Check Your SAT Score Against 495 Colleges
Set your section scores, GPA and family income. You'll see the colleges your score is good for, what each would cost your family and what its graduates earn.
Family income a year
A 1200 beats about 75% of test takers. The class of 2026 averaged 1045.
Likely or target at 328 of 495 colleges.
Likely: you’d probably get in. Target: a real shot. Reach: a long shot at your score.
Your colleges
- SAT range 1200–1480 · Average GPA 3.81You 1200$9,056cost/year at your income level$80ktypical income after graduation84%graduation rate50%of applicants get in
- SAT range 1150–1400You 1200$16,811cost/year at your income level$78ktypical income after graduation85%graduation rate57%of applicants get in
- SAT range 1050–1280 · Average GPA 3.68You 1200$30,273cost/year at your income level$70ktypical income after graduation74%graduation rate41%of applicants get in
- SAT range 1190–1380You 1200$33,908cost/year at your income level$72ktypical income after graduation82%graduation rate51%of applicants get in
- SAT range 1100–1340You 1200$19,790cost/year at your income level$77ktypical income after graduation86%graduation rate44%of applicants get in
- SAT range 1050–1300You 1200$13,932cost/year at your income level$80ktypical income after graduation61%graduation rate66%of applicants get in
- SAT range 1150–1340 · Average GPA 4.09 weightedYou 1200$6,040cost/year at your income level$64ktypical income after graduation78%graduation rate43%of applicants get in
- SAT range 1170–1350 · Average GPA 4.13 weightedYou 1200$21,374cost/year at your income level$83ktypical income after graduation81%graduation rate66%of applicants get in
- SAT range 1190–1390 · Average GPA 3.62You 1200
Your Reading and Writing is below their range.
$25,957cost/year at your income level$95ktypical income after graduation66%graduation rate62%of applicants get in - SAT range 1190–1370 · Average GPA 3.68You 1200
Your Reading and Writing is below their range.
$17,357cost/year at your income level$69ktypical income after graduation79%graduation rate60%of applicants get in
Data from colleges' official 2025-26 reports.
Why Your SAT Score Feels Worse Than It Is
If your number looks small next to everyone else’s, it probably isn’t. Most students undersell their score, for two reasons.
You compare yourself with the wrong crowd. Reddit, YouTube and your friend group skew to the top. In a score reaction video, a 1400 can be the “sad” one. In real life, a 1400 beats 93% of test takers.
Some ranges ran high for a few years. While colleges were test-optional, mostly high scorers sent a score, so the ranges climbed. Harvard and Dartmouth require scores again, and their ranges came back down. MIT already required them, so its range held.
Harvard−60at the bottomFall 20241510–1580Fall 20251450–1560
Dartmouth−60at the bottomFall 20241500–1570Fall 20251440–1560
MIT0at the bottomFall 20241520–1580Fall 20251520–1580
NYU is still test-optional, which is why its range sits next to Princeton’s in the strip below.
Your school counts too. Colleges read your score next to your high school’s average. A 1250 from a school that averages 1050 tells them more than the number alone.
Good SAT Scores by College
With that in mind, here’s what your score opens, band by band, with real schools in each one. Drag your score along the strip and watch which ranges it lands in.
inside 9 of
these ranges
Big state universities
1000 to 1200Most admit 3 in 4 or more: in range means likely.
- Georgia State
(Georgia State University): SAT range 950 to 1200 - Temple
(Temple University): SAT range 1020 to 1320 - Kentucky
(University of Kentucky): SAT range 1050 to 1280 - Michigan State
(Michigan State University): SAT range 1080 to 1320 - Arizona
(University of Arizona): SAT range 1080 to 1340 - Alabama
(The University of Alabama): SAT range 1090 to 1360
State flagships
1200 to 1350Above their range, you’ll likely get in. Inside it, you have a real shot.
- Texas A&M
(Texas A&M University): SAT range 1150 to 1400 - Indiana
(Indiana University Bloomington): SAT range 1200 to 1410 - Purdue
(Purdue University): SAT range 1200 to 1480 - Georgia
(University of Georgia): SAT range 1240 to 1430 - Penn State
(The Pennsylvania State University-University Park): SAT range 1260 to 1430 - Ohio State
(The Ohio State University): SAT range 1290 to 1460
Top 50 universities
1350 to 1500Most admit under 1 in 4: your score gets you read, your essays decide.
- Florida
(University of Florida): SAT range 1330 to 1490 - Michigan
(University of Michigan-Ann Arbor): SAT range 1370 to 1530 - Wisconsin
(University of Wisconsin-Madison): SAT range 1380 to 1520 - Georgia Tech
(Georgia Institute of Technology): SAT range 1380 to 1550 - UNC Chapel Hill
(University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill): SAT range 1390 to 1530 - Illinois
(University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign): SAT range 1390 to 1540 - Boston University
(Boston University): SAT range 1420 to 1530
The most selective
1500 and upEach admits under 1 in 10: a reach at any score.
- Harvard (Harvard University): SAT range 1450 to 1560
- Yale
(Yale University): SAT range 1470 to 1570 - NYU
(New York University): SAT range 1480 to 1560 - Princeton
(Princeton University): SAT range 1500 to 1580 - Columbia
(Columbia University): SAT range 1500 to 1580 - Penn
(University of Pennsylvania): SAT range 1510 to 1570 - MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology): SAT range 1520 to 1580
- Stanford
(Stanford University): SAT range 1520 to 1580
A 1020 beats 50% of test takers. A 1200 beats 75% of test takers. A 1400 beats 93% of test takers. A 1500 beats 97% of test takers. The class of 2026 averaged 1045.
How to read a range. A college’s SAT range is the middle half of the scores its first-years sent. It isn’t a cutoff: about a quarter of every class scored below the first number. At Harvard, that’s below 1450.
Your SAT Score Can Go Higher
Your score today is where you start, not where you stop. A good score is one you can reach from there in the time you have. A 1250 from a 1000 start is a bigger win than a 1500 from a 1450.
The first points come fastest. At 1000 you have lots of missed questions to win back. At 1450 you have a handful, and they’re the hardest ones. Going from 1000 to 1200 moves you past 28% of test takers. Going from 1400 to 1500 moves you past 4%.
So set your goal from two numbers: the range of the colleges you want, and your starting score. Then let Aniko get you there.
Aniko builds your study plan around your test date and target score. Your practice adapts as you improve and goes where you have the most points to win. It works, so we guarantee your score: finish 90% of your plan, and if your SAT still comes in below your guaranteed score, you can claim a refund. See How does the Score Guarantee work?
It starts at your score from the checker. Set your test date to see the score you’re on track for and the score Aniko guarantees.
Take a practice test to lock in your starting score.
* Practice tests are included in study time and number of questions.
Good SAT Math and Reading and Writing Scores
Each section is scored from 200 to 800. A 600 in either section beats about 3 in 4 test takers, and a 700 beats about 9 in 10.
The College Board sets a benchmark for each section: the score that says you’re ready for college classes. It’s 480 in Reading and Writing and 530 in Math. Reach it, and you’re likely to get at least a C in your first college classes.
Reading and Writing: 600, which beats 72% of test takers. The college-readiness benchmark is 480; 520 is the middle score.
Math: 600, which beats 75% of test takers. The college-readiness benchmark is 530; 500 is the middle score.
Your sections from the checker. Change them
When Math matters more. For engineering, computer science and other STEM majors, colleges look hard at your Math score. At Georgia Tech the Math range is 700 to 790; at MIT it’s 780 to 800. That’s why a 7 in front of each section is the shorthand at selective schools.
A lopsided score is normal. If one section sits below a school’s range, the checker flags it. Raise that section first: it holds the points that come fastest.
For the percentile of every section score, see the SAT Score Calculator.
How Your SAT Score Changes What College Costs
Here’s the surprise most families miss: the most selective colleges are often the cheapest for families under $75k. They have the most money for grants.
For a family earning $48,000 to $75,000, colleges that admit under 15% usually cost about $9,200 a year after grants. An in-state public university usually costs about $12,900.
Your family income from the checker. Price a year after grants, by family income in thousands of dollars; lines every $25,000.
| Family income | Harvard | Ohio State | Williams | Boston University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $2,542 | $6,061 | $2,291 | $16,336 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $2,070 | $5,538 | $3,680 | $39,763 |
| $48,000 to $75,000 | $4,126 | $9,708 | $722 | $52,880 |
| $75,000 to $110,000 | $9,995 | $18,203 | $5,280 | $70,352 |
| Over $110,000 | $51,128 | $27,873 | $43,912 | $83,101 |
It’s not only the famous names. At the same income, CUNY’s Baruch and Hunter cost under $3,400 a year, with SAT ranges from 1100 to about 1400. That’s why the checker asks for your income: the price on the sticker isn’t the price you pay.
A score pays beyond admission. Even at test-optional schools, many public universities award merit scholarships by SAT score and GPA, honors colleges look at it, and some schools use it to place you into higher courses. A few more points can mean real money.
What to Do With Your SAT Score
You have a score and a list. Pick a school, and you’ll get a verdict with its reason.
Your next move
Purdue requires SAT scores, so send your best one.
You’re in Purdue’s range, so a higher score won’t change your odds there. Put the hours into your Purdue essays.
The quickest way to know where you really stand is a full practice test. It gives you a starting score, and your study plan takes it from there.
Quick Answers
On the official ACT-to-SAT chart, a 1200 SAT matches about a 25 on the ACT, and a 1400 about a 31. The 1045 average lines up with about a 20. Colleges accept either test and don’t prefer one.
The PSAT sits on the same scale as the SAT, so a PSAT score is roughly what you’d score on the SAT that day. A 1200 on the PSAT is about a 1200 on the SAT, not a higher number. See What does my PSAT score mean for the SAT?
The score means the same, but test-optional is less optional for you: many colleges lean on the SAT to compare applicants from different school systems. At many US colleges, aid for international students is limited too, so the checker’s net prices may not apply to you. A strong score is your best way to stand out.
A superscore adds your best Reading and Writing score to your best Math score, even from different test dates. Colleges decide whether to superscore, not College Board. See How many times can you take the SAT?
Partly. Colleges read both, and a GPA well below a school’s average moves it one step toward reach in the checker. Grades vary from school to school, so the SAT gives colleges one number they can compare across everyone.
No. Today’s SAT is scored differently from the test before 2016, and an old score converts to a higher score today. On the College Board’s official chart, a 1400 today matches about a 1340 on the old test.
1600: 800 in Reading and Writing and 800 in Math. The lowest is 400. A 1550 or higher beats 99% of test takers. See How is the SAT scored? Is it curved?