What Is a Good SAT Score? Averages and Percentiles

A good SAT score is one that gets you into the colleges on your list. That sounds like a dodge, but it is the honest answer: a 1250 is a strong score for many state universities and below average for the most selective ones. The numbers below show where any score sits nationally, and how to turn that into a target of your own.

SAT score range at a glance

Your total is simply the sum of the two section scores. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so a blank answer and a wrong answer cost you the same: nothing extra. Always guess.

The average SAT score

According to College Board, students in the class of 2025 averaged 1029: 521 in Reading and Writing and 508 in Math. More than 2 million students in that class took the SAT at least once.

So anything above roughly 1030 is above average. That is the floor of "good", not the goal.

SAT percentiles: where your score stands

A percentile tells you what share of students scored at or below you. College Board publishes two kinds:

• User group percentiles compare you with students who actually took the SAT in the past three school years. This is the comparison colleges care about.
• Nationally representative percentiles compare you with all U.S. 11th and 12th graders, including those who never take the SAT. These run a little higher.

A practical reading of the table:

• 1200 puts you ahead of three out of four test takers.
• 1350 puts you in the top 11 percent.
• 1450 and above is the top 5 percent, the range the most selective universities see most often.

What counts as good for your colleges

Percentiles compare you with everyone. Admissions compares you with the other applicants to one school. To set your real target:

1. Make a list of 5 to 10 colleges you would actually attend.
2. Look up each school's middle 50 percent SAT range on its admissions page or Common Data Set. A range of 1300 to 1450 means a quarter of admitted students scored below 1300 and a quarter above 1450.
3. Aim for the top of the range at your target schools. Scoring at or above the 75th percentile makes your score a strength instead of a question.

If a school is test optional, a score above its middle range usually helps your application, while a score well below it is often better left unsent. Check each school's policy, because some have returned to requiring scores.

Good scores by section

Colleges see both section scores, and some programs look closely at one of them. Engineering and economics programs pay attention to Math; humanities programs to Reading and Writing. If one section is far below the other, raising it is usually the fastest way to raise your total, because the easier gains are still available there.

How to find your starting point

You cannot plan a score increase without a baseline. Take one full practice test under real timing, then check the result with our SAT score calculator. The gap between that number and your target tells you how much preparation you need:

Scores also depend on how the test adapts to you. Read how the adaptive Digital SAT works to see why accuracy in the first module of each section matters so much.