What is a good SAT or ACT score?

A good score depends on what you need it to do

A good SAT or ACT score is one that supports your college and scholarship goals. There is no single cutoff that works for every student or school. A score can be strong nationally and still sit below the typical range at a very selective college. It can also be a meaningful improvement for you even when more preparation would help.

Use three separate comparisons: your previous performance, other test takers, and the colleges you are considering. The first measures progress, the second gives context, and the third helps you choose a target. None of them turns a score into a guarantee of admission.

What is a good SAT score nationally?

A percentile describes the share of a reference group whose scores are at or below yours; it is not the percentage of questions you answered correctly. The examples below use College Board’s SAT user-group percentiles, based on actual SAT scores from graduates in the past three school years. They are different from the nationally representative percentiles also shown by College Board.

In this table, 1200 is at the 75th percentile and 1400 is at the 93rd. Those are useful national reference points, not admission thresholds. Check the current table when interpreting a new report because percentile ranks can change.

• College Board: current SAT percentile table and reference groups

What is a good ACT score nationally?

ACT calls its percentile measure a national rank. Its September 2026–August 2027 table uses ACT-tested graduates from 2024, 2025, and 2026. For example, a Composite of 24 has a national rank of 80: about 80% of that reference group scored 24 or below.

A 30 or 32 is therefore a strong result relative to that group, but whether it meets your goal still depends on the college or scholarship. These ACT ranks and the SAT percentiles above describe different populations. Do not match the percentile columns to create your own conversion chart.

• ACT: current national ranks and reporting year

Which is stronger: your SAT score or your ACT score?

Use the joint ACT–SAT concordance tables rather than percentages of the maximum score. The selected rows below come from Table A2 of the official 2018 guide. ACT’s current score-use guidance continues to direct institutions to the 2018 concordance, including alongside its enhanced-test information.

Concordance supports comparison; it does not predict exactly what you will score if you change exams. Compare results obtained under realistic conditions, and consider the college’s section-score and superscoring rules as well.

• College Board and ACT: full concordance guide, Table A2 (PDF)
• ACT: current Composite, superscoring, and concordance guidance

Examples: 1400 SAT vs. 30 ACT, and 1500 SAT vs. 34 ACT

If you earned 1400 on the SAT and 30 on the ACT, the SAT is stronger on this total-score comparison: ACT 30 concords to SAT 1360–1380. This is an interpretation of the table, not a prediction of how a particular admissions office will weigh your application.

If you earned 1500 on the SAT and 34 on the ACT, the results are broadly comparable: 1500 falls within the 1490–1520 range for ACT 34. Inspect section results and reporting policies before deciding what to send. Do not invent a combined SAT–ACT superscore.

• College Board: limits of concordance and cross-test superscoring

Use each college’s middle 50% range carefully

Look for the latest class profile or Common Data Set on the college’s own website. A middle 50% range runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile of the group being reported. Check whether the numbers describe admitted students, enrolled students, or only students who submitted scores, and note the class year.

For an illustration, suppose a college reports an SAT range of 1250–1400. A 1320 lies inside that range. It does not mean a 50% chance of admission, and 1250 is not automatically a minimum. A score above the upper end also does not guarantee admission. This is a hypothetical example, not a named college’s published range.

A profile from a test-optional class may describe only the students who chose to submit results. Use that context rather than treating the range as a universal cutoff. Yale, for example, explains that scores are only one part of its review and that many applicants with strong scores cannot be admitted.

• Yale Admissions: how test scores fit into application review

Turn the comparison into a useful target

Make a separate row for each college or scholarship. Record its current testing policy, published score range, section requirements if any, and final accepted test date. Choose a goal that helps your application plan and leaves room for your other responsibilities. A scholarship may use a specific threshold even when an admissions profile shows a range.

Retaking can be worthwhile when you have an identifiable skill to improve and time to practice it. If another test would crowd out important schoolwork or application tasks, weigh that cost. For test-optional applications, discuss your context with a counselor rather than using a rigid rule to submit or withhold a score.

• Decide whether switching SAT and ACT would help
• Build a study routine around your review priorities