highest sat score without essay

Are Your SAT Scores Good Enough?

Learn what selective colleges consider good SAT scores for admission

Average SAT Scores

• What's Considered a Good SAT Score?

Sample SAT Data for Selective Colleges and Universities

Private universities — sat score comparison (mid 50%), liberal arts colleges — sat score comparison (mid 50%), more about sat scores, the sat writing section, more sat data for selective colleges, sat subject test data, what if your sat scores are low.

• Ph.D., English, University of Pennsylvania
• M.A., English, University of Pennsylvania
• B.S., Materials Science & Engineering and Literature, MIT

What is a good SAT score on the SAT exam? For the 2020 admissions year, the exam consists of two required sections: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, and Mathematics. There is also an optional essay section. The scores from each required section can range from 200 to 800, so the best possible total score without the essay is 1600.

There are different ways to calculate what an "average" score is for the SAT. For the Evidence-Based Reading section, the College Board predicts that if all high school students took the exam, the average score would be a little over 500. For college-bound students who typically take the SAT, that average goes up to about 540. This latter number is probably the more meaningful one since it is the average among the students you are competing with on the college admissions front.

For the Math section of the exam, the average score for all high school students is very similar to the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section—a little over 500. For college-bound students who are likely to take the SAT, the average Math score is a little over 530. Here again that latter number is probably the more meaningful one since you would want to compare your score to other college-bound students.

Note that the exam changed significantly in March of 2016 , and the average scores are a little higher today than they had been before 2016.

What's Considered a Good SAT Score?

Averages, however, don't really tell you what kind of score you're going to need for selective colleges and universities. After all, every student who gets into a school like Stanford or Amherst is going to be well above average. The table below can give you a sense of the typical score ranges for students who were admitted to different types of highly selective colleges and universities. Keep in mind that the table shows the middle 50% of matriculated students. 25% of students got  below the lower number , and 25% scored higher than the upper number.

You're obviously in a stronger position if your scores are in the upper ranges in the tables below. Students in the lower 25% of the score range are going to need other strengths to make their applications stand out. Also keep in mind that being in the top 25% does not guarantee admission. Highly selective colleges and universities reject students with near perfect SAT scores when other parts of the application fail to impress the admissions folks.

In general, a combined SAT score of roughly 1400 will make you competitive at nearly any college or university in the country. The definition of a "good" score, however, is entirely dependent upon what schools you're applying to. There are hundreds of test-optional colleges where SAT scores don't matter, and hundreds of other schools where average scores (roughly 1050 Reading + Math) will be perfectly adequate for receiving an acceptance letter.

The table below will give you a sense of the types of scores you'll need for a wide range of selective public and private colleges and universities.

Public Universities — SAT Score Comparison (mid 50%)

View the ACT version of this article

SAT scores aren't the most important part of a college application (your academic record is), but aside from colleges that are test-optional, they can play a big role in a school's admissions decision. Mediocre scores aren't going to cut it at the country's most selective colleges and universities, and some public universities have concrete cut-off numbers. If you score below the required minimum, you won't be admitted.

If you aren't happy with your performance on the SAT, keep in mind that all colleges are happy to accept either ACT or SAT scores regardless of where in the country you live. If the ACT is your better exam, you can almost always use that exam. This ACT version of this article can help guide you.

You'll find that most schools report critical reading and math scores, but not the writing scores. This is because the writing part of the exam never fully caught on when it was introduced in 2005, and many schools still do not use it in their admissions decisions. And when the redesigned SAT rolled out in 2016, the writing section became an optional part of the exam. There are some colleges that require the writing section, but the number of schools with that requirement has been rapidly declining in recent years.

The table above is just a sampling of admissions data. If you look at the SAT data for all of the Ivy League schools , you'll see that all require scores that are well above average. The SAT data for other top private universities , top liberal arts colleges , and top public universities is similar. In general, you're going to want math and reading scores that are at least in the high 600s to be competitive.

You'll notice that the bar for top public universities tends to be a little lower than for private universities. It's generally easier to get into UNC Chapel Hill or UCLA than it is to get into Stanford or Harvard. That said, realize that the public university data can be a little misleading. The admissions bar for in-state and out-of-state applicants can be quite different. Many states require that the majority of admitted students come from in-state, and in some cases this means that admissions standards are significantly higher for out-of-state applicants. A combined score of 1200 might suffice for in-state students, but out-of-state applicants might need a 1400.

Many of the country's top colleges require applicants to take at least a couple SAT Subject Tests. Average scores on the subject tests are significantly higher than on the general exam, for the subject tests are taken primarily by strong students who are applying to top colleges. For most schools that require subject tests, you're going to be most competitive if those scores are up in the 700 range. You can learn more by reading about score information for different subjects: Biology | Chemistry | Literature | Math | Physics .

The SAT can create a lot of anxiety for students whose scores aren't in line with their college aspirations. Realize, however, that there are plenty of  ways to compensate for low SAT scores . There are many excellent colleges for students with not-so-great scores  as well as hundreds of test-optional colleges . You can also work to improve your scores with approaches that range from buying an SAT prep book to enrolling in a Kaplan SAT prep course . 

Whether you work hard to raise your SAT score, or you look for colleges that don't require high scores, you'll find that you have plenty of college options whatever your SAT scores are.

• Good ACT Scores for College Admission
• SAT Scores for Admission to Public Universities in North Carolina
• What's a Good Chemistry SAT Subject Test Score in 2020?
• What's a Good SAT Literature Subject Test Score?
• How to Understand SAT Scores in College Admissions Data
• What's a Good Biology SAT Subject Test Score in 2021?
• SAT Scores for Admission to 30 Top Liberal Arts Colleges
• What's a Good SAT Subject Test Score?
• 2019–2020 SAT Score Release Dates
• SAT and ACT Scores for Admission to Top Public Liberal Arts Colleges
• SAT Scores for Admission to the Senior Colleges of CUNY
• Low ACT Scores?
• SAT Scores for Ivy League Admissions
• SAT Score Comparison for Admission to California Colleges
• SAT Score Comparison for Admission to Alaska Colleges
• What's a Good SAT Math Subject Test Score in 2019?

What's a Good SAT Score?

The best SAT score for college applicants depends on their target schools and other factors, experts say.

What's a Good SAT Score?

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Even as many schools move away from requiring standardized test scores, experts say a strong score can still help you stand out as an applicant. Expectations vary by institution.

When they are considered, SAT scores are just a piece of the college admissions process. Schools also review students' GPAs , course rigor, extracurricular activities, essays and letters of recommendation.

Although colleges have historically used standardized test scores to determine "college readiness," some observers say that a student's transcript gives a fuller picture.

"A three-hour test on a Saturday morning is a very brief snapshot into a student's abilities," says Connie Livingston, head of college counselors at college admissions consulting firm Empowerly. "Whereas a transcript really shows how students have grown, improved or maintained their academic excellence throughout the years and how they have maximized those opportunities at their schools."

More than 1,900 four-year colleges have announced plans to go test-optional or test-blind for fall 2024, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a nonprofit advocacy group.

But even as many schools move away from requiring standardized test scores, experts say a strong score can help an applicant stand out.

That's especially true given evidence that grade inflation has been on the rise. High school GPAs, on average, increased from 3.17 in 2010 to 3.36 in 2021, according to a 2022 report from ACT . At the same time, the highest grade inflation – a term used to describe an increase in students’ grades that doesn't necessarily correlate with an increase in their academic achievement – occurred between 2018 and 2021, an increase of 0.1 grade points, the most recent data show.

"The whole point of a standardized test was for there to be a standardized metric, because a 97 (grade percentage) at one school is not the same thing as a 97 at another high school," says Pranoy Mohapatra, director of New Jersey-based PM Tutoring.

Livingston advises students to take either the SAT or ACT at least once, as long as there are no logistical or financial barriers. From there, students applying to a test-optional school can decide whether it's beneficial to submit their scores.

"If they score well, not only is it another metric or data point for the school to use to evaluate their candidacy, but it could also open up merit aid opportunities," she says.

A Good SAT Score for College Admissions

A strong score is subjective, as expectations vary by institution and sometimes by major .

"If you were applying to an engineering program at a college that is going to admit you from a pool of students who are (also) applying for engineering, the question is not, 'Is your SAT score good?'" And the question is not, 'Is a 1470 a good score?' Because it is a good score," says Evelyn Jerome-Alexander, a certified educational planner and founder of Magellan College Counseling. "But if the 1470 were a 770 on English and a 700 on math, the chances are very high that at a school that has an engineering college, the math score for an engineering applicant or a business applicant will be higher than the critical reading score."

The average SAT score for the high school class of 2022 was 1050, down by 10 points from the class of 2021, according to a report from the College Board, which administers the SAT. That score falls within the range of many schools, like Liberty University in Virginia, where half of the admitted applicants had an SAT score between 1020 and 1220, according to the school's website .

Many other colleges, such as Indiana University—Bloomington , have an average SAT score over 1200 for incoming freshmen. Ivy Leagues and other top universities, like the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, prefer even higher scores – generally over 1500 – their school websites indicate.

Experts suggest students do their research and look up the "middle 50" – the range of scores between the 25th percentile and 75th percentile for the last admitted class – on each college's website to see if their score falls within or above that range. Students should set their target score to either meet or exceed those ranges. They can also aim to reach a school's minimum score requirement for merit aid .

Here's a look at the 25th and 75th SAT percentiles in math and reading combined for newly enrolled students in fall 2022 at the top 10 National Universities , as ranked by U.S. News. California Institute of Technology did not report SAT or ACT scores and through 2025 will not consider them during admissions.

Not only is a good score relative to each college, but also to each student. The strength of the score can depend on an individual's GPA, the rigor of the high school courses they take and where they attend high school, says Amy Seeley, founder and president of Seeley Test Pros, LLC, an Ohio-based tutoring company.

"Students are often judged in comparison to their peers," she says. "So what is the kind of level of work that's happening with other students? If a student is at a school where there are no honors or AP courses , then of course they're not going to be judged as much. But they are going to need a score that sets them apart from the other students at that school."

SAT Percentiles

A score in the 50th percentile means a student scored equal to or higher than 50% of other test-takers. The higher the percentile rank, the better.

The table below shows a breakdown of SAT composite scores by percentile based on exam results, per the most recent College Board data . It shows nationally representative sample percentiles, which are based on a study of juniors and seniors, and are weighted to represent all U.S. students in those grades regardless of whether they take the test.

Recommendations to Improve Your SAT Score

Retaking the SAT can be time-consuming and costly, so figure out what your bandwidth is. Consider your home responsibilities, after-school activities and homework load.

"It plays a role in how much time students can spend on test prep and perhaps limit their ability to improve," Mohapatra says.

Some families hire test prep tutors or coaches, but studying for the SAT does not have to cost hundreds of dollars. Students can work independently and use free online test prep resources, like Khan Academy , a College Board partner.

"Our tool gives you insights on the areas where you are already really strong – i.e., don't bother spending more practice time in those areas – and the areas where you are relatively weaker," says Priscilla Rodriguez, senior vice president for college readiness assessments at the College Board.

If a college superscores, a student's highest scores from each section on all test attempts are combined to create a new composite score. In these cases, "you can minimize or reduce your preparation because you may only need to focus on one particular section," Seeley says.

Some schools, however, require applicants to submit all of their test scores from each sitting.

In that case, "I think there is some disagreement within the industry as to whether (retaking the test multiple times) hurts a student or not," Seeley says. "But I've always said that for the most part, a college is going to take your best scores and use that to create their acceptance profile."

Practice is key to improving your scores, but don't overdo it, experts warn. Livingston advises students not to take the SAT more than three times, as their score may start to plateau.

"Test prep should not come at the expense of creating a balanced college list and putting real significant effort into articulating why you are a good fit for each college on your list and why they are a good fit for you," Jerome-Alexander says. "Because colleges look at the transcript primarily and they look heavily at teacher and counselor recommendation letters. But they're looking a lot at essays these days. They really want to hear students' stories. Stories are more valuable than test scores, and if you present yourself in a way that makes yourself memorable and likable, colleges will want you in their class."

Searching for a college? Get our  complete rankings  of Best Colleges.

13 Test Prep Tips for SAT and ACT Takers

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What Is the Highest SAT Score You Can Get?

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Over the years, the SAT has changed both significantly and repeatedly. The CollegeBoard, who oversees the test, has continually updated it in an effort to reflect changing educational standards. The one constant since its inception is its intent—to assess the career and college-readiness of high school students.

In March of 2016, a new iteration of the test was introduced, signaling a significant change in its scoring formula. This change is important to note because a score that would have been considered below average on the previous scale may now qualify as highly impressive. Without an in-depth understanding of the changes, some students may be confused. It’s no wonder that we often hear the question, “What is the highest SAT score I can get?”

To learn more about the highest SAT score possible and how to maximize your chances of earning one, don’t miss this important post.

What Is the Scoring Scale for the SAT?

As of 2016, the SAT consists of two required sections and one optional section. The required sections are Writing and Language, and Math. The optional section is the Essay.

The required sections are divided into two overall section scores. Students receive a section score in Writing and Language ranging from 200-800, and students receive another section score in Math ranging from 200-800. These two scores are added together to create a student’s composite score.

This means that for the required sections of the SAT, the maximum score you can receive is 1600, which would indicate perfect scores of 800 on each of the required sections.

The optional Essay section is scored separately. For students who choose to take this part of the test, another score will be provided ranging from 6-24. Each essay is scored by two scorers on three dimensions. Each scorer grades the essay on a scale of 1-4 in each dimension, meaning that each scorer can award up to 12 points total. For a student who receives the top score of 4 on each dimension from both scorers, the perfect score of 24 can be achieved.

You can read more about the SAT Essay scoring process and preview the scoring rubric on CollegeBoard’s SAT Essay Scoring site.      

To learn more about SAT scores, check out these valuable CollegeVine posts:

What Is a Good SAT Score?

How Does the Curve Work for the SAT?

CollegeVine Guide to SAT Scores: All Your Questions Answered

Are PSAT Scores Related to SAT Scores?

Discover how your SAT score affects your chances

As part of our free guidance platform, our Admissions Assessment tells you what schools you need to improve your SAT score for and by how much. Sign up to get started today.

Do I Have to Get Every Question Right to Get the Highest SAT Score Possible?

Many students assume that they need to get every single question on the SAT correct if they want to receive a perfect score, but the reality is a little different. In fact, a raw score, meaning the number of questions answered correctly, is something a little different from the final converted score.

Raw scores are converted onto a scale from 400-1600 during a process called equating. Equating takes into account the specific difficulty of each version of the test. Because several different test forms are given at each test administration, the specific equating process for your test will depend on the specific version of the test that you took, and it may be different than the equating process applied to the tests of people sitting next to you.

While some SAT tests are definitely more difficult than others, in general the variation is fairly small and the equating process does not differ hugely from one test to another. You can get a better idea of the exact process by reviewing the scoring procedure for official SAT practice tests prepared by the College Board. Check out the Raw Score Conversion Tables beginning on page seven of the packet Scoring Your SAT Practice Test #1 .

To see the differences in score conversions that you might expect, check out the score conversion charts supplied for two official SAT practice tests, located on page 7 of each packet:

Scoring Your SAT Practice Test #1

Scoring Your SAT Practice Test #2

As you can see, on more difficult versions of the SAT, you may still be able to achieve a perfect score, even if you have made a mistake.

How Can I Maximize My SAT Score?

Most students want to receive the highest SAT score that they’re capable of achieving. This means that if you’re like most students, you’ll need to put some work into planning an SAT study schedule and sourcing study materials that are both challenging and useful.

While some students might believe that they don’t need to start studying until a few months before the test, we recommend that you lay the foundation for SAT success much earlier. Though many students who start later ultimately perform well, there is no harm in getting a head start.

We recommend building general SAT-relevant skills like writing, vocabulary, and basic algebra beginning during your freshman or sophomore year of high school. Then, when you reach junior year, you can focus more earnestly on SAT-specific content and strategies.

To get started with your studying, check out these free CollegeVine SAT study resources:

• Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Math Test
• Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Reading Test
• Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Writing and Language Test
• Ultimate Guide to the New SAT Essay
• 10 Tips to Prepare for the SAT
• Five SAT Strategies You Should Know

Preparing for the SAT? Download our free guide with our top 8 tips for mastering the SAT.

Want to know how your SAT score/ACT score impacts your chances of acceptance to your dream schools? Our free Chancing Engine will not only help you predict your odds, but also let you know how you stack up against other applicants, and which aspects of your profile to improve. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to gain access to our Chancing Engine and get a jumpstart on your college strategy!

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What’s the highest SAT score possible, and is it possible to achieve? Find out more about the 2022-2023 SAT max score and tips on how you can improve yours!

Everyone dreams of getting the highest possible sat score. find out more about the 2022-2023 sat max score and get some top tips for improving yours..

Updated by TCM Staff on 2nd December 2022

What Is the Highest SAT Score Possible? Info for 2022-2023

2nd December 2022

These days, the acronym SAT doesn’t stand for anything . It used to mean Scholastic Aptitude Test, but the College Board dropped the meaning as the SATs continued to evolve over the years.

Whether or not the acronym stands for anything, one thing’s for sure — your SAT score can significantly impact your college admission chances. Whether you get the highest score on your SAT or the lowest possible grade, many college admissions offices will consider your performance along with your application.

Because of how vital the SATs can be to your academic career and, ultimately, your future, it only makes sense to want to achieve the highest SAT score possible.

But what’s the highest SAT score possible, exactly? The highest you can get is 1600 , which constitutes a perfect SAT score. But is it possible to earn a 1600? If not, what constitutes a good SAT result ?

If you’re asking all of these questions and more, then you’re in the right place. This guide covers all the information you need to know, including the max SAT score in 2023 and how the SATs are scored. We also include some valuable tips to help you improve your results.

Let’s begin!

How Is the SAT Scored?

The way in which the SAT gets scored has changed over the years. For example, until 2005, The SATs included sections for Critical Reading and Mathematics. Back then, each section was scored from 200 to 800. Thus, during this time, the highest SAT score was 1600.

Then, in 2005, the College Board changed the SATs for the 2005-2006 academic year. Significant changes included the addition of a Writing section, which was also scored from 200 to 800. The Writing section tested examinees’ grammar and added an essay section to assess students’ writing capabilities.

This new format, which included the Writing section, lasted from 2005 to 2016. During this time, the max SAT score achievable was 2400. However, the format quite obviously didn’t last very long, as in 2016, College Board launched another version of the SAT — the version it uses today.

Until about a little over a year ago, the SAT had four sections: Reading, Writing and Language, Mathematics, and an optional essay. However, in early 2021, the College Board got rid of the optional essay (as well as SAT subject tests).

That said, each section has a certain number of questions. Getting them correct means receiving a raw score . The raw score is then translated into a scaled score, as seen in the chart below. Scaled scores may vary depending on the section — reading and writing raw scores are first translated into a score of 10 to 40 before being added and further scaled (to a maximum of 800).

The Highest SAT Score Possible [2022-2023]

So what is the max SAT score today?

After all of the changes to the SATs, today’s SAT includes three sections: Reading, Writing and Language, and Mathematics. These sections are further classified into two graded sections: Mathematics and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW).

Each section’s minimum score is 200, while the highest possible is 800. Thus, the highest SAT score possible in the current version of the SAT is 1600 , which you can get by scoring perfectly on the mathematics and EBRW sections.

In the SAT, the best score possible is potentially achievable with enough preparation. Let’s look at each section of the exam below.

What Is the Maximum Score in Mathematics?

As we mentioned above, the maximum score for the mathematics section is 800. To earn this perfect score, you must get every single one of the questions correct — all 58 of them. On rare occasions, you may be able to get 800 with 57 corrects, but it’s best to assume you’ll need 58.

The mathematics section includes arithmetic, algebra 1 and 2, geometry, and trigonometry, so it’s best to start preparing early to ensure you can get the best SAT score possible. Math isn’t everyone’s strong suit. The national average math score in 2022 seems to be 510-520. So, if you want to increase your scores, prepare as best you can!

What Is the Maximum EBRW Score?

The scoring methodology is slightly a bit more complicated in the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section.

Each sub-section (reading and writing) is scored on a scale of 10 to 40, with 40 being the highest. This score is then converted to a scaled EBRW score of 800. To achieve the perfect score of 800 in EBRW, you must earn 40 in reading and 40 in writing, for a total of 80 points. Once scaled, this will equate to a score of 800.

SAT Percentile Ranks

We’ve answered the question, “what is the best score on the SAT?” Now, let’s look at percentiles to see the national average score and what result you should aim for on your score report.

The percentile score chart below covers information available in the 2022 College Board report . The scores below are composite scores (combined math + EBRW).

We’ve established that the highest you can get on the SAT is 1600. And while there are indeed some who score perfectly on their exam, they are the cream of the crop and sit at more than the 99th percentile. Those who got a perfect score and those who scored 1560 - 1590 did better than 99% of the test takers.

Going by the chart above, the 50th percentile is 1040. Thus, 1040 is the average SAT score nationwide. Achieving this average can constitute a good SAT score, though you can aim for above average to make your application more appealing to colleges and universities.

Finally, this table shows few people got the lowest SAT Score possible. In fact, the lowest SAT score is at the 1- percentile, and it’s pretty known that it’s practically impossible to get 0 on your score report.

How Many Score Between 1400 and 1600 on the SATs?

In 2022, College Board reported that 1.7 million students took the SATs.

1400 is at the 93rd percentile, which means 8% of students scored 1400 and above.

College Board does not directly disclose how many achieved a perfect score, but we can see that 1600 is at the 99+ percentile. This means less than one percent of the total examinees scored between 1560 and 1600.

1% of 1.7 million is 17,000. Thus, fewer than 17,000 students scored perfectly on the SATs.

List of Colleges Accepting high SAT Scores 

If you’re wondering which schools accept the highest SAT scores, here is a list of some of them. These institutions may or may not require SAT scores to be submitted with your application. They may also not publish an explicit score requirement. Thus, some of the scores below are the median score of the applicants in the most recent admissions cycle and should be the result you aim for if you want your application to be competitive.

Top Tips for Achieving the Highest SAT Score Possible

If you want to get the highest possible score on your SATs, you’ll have to aim for perfection. We would typically advise against this as it can be an unnecessary source of stress. But, if you want to increase your chances of admission at some of the nation’s most competitive institutions, it’s just what you’ll have to do.

Of course, you can do a few other things to increase your chances of success. Here are a few of our top tips:

• Remember your motivations. Keeping your motivation top-of-mind can help inspire you to continue studying and working hard to prepare for your SATs. Create a vision board or set your reason as your phone wallpaper, so you get small reminders every now and then.
• Study well and use high-quality SAT prep materials. It’s not enough to spend all of your time studying. Instead, focus on optimizing your study time to ensure you absorb information as effectively as possible. Also, ensure you use high-quality SAT prep materials
• Take plenty of practice tests. Once you’ve studied enough, you can start taking practice tests to best prepare yourself for the SATs. Do your best to get as many questions correct as possible, but if you don’t, then try to learn from your mistakes. Doing so will allow you to absorb everything you’ve learned in the best way possible.

In the end, the best thing you can do is to keep studying and taking practice exams. With this strategy, you can identify strengths and weaknesses. Continue refining your study methods until you feel confident enough in your ability to score high on the SATs.

Make sure that you take a few breaks here and there, too, just to give your mind a rest from all the stress!

Frequently Asked Questions

What was mark zuckerberg’s sat score.

Mark Zuckerberg earned the prestige of being one of the SAT top scorers. It may surprise you that he achieved a perfect score of 1600, which is an incredibly rare result.

Will a perfect SAT get you into Harvard?

Unfortunately, even if you get a perfect score on your SATs, you don’t automatically gain admission into Harvard. Harvard University uses a holistic admissions approach, which considers your SAT score as just one component of your whole application. Thus, if the rest of your application is not up to par, your chances of admission decrease. It’s worth mentioning that Harvard also currently allows applications without SAT scores through 2030.

How important is the SAT for college admission?

A few years ago, the SAT would have been one of the critically important components of your application. People would constantly ask themselves, “what is the best score for the SAT I could get?” Nowadays, however, more schools are dropping the standardized test requirement or making it optional. It’s still a good idea to take the SAT (or ACT) and do well, as some of your dream schools may still require it.

So, what is the highest you can get on the SAT? The answer to that question is 1600 — the perfect score. 1600 sits in the 99+ percentile. If you can get a perfect score, that means you’ve done better than over 99% of test takers. Unfortunately, aiming for perfection can be incredibly challenging and stressful. 

Luckily, you don’t have to aim for the highest SAT score possible to be in the 99+ percentile. Scoring anywhere from 1560 to 1600 puts you in 99+. And if you score 1530 - 1550, you’ve already done better than 99% of the other examinees.

We hope this guide answers the question, “what are the highest SAT scores you can get?” Good luck! We’ve discussed the highest, lowest, and average SAT score. If you still haven’t received your score on the SAT, check out our article on when SAT scores come out (and when you can expect your score report).

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• A perfect SAT score is 1600.
• The minimum score is 400.
• The average for the class of 2023 was 1010

Most of you reading this aren’t 33 yet; instead, you’re probably looking to take the SAT for the first time. It’s a daunting test, not least because of its length: three hours, not including breaks or the (optional) essay. The Reading section alone is a continuous 65 minutes. That’s a long time to focus! The good news is that with practice, you can sharpen your skills and achieve your own personal “good” score. What number is that, exactly?

The Importance of a Baseline

If you haven’t taken the SAT yet, be like Hasan Minhaj and sign up for a free practice SAT online or at any of our locations across the country.

Comparison #1: Your SAT Score vs. the National Average

If your ultimate SAT score (or superscore ) is close to the national average, then you’ll have a solid chance of gaining admission to a variety of schools. ( Good grades really help! They’re the single most important factor in college admissions decisions.) The higher your SAT score, the better your chances of admission at selective schools will be. Plus, high SAT scores also drive merit-based aid at many schools, so earning an above-average score can also save you lots of money — and spare you from accruing significant college debt. In contrast, a score that is well below average is considered low at just about any four-year school. You may be able to balance low scores with a standout college application at some colleges, but even if you're accepted, the school may ask you to take some college-readiness courses before enrolling. And you won’t be as likely to earn merit-based financial aid. 

Comparison #2: Your SAT Score vs. Typical Scores at Your Target Schools

It matters less how students perform at the national level than how they perform at a few key local levels — namely, your target schools. (These numbers are, of course, related: A selective school will be able to boast student SAT scores that exceed the national average by greater margins than those at its less competitive counterparts.) Not sure how you measure up? You can use our college search to find the online profiles of schools you want to research. Look up the profiles of the schools on your wishlist, and click over to the “Admissions” tab. Our college profiles report the middle 50% range of test scores for entering first-year students. Do your scores fall in the lower end of a school's range? That school may be a longshot (though still possible with some SAT prep !). Do your scores fall well within the school's average range? That college or university could be a match! The scores you see are your goals to set — and, ideally, the ones to beat. Remember that the higher you can score, the more likely you are to make yourself eligible for merit-based aid.

The Takeaway

Unless you earned a perfect SAT score, you can always improve your score. Find out your baseline , and then see how it compares to typical scores at your target schools . While colleges consider a lot of factors when they make admissions decisions, standardized test scores are an important piece of your college application. Higher scores mean more college options for you. A good SAT test score can also help you snag additional merit scholarship money — even at test-optional schools .

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POST HIGHEST SAT essay scores WITHOUT finishing!

<p>I wrote an essay in Jan without conclusion- got a 10.</p>

<p>yay! that gives me hope! i didn’t have time to write a conclusion lol</p>

<p>yup. i was worried too. ihad three quality paras and one hurried para, no conclusion.</p>

<p>sounds like my essay. the stuff i wrote was pretty good, but i had no time to write a conclusion</p>

<p>I wrote an essay in March without finishing and got a 10. Sucks because I probably would’ve gotten higher if I just wrote less and worked in a conclusion.</p>

<p>I got an 11 for an incomplete essay, I was so scared until I saw that. My composite score was a disaster though.</p>

<p>i wrote exactly a page and got a 9…stopped in the middle of a sentence and everything</p>

<p>I got a 9 without completing my conclusion, I was only about 1 sentence away though…</p>

<p>i got a 9 with a one sentences conclusion</p>

<p>I purposely didn’t write a conclusion because my mind blanked. I still got a 9.</p>

<p>I got a 12 to my surprise. I cut the 3rd paragraph of evidence (only got 2), and literally wrote a one sentence conclusion (half scribbled IMO)</p>

<p>8 >.< On my essay.</p>

<p>My son got 11 on the essay and rant out of time before he wrote the conclusion.</p>

<p>No conclusion; 10.</p>

<p>8 without a conclusion.</p>

<p>DS1 – 10, time ran out in mid-sentence halfway through his conclusion. Wrote two full pages. It didn’t hurt his overall writing score.</p>

<p>I got a 12 on my essay. On my first paragraph, I had forgotten the name of some of the characters in the Great Gatsby, the second I made very almost ambiguous references, and I don’t even remember the third. My conclusion was a puny sentence long that was incomplete!</p>

<p>I got an 11 and I BARELY finished my conclusion. It was literally one sentence long!</p>

<p>I got a 9 and I rushed my entire last paragraph and conclusion</p>

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The SAT is coming back at some colleges. It’s stressing everyone out.

A patchwork of admissions test policies is wreaking havoc on students, parents and college admissions consultants.

A California mother drove 80 miles this month to find an SAT testing center with an open seat where her high school junior could take the exam. During college tours this spring, a teen recalled hearing some would-be applicants groan when admissions staffers announced they could not guarantee test-optional policies would continue.

And across the country, college counselors are fielding questions from teenagers alarmed, encouraged or simply confused by what seems like the return of the standardized test in admissions — maybe? Sort of? In some places, but not in others?

“You could be expecting and preparing for a certain way to apply to a college and present yourself — but then they change it mid-application process,” said Kai Talbert, a 17-year-old high school junior in Pennsylvania. “That’s really confusing. It can set back a lot of people.”

Colleges nationwide have been updating their coronavirus-era policies on standardized testing, which many dropped when the pandemic shut down in-person testing centers. Some of the most selective schools are declaring they will require tests again — including, across the last two months, Dartmouth College and Yale and Brown universities. Others, such as the University of Chicago and Columbia University, won’t. And still others have not yet picked a permanent policy: Princeton, Stanford, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania have said they will remain test-optional for another year or two, and Harvard University plans to keep its test-optional policy at least through the 2025-26 application cycle.

Public universities have veered in different directions, too: The University of Tennessee system requires tests. The University of Michigan will be test-optional. The University of California system is test-blind, meaning schools refuse to consider SAT or ACT scores for admissions.

The patchwork of policies is wreaking havoc on applicants, parents and college admissions consultants nationwide, who are being forced to recalculate where and how they are willing to apply — or what to tell anxious teenagers about whether to test, retest or skip testing entirely — as decisions keep rolling out in real time.

Laurie Kopp Weingarten, founder of One-Stop College Counseling in New Jersey, said she has a new response whenever a student gives her a list of their school targets. She starts by going down the list, school by school, to review each institution’s testing rules and whether those seem likely to change.

Taking a breath, Weingarten rattled off a summary of the different testing requirements in place at every Ivy League school. It took her three minutes.

“Even just saying it, it sounds like insanity to me, and then we’re expecting kids to understand this?” Weingarten said. “Colleges should really analyze the data, come up with a decision and stop changing their mind.”

The shifting testing expectations are among many changes roiling college admissions this year. Colleges are still grappling with the fallout from the landmark Supreme Court ruling that ended the use of race-based affirmative action in admissions. Many are undertaking an array of experiments in response to the decision in a bid to maintain diverse admitted classes — ending legacy preferences in some cases, adding essay prompts on adversity or identity in others, or increasing outreach in low-income areas.

And the disastrous rollout of a federal financial aid form that was supposed to simplify the notoriously difficult process has left students, parents and schools scrambling .

This is the most hectic and distressing admissions cycle in recent memory, said Jennifer Nuechterlein, a college and career counselor at a New Jersey high school. She laid special blame on schools that reinstated testing mandates in the past two months, some of which affect the high school juniors who will begin applying in the fall. This class of teens will have to take the SAT or ACT, should they decide to do so, within the next six months.

“Students can’t just test overnight,” Nuechterlein said. “There are students who want to prep, there are students who are not math- or English-ready. ... Students are going to be unprepared.”

For the most ambitious, high-achieving students, the tests are another stressful hurdle to clear as they apply to the most selective colleges. And for many other students, the test scores — even if not required for admission — are mandatory if they want to qualify for some financial aid programs or, on some campuses, certain degree programs.

Critics of standardized tests have argued that they mirror, or exacerbate, societal inequities, in part because students from unstable homes or with limited resources cannot afford SAT or ACT tutors or testing preparation classes, or may not know of free resources such as Khan Academy . Even before the pandemic, some schools had moved to make the scores optional to avoid creating another barrier for students.

Then the pandemic hit, spurring a crisis response when students literally could not access spaces in which to take standardized tests, said Dominique J. Baker, a University of Delaware associate professor of education and public policy who studies admissions policies.

“There were a number of institutions that never would have chosen to have gone test-optional except the pandemic made them,” she said. “Those institutions, by and large, are going back to requiring test scores.”

MIT, Georgetown University and the University of Florida are among schools that quickly chose to reinstate the requirements, with MIT announcing the change in 2022. Many others have spent the years since the virus arrived studying what effect going test-optional had on their admitted classes.

At Brown, Yale and Dartmouth, officials said they had found something surprising: Considering test scores would help them identify more promising applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds, not fewer. After looking at their own data, leaders at the three Ivy League schools say they concluded that SAT and ACT scores are highly predictive of students’ academic performance in college, more so than high school grades. They also found that some less-advantaged students withheld their scores when sharing them would have boosted their chances.

Depriving admissions officers of SAT and ACT scores meant they were less able to evaluate an applicant’s chances of thriving at Brown, Provost Francis J. Doyle III said in an interview this month .

“Our analysis suggested our admissions could be more effective if we brought back testing as an instrument,” Doyle said.

The University of Texas at Austin is also choosing to require testing again, the school announced earlier this month. Jay Hartzell, the school’s president, said he and others worried the cost and preparation associated with the tests could keep students from applying. But about 90 percent of UT Austin applicants in the latest round took the SAT even though it was optional, Hartzell said. And the school found that students who declined to submit scores were less successful once enrolled.

John Friedman, a professor of economics and international and public affairs at Brown, said he wouldn’t be surprised if more of those highly selective schools reinstate a testing requirement. He was one of the authors of the study from Opportunity Insights, a nonprofit at Harvard University, on standardized test scores and student performance at a dozen “Ivy-plus” universities.

“It’s not just about the test scores being a good predictor,” he said. “We show in the paper that students who attend a school, having been admitted without a test score, perform at the bottom of the distribution.” He said schools should look at their own data to determine their policy.

Nonetheless, most schools nationwide will probably remain test-optional, predicted Angel Pérez, the chief executive of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. For many institutions, he said, the policy has been a huge success, bumping up the number of applicants and diversifying admitted classes.

He added that most American high-schoolers are applying to schools that admit nearly all applicants, to public schools or to colleges close to home, he said: “So the majority of students aren’t going to be impacted.”

Morehouse College is among those maintaining a test-optional policy, which the historically Black college adopted in 2020. Since going test-optional, Morehouse has seen an increased number of applicants and an increased acceptance rate from admitted students, said Michael Gumm, Morehouse’s director of admissions and recruitment.

The majority of Morehouse applicants choose not to submit scores, Gumm said, and more students are completing their applications than in the past. He said Morehouse is looking for leaders, so essays and letters of recommendation carry a lot of weight.

Gumm said he often preaches to students: “Your test scores do not make you who you are.”

But for some students, the tests remain a priority. Alina Bunch, a 16-year-old high school junior in Texas, said that even when she saw schools dropping test requirements, she never altered her plan to take the ACT. The exam, she says, is a way to demonstrate determination and academic rigor.

She thinks it’s generally a good thing that schools are bringing back testing requirements, because they can function as a mechanism of standardization in a sometimes subjective admissions process. She does fear the effects of reinstating test requirements for students who cannot afford tutoring.

But for herself — after taking a summer course to prepare for the ACT and scoring high on the exam — she has no real worries. “It was never a question for me, of whether I should do it or not,” Alina said.

Many students pursued similar strategies, continuing to take standardized tests throughout the test-optional trend. After a dramatic drop in 2020 spurred by the sudden closure of test sites, the number of students taking the SAT nationally has risen every year since, per the College Board, and reached 1.9 million for the class of 2023. That’s about 300,000 short of the last pre-pandemic total, when 2.2 million members of the class of 2019 sat for the exam — the largest-ever group to do so.

Joan Koven, who heads college consulting company Academic Access in Pennsylvania, said she never expected standardized testing to suffer a real drop in popularity.

“The ACTs and the SATs are Burger King and McDonald’s,” she said. “They’re not going away.”

But in some places, counselors wish they would. Priscilla Grijalva, a high school counselor in California’s San Jacinto Unified School District, said the elimination of test requirements in the UC system and California State University campuses was a godsend for the nearly 300 students she works with every year, a mix of White, Black and Latino teens, most of whom are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

In the past, many of her students applied only to community colleges. But now she has seen a sharp rise in those willing to aim for state universities.

“It has changed our students’ mindsets,” Grijalva said. “Now it’s like, ‘Hey, I can do this.’ They’re more confident in their leadership and their grades.”

But the flurry of recent announcements from schools altering their testing rules has proved alarming, she said. Her students “do feel the pressure coming back,” she said. “They’re starting to talk.”

Claire Elkin, 16, overheard some of this nervous chatter when she was touring colleges this spring with her family — making visits to places including the University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At every school, recalled Claire, who took the ACT and intends to submit her scores, admissions tour leaders said something like: “Yeah, we’re test-optional now, but we can’t guarantee anything for you.”

Every time, the crowds of hopefuls around Claire broke into murmurs that ranged from anguished to angry, she said. She remembered one family whose daughters seemed especially upset, spurring the mother to jump into emergency action trying to calm the girls as the admissions presentation continued.

“A lot of kids my age can’t set a path right now for what they should be prioritizing when they’re applying for schools,” Claire said. “So there is definitely more panic.”

An earlier version of this article included incorrect information about the rise in the number of students who have taken the SAT since a drop sparked by the pandemic. The number of students taking the test reached 1.9 million for the class of 2023, about 300,000 fewer than for the class of 2019. The article has been corrected.

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Guest Essay

How the SAT Changed My Life

By Emi Nietfeld

Ms. Nietfeld is the author of the memoir “Acceptance.”

This month, the University of Texas, Austin, joined the wave of selective schools reversing Covid-era test-optional admissions policies, once again requiring applicants to submit ACT or SAT scores.

Many colleges have embraced the test-optional rule under the assumption that it bolsters equity and diversity, since higher scores are correlated with privilege. But it turns out that these policies harmed the teenagers they were supposed to help. Many low-income and minority applicants withheld scores that could have gotten them in, wrongly assuming that their scores were too low, according to an analysis by Dartmouth. More top universities are sure to join the reversal. This is a good thing.

I was one of the disadvantaged youths who are often failed by test-optional policies, striving to get into college while in foster care and homeless. We hear a lot about the efforts of these elite schools to attract diverse student bodies and about debates around the best way to assemble a class. What these conversations overlook is the hope these tests offer students who are in difficult situations.

For many of us, standardized tests provided our one shot to prove our potential, despite the obstacles in our lives or the untidy pasts we had. We found solace in the objectivity of a hard number and a process that — unlike many things in our lives — we could control. I will always feel tenderness toward the Scantron sheets that unlocked higher education and a better life.

Growing up, I fantasized about escaping the chaos of my family for the peace of a grassy quad. Both my parents had mental health issues. My adolescence was its own mess. Over two years I took a dozen psychiatric drugs while attending four different high school programs. At 14, I was sent to a locked facility where my education consisted of work sheets and reading aloud in an on-site classroom. In a life skills class, we learned how to get our G.E.D.s. My college dreams began to seem like delusions.

Then one afternoon a staff member handed me a library copy of “Barron’s Guide to the ACT .” I leafed through the onionskin pages and felt a thunderclap of possibility. I couldn’t go to the bathroom without permission, let alone take Advanced Placement Latin or play water polo or do something else that would impress elite colleges. But I could teach myself the years of math I’d missed while switching schools and improve my life in this one specific way.

After nine months in the institution, I entered foster care. I started my sophomore year at yet another high school, only to have my foster parents shuffle my course load at midyear, when they decided Advanced Placement classes were bad for me. In part because of academic instability like this, only 3 percent to 4 percent of former foster youth get a four-year college degree.

Later I bounced between friends’ sofas and the back seat of my rusty Corolla, using my new-to-me SAT prep book as a pillow. I had no idea when I’d next shower, but I could crack open practice problems and dip into a meditative trance. For those moments, everything was still, the terror of my daily life softened by the fantasy that my efforts might land me in a dorm room of my own, with endless hot water and an extra-long twin bed.

Standardized tests allowed me to look forward, even as every other part of college applications focused on the past. The song and dance of personal statements required me to demonstrate all the obstacles I’d overcome while I was still in the middle of them. When shilling my trauma left me gutted and raw, researching answer elimination strategies was a balm. I could focus on equations and readings, like the scholar I wanted to be, rather than the desperate teenager that I was.

Test-optional policies would have confounded me, but in the 2009-10 admissions cycle, I had to submit my scores; my fellow hopefuls and I were all in this together, slogging through multiple-choice questions until our backs ached and our eyes crossed.

The hope these exams instilled in me wasn’t abstract: It manifested in hundreds of glossy brochures. After I took the PSAT in my junior year, universities that had received my score flooded me with letters urging me to apply. For once, I felt wanted. These marketing materials informed me that the top universities offered generous financial aid that would allow me to attend free. I set my sights higher, despite my guidance counselor’s lack of faith.

When I took the actual SAT, I was ashamed of my score. Had submitting it been optional, I most likely wouldn’t have done it, because I suspected my score was lower than the prep-school applicants I was up against (exactly what Dartmouth found in the analysis that led it to reinstate testing requirements). When you grow up the way I did, it’s difficult to believe that you are ever good enough.

When I got into Harvard, it felt like a miracle splitting my life into a before and after. My exam preparation paid off on campus — it was the only reason I knew geometry or grammar — and it motivated me to tackle new, difficult topics. I majored in computer science, having never written a line of code. Though a career as a software engineer seemed far-fetched, I used my SAT study strategies to prepare for technical interviews (in which you’re given one or more problems to solve) that landed me the stable, lucrative Google job that catapulted me out of financial insecurity.

I’m not the only one who feels affection for these tests. At Harvard, I met other students who saw these exams as the one door they could unlock that opened into a new future. I was lucky that the tests offered me hope all along, that I could cling to the promise that one day I could bubble in a test form and find myself transported into a better life — the one I lead today.

Emi Nietfeld is the author of the memoir “ Acceptance .” Previously, she was a software engineer at Google and Facebook.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Opinion | David Blobaum: Elite schools are starting to…

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Opinion | David Blobaum: Elite schools are starting to require SAT scores again. Good.

Parents have been calling, texting and emailing me nonstop, particularly since the day that Yale University announced it had returned to requiring test scores for admissions. Frantic parents are desperate to know how the change will affect their kids. (Currently, three Ivy League schools — Dartmouth, Yale and Brown — have returned to requiring test scores).

I just keep telling them the same thing: Nothing has changed. Don’t overthink it. Good scores help students get into good colleges.

It is understandable that people want to adapt to changes to best position their kids for success. At elite colleges, however, the change back from test-optional to test-required is, for the vast majority of students, a change in name only.

In 2020 and even 2021, elite colleges were actually test-optional — not just in name only but in legitimate practice. COVID-19 had shut down schools, many students simply could not take the SAT or ACT, and so colleges that would have never dreamed of offering such an option were suddenly forced to no longer require standardized tests.

But the pandemic is over, schools are open, and availability to take the SAT and ACT has returned. Elite colleges have functionally returned to test-required, even if some still call themselves “test-optional.”

Why? Honesty is a large reason Yale went back to test-required admissions. Yale’s dean of admissions , Jeremiah Quinlan, said he became more and more convinced that Yale was not “being honest about the reality of our admissions process to students and parents” because it was “denying 98% of students who were applying without test scores.”

Yale did the right thing: With a three-times-higher admit rate for students who submitted test scores, it publicly went back to the testing policy that it was functionally already employing. And who were those 2% of applicants without test scores who were admitted? Yale doesn’t say, but, based on the data and my experience seeing athletes get recruited without test scores, I wouldn’t be surprised if those admitted without test scores were primarily recruited athletes — for Ivy sports such as squash and lacrosse.

Additionally, Yale and  Dartmouth  realized that disadvantaged students were being further disadvantaged by test-optional admissions because test-optional policies mislead students into thinking that they have an equal chance of admission without test scores. They don’t. At elite colleges,  SAT/ACT scores are more predictive than grades , so — especially without the Advanced Placement classes and other college prep indicators of well-resourced students — disadvantaged students were unable to provide evidence of a sufficient academic foundation if they didn’t submit SAT/ACT scores. Test-optional admissions, pitched as a boon for equity, were actually further disadvantaging the disadvantaged.

Test-optional admissions create more pressure to do better on innumerably more things. Unless, of course, you take my advice and assume the school is test-required in practice. So if going back to test-required is actually the right thing to do, why aren’t all colleges, elite or not, switching back? Because doing so is not always financially beneficial to a college.

Consider  the statement from Gene Davis, a member of the University of North Carolina board of governers’ Committee on Educational Planning, Policies, and Programs, saying the quiet part out loud when responding to whether UNC would go back to requiring test scores: “We look at things from an academic perspective, but also from a business perspective,” Davis said. “We have to look at what other institutions that our North Carolina high school students are applying to. We have to recognize that we will be putting ourselves, our constituent institutions at a competitive disadvantage.”

Translation: From an academic perspective that prioritizes education, we would require test scores. From a business perspective that prioritizes finances, we think fewer people will apply if we require test scores, which means less money in our institution’s coffers.

Whether elite colleges will do the right thing, even though it means giving up the benefits of test-optional admissions — increased application numbers and artificially higher average SAT/ACT score for their school , for example — remains to be seen. But, for students and their families, it doesn’t really matter. De facto, the elite colleges are already functionally test-required.

After advising thousands of students through their application process and watching the unprecedented evolution of admissions criteria since COVID-19, I can sum all of this up for you very simply. No matter what they describe their testing policies to be — functionally speaking — all colleges have only one of two policies: test-required (a standardized test score of some kind is required to apply) or test-optional (a standardized test score of some kind can be used to help make admissions decisions — even if a college calls itself “test-optional” or “test-blind”).

Will elite colleges drop the facade and publicly announce the test-required policy that they privately use? I have no idea. But it makes no difference when it comes to what your kid needs to do with their application. The SAT and ACT evaluate students on the fundamentals of rhetoric, grammar, mathematics, reading and data analysis, and colleges care about those skills.

As I continually tell students and parents: Nothing has changed. Use common sense. SAT/ACT scores are better predictors of academic success at elite colleges than anything else, and admissions officers know that. Colleges, with a mandate for academic excellence, would be irrational to throw out this information , so most don’t. Unless students meet a very high institutional priority, such as athletic recruitment, then they need good test scores to get into good schools. And that’s not optional.

David Blobaum is an expert in the entrance exam and college admissions industry. He is on the board of directors and is the director of outreach for the National Test Prep Association , a nonprofit that works to support the appropriate use of testing in admissions. In 2013, he co-founded the education company Summit Prep .

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor  here  or email  [email protected] .

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