If you’re planning on taking the SAT exam, it’s important to understand the threshold for achievement. You’re probably wondering if your scores are good enough to get into your dream college, How to set your target SAT score or maybe you’re just curious about how SAT scoring works! This article will help you better understand the ins and outs of getting the highest SAT score and how you can make it within your reach.
The SAT is scored out of 1600, and it is possible to get a perfect score of 1600/1600 making the highest SAT score possible 1600. This would require you to get a perfect score of 800 in both reading and maths sections of the SAT, which is also the highest SAT score possible on both those sections.
However, this is a very high benchmark and Test takers who secure a score of above 1400 composite score are generally ranked in the top 5% of all candidates and can land themselves a spot at most great colleges and so some consider any score above 1400 to be around the highest SAT score.
Now that you know the highest SAT score, what’s the average SAT score? The average SAT scores for the class of 2020 was 1051. The average SAT score on the reading and writing section was 528. The average SAT maths score for the class of 2020 was 523. However the averages are test specific and depending on how hard your test may be, the average for your attempt may move up or down as would.
In this case you can look at test percentiles. Your SAT Score Percentile indicates how well you performed on your test in relation to all other test takers. You can say being in the 50th percentile is “the average” as it implies you have scored better than half the test takers and worse than the other half- making the 50th percentile score the mean of all test takers. However, this percentile often won’t make the cut for most of the best Universities as they expect the top of the crop and want the highest SAT scores.
The national average for SAT scores in the USA was 1051 in the year 2020 according to the College Board. But if you are trying to meet the entry requirements of many leading global universities the bar is on average set at above 1200. Ivy league universities have a higher SAT score benchmark of 1500, with a score of above 680 in Math and above 600 in Reading and Writing sections. These universities include Harvard, Yale and MIT to name few.
Among the ranked colleges and universities in the USA, these are the ones with the top scoring candidates, with the highest SAT scores, that is- combined average SAT reading, writing and math scores for fall 2019.
So, for example, by taking average applicant scores we can see that the minimum SAT requirement for Harvard is 1510. Obviously there is no upper limit and any university would be happy to accept the highest SAT scores, but these scores are indicative of the current threshold you should aim to pass should you want to attend any of these ivys & top schools.
| University Name | Ranking | Average SAT Score |
| University of Chicago | 6 | 1535 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4 | 1532 |
| Harvard University | 2 | 1510 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 16 | 1509 |
| Yale University | 4 | 1502 |
| Princeton University | 1 | 1501 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 8 | 1494 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 26 | 1491 |
| Stanford University | 6 | 1488 |
| Brown University | 14 | 1488 |
| Dartmouth College | 13 | 1486 |
| Northwestern University | 9 | 1481 |
| Cornell University | 18 | 1467 |
| Tufts University | 30 | 1455 |
| Northeastern University | 49 | 1455 |
| Georgetown University | 23 | 1446 |
| Emory University | 21 | 1442 |
To get the highest SAT score possible you would need to score a perfect 800 in both math and reading sections of the paper to amount to 1600 total. But out of the 2 million students who take the SAT every year, only 500 get the highest SAT score – that’s only 0.03% of candidates who achieve the perfect score!
But you can still ensure you secure a great score in a top percentile and a high score doesn’t have to mean the highest SAT score ever. You can always secure your spot in your dream college with the right practice and preparation.
A perfect score on the SAT requires you to secure 800 in both the reading and writing sections of the test as well as 800 in the math section of the test. Thus, making the perfect score of 1600 out of 1600 the highest SAT score possible.
Some test takers do achieve this score but it is not a requirement for most universities.
Your SAT Score Percentile indicates how well you performed on your test in relation to all other test takers and is a good benchmark for you to know the highest SAT score. You can say being in the 50th+ percentile is “good” as it implies you have scored better than half the test takers. However, this percentile often won’t make the cut for most of the best Universities.
So to really have a “good” percentile you want to aim to get a 75th percentile, putting you in the top quarter of test takers and in the top 25% of the highest SAT score.
The highest percentile is the 99+th percentile which means you have done better than more than 99% of all other test takers putting your score at the 1% highest SAT score.
Percentile to score conversions change every year based on how hard the test was, and the over all candidate level so you can only estimate the rates, but they have been done so below to give you an idea:
| Percentile | Score |
| 99+ | 1560-1600 |
| 99 | 1520-1550 |
| 95 | 1430-1440 |
| 90 | 1350 |
| 85 | 1290 |
| 80 | 1240-1250 |
| 75 | 1200-1210 |
| 50 | 1040-1050 |
Most universities will require you to send them your official score reports directly from the College Board and will not accept transcripts or copies. You will have to request the College Board to send the SAT results in a score report before or after SAT results day.
Your SAT scores will be sent to your colleges within 10 days of results being released.
You can send your score report in these ways:
If you send your SAT results before they are released:
You get to send four free test reports every time you take the weekend SAT. You can do this by 11:59 p.m., U.S. Eastern Time, nine days after the test.
If you send your SAT results after they are released:
You can still have these scores sent, but for a fee of $12 (without a fee waiver).
The fastest way for Students to find their SAT scores is via their online score report on the College Board website. This score includes both multiple choice and essay scores.
Sign into your College Board account with your username and password.
Select “My SAT”: Your most recent attempt at the SAT’s scores will be listed first, and your compost score in total & for the Maths, Reading and Writing sections will be displayed.
Select View Details: This will display your detailed report including raw section scores, Essay Score, Subscores and National Percentiles.
Other ways to access your SAT Scores:
Printing your Scores: Download your scores via your online score report, this option is desktop only
SAT Scores by Phone: For a fee, you can receive your SAT scores via phone on the day they are released.
Old Score: For a fee, you can request old scores by contacting the College Board.
The SAT score release date depends on the date of your test. The currently denoted official dates are as follows:
Exam Date
Result Release Date
March 12, 2022
March 25, 2022
May 7, 2022
May 20, 2022
June 4, 2022
July 13, 2022
The lowest score you can get on your SAT test is 400. Both the reading and math sections are marked between 200-800, so this would mean you would only score 200 in each section.
On the Old SAT, 2400 was a perfect score and would put you in the 99th percentile of all test takers. This means that you would have done better than 99% of all other candidates. The equivalent of this in the new SAT is scoring a 1600.
You may need to make sure your information is up to date, and verify your account through the student portal. You need your SAT registration number for this.
You can also log back into your account using another one made by a parent or counsellor.
SAT results are a requirement for admission to many of the top colleges in the US and Canada, but it is not necessary worldwide like within India or the UK. So taking the SAT is largely dependent on the place you are applying to as it could either prove to be a waste of your time or prove invaluable to your application.
If you are planning to take the SATs to improve your CV, and thus your chances of getting into university there are other routes you can take that are less expensive and potentially more enriching. For example, instead of spending a year studying and hundreds of dollars on reattempting your SAT test, you could try out Clever Harvey’s 5 week JuniorMBA program for teens. You can get industry certified in Marketing, Strategy or Technology and get work experience from big companies like PUMA and Samsonite, proving a unique selling point to your CV that most other applicants don’t have! Check out Clever Harvey today!
Embarking on a journey as a content writer requires passion, persistence, and continuous learning. With the increasing digitalization of businesses, the demand for skilled content writers is on the rise. Dive in, keep writing, and you’ll carve your niche in no time!
Delve deep into the mysteries of the oceans and uncover the secrets of its inhabitants. If the world beneath the waves intrigues you, a career as a marine biologist awaits. Discover the path to explore and study marine organisms and their fascinating world.
Dive into the world of event planning with our comprehensive guide. From understanding the role to building skills and networking, discover how to start your journey in creating memorable events.
© Callido Learning Private Limited All rights reserved 2021
