SAT Scores

What Is a Good SAT Score in 2026?

Last updated: October 1, 2026

A good SAT score is one at or above the middle 50% of enrolled students at the colleges on your list. Nationally, the College Board average for the Class of 2025 is 1029 out of 1600, so a score above 1029 is above average. About 1200 is the top quarter, about 1350–1400 is the top 10%, and 1500 or above is roughly the top 1–2%. The score to chase is the 75th percentile at your hardest realistic school, not the national average.

The percentile chart, section averages (521 Reading and Writing, 508 Math), and the Class of 2025 report live on our average SAT score page. This page answers the decision those numbers are for: is this score good for you?

SAT Score Bands

These bands use College Board's Class of 2025 average and the percentile landscape published with that report. They describe where a score sits in the country. They are not admission cutoffs.

Score	National standing	What it usually means
Under 1000	Below the Class of 2025 average of 1029	Broad-access and many test-optional colleges. A retake with real prep usually moves this.
1000–1190	The most common band in the Class of 2025 report	Many regional public universities. Still short of selective middle-50% ranges.
1200–1340	About the top quarter, moving toward the top 10%	Competitive at a lot of state flagships. Compare with each school's 25th percentile.
1350–1440	Around the top 10%	Strong at most universities. Selective schools may still want the mid-1400s.
1450–1600	Top few percent. 1500+ is about the top 1–2%	In range at highly selective colleges. Not an offer letter by itself.

Good SAT Score by College

Colleges do not use the national average. They publish a middle 50% range: the 25th to 75th percentile of enrolled students. A score inside that range is in the mix. A score at or above the 75th percentile is a strength in the file. A score under the 25th percentile is a gap the rest of the application has to carry.

Do not use a blog's guessed range for Harvard or Michigan. Search "[school name] Common Data Set" and open section C9, or use College Board BigFuture. Use the most recent year the school has posted. Policies also change: some colleges require a score again for the 2026–27 cycle, and others stay test-optional. Check the school's current admissions page before you decide whether to send the score.

Where you are applying	How to read "good"
Highly selective colleges	Enrolled scores cluster in the high 1400s to high 1500s. Aim at that school's own 75th percentile.
Selective national universities	Middle 50% ranges often start in the 1300s. 1400 can be inside the range at one school and short at the next.
State flagships and regional publics	Many competitive ranges sit from the low 1100s through the 1300s. Look up the campus, not the state system.
Broad-access colleges	Scores near or below the national average are often enough, and some schools do not require the SAT.

How to Set Your SAT Target

Write down the colleges you would actually attend. Drop the dream school you have not researched and the safety you already know you can get into. For each remaining school, record the 25th and 75th percentile SAT from its latest Common Data Set. Your target is the highest 75th percentile on that list.

Then take one full-length digital practice test. The gap between that score and the target is the prep plan. If the gap is mostly one section, spend the weeks there. A SAT study plan and the guide to gaining about 200 points are the next pages if the gap is large. Some colleges superscore, combining your best Reading and Writing with your best Math across dates. Only count on that if the school says it does.

SAT Score Questions

What is a good SAT score in 2026?

A good SAT score is one at or above the middle 50% of enrolled students at the colleges on your list. Nationally, the College Board Class of 2025 average is 1029, so anything above that is above average. The number that matters for admission is the 75th percentile at your hardest realistic school.

Is 1000 a good SAT score?

1000 is below the Class of 2025 average of 1029 and sits in the most common score band, 1000 to 1190. It can be enough at broad-access colleges. It is short of the middle 50% at selective universities.

Is 1100 a good SAT score?

1100 is a bit above the national average and still inside the most common band. It is competitive at many regional public universities. Check the middle 50% at your schools before you treat it as a final score.

Is 1200 a good SAT score?

1200 is around the top quarter of test-takers and is a solid score at many state universities. Highly selective colleges usually enroll students well above 1200, so compare it with each school's published range.

Is 1300 a good SAT score?

1300 sits between the top quarter and the top 10% nationally. It is a real asset at many flagship universities. At the most selective schools it is often below the middle of the enrolled class.

Is 1400 a good SAT score?

1400 is about the top 10% of SAT takers. It is strong at most universities. Selective colleges often publish middle-50% ranges that start in the mid-1400s, so 1400 can be inside the range at some and below it at others.

Is 1500 a good SAT score?

1500 or above is roughly the top 1–2% of test-takers. It is competitive at highly selective colleges. It does not guarantee admission, because grades, course rigor, and essays still decide the file.

What SAT score do Ivy League schools expect?

There is no single Ivy League cutoff. Enrolled students at those schools cluster in the high 1400s to high 1500s. Look up each school's latest Common Data Set, section C9, and aim at or above that school's 75th percentile.

Sources

The national average of 1029, and the section averages of 521 and 508, come from College Board's SAT Suite annual report for the Class of 2025. Percentile bands on this page match that report's published landscape and are spelled out on the SAT percentiles page. College ranges are not reprinted here, because they change every year and belong to each school's Common Data Set.

If the target is higher than today's score, the next reads are the digital SAT format, SAT Math, and SAT Reading and Writing. The full list is on SAT study guides. Timed practice is on pricing.

Related guides

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Average SAT Scores

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