performance in each of the eight domains.
• Know your deadlines: the last test date your colleges accept for early or regular decision limits how many attempts you have.

How can you raise your SAT score?

The most reliable way to raise your SAT score is to find the domains where you lose the most points, practice them in focused sets, and retest with an official practice test. Retaking the SAT also helps many students, especially at colleges that superscore.

Start with the Quiz Portal SAT diagnostic, then follow a study plan built around your test date. Quiz Portal uses original questions and shows a non-official band rather than a 400-1600 score; for an estimate of how raw results relate to the scale, see SAT score calculator explained.