Short answer: the SAT is scored from 400 to 1600, adding Math (200 to 800) and Reading and Writing (200 to 800). The average is around 1030. A 1200 puts you roughly in the top quarter of test takers, a 1400 in about the top 7%, and a 1500 in about the top 2%. What counts as “good” depends on the colleges you’re applying to.
Percentiles are approximate, based on College Board’s most recent annual report (class of 2025). Checked November 10, 2026.
How the score is built
- Two section scores: Reading and Writing, and Math, each from 200 to 800 in steps of 10.
- Total score: the two added together, from 400 to 1600.
- Adaptive: your first module in each section decides whether the second one is easier or harder. A top score needs the harder second module, so accuracy early in the section matters a lot.
- Not every question counts. Each section includes a few unscored pretest questions. You can’t tell which ones they are.
What different scores mean
| Total score | Roughly where it puts you (SAT test takers) |
|---|---|
| 1500+ | top 2% |
| 1400 | top 7% |
| 1300 | top 15% |
| 1200 | top 25% |
| about 1030 | average |
These figures shift a little each year. College Board publishes two kinds of percentiles: one compared with everyone who took the SAT and one compared with all U.S. students in that grade. The second kind is higher because it includes students who never took the test, so when someone quotes a percentile, check which one they mean.
So what is a “good” score for you?
Look up the middle 50% range of SAT scores for each college on your list (usually in its Common Data Set or admissions page):
- At or above the top of the range: your score helps your application.
- Inside the range: your score is competitive. The rest of your application decides.
- Below the range: consider a retake, or applying test-optional if the college allows it.
For the most selective universities, ranges often run from about 1500 to 1570, with Math often 760 to 800. That’s why at that level, every Math question matters.
Superscoring: how a retake can only help
Superscoring is when a college takes your best Math score and your best Reading and Writing score from different test dates and adds them together.
Example:
| Math | Reading and Writing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| March test | 720 | 690 | 1410 |
| June test | 770 | 670 | 1440 |
| Superscore | 770 | 690 | 1460 |
Superscoring is decided by each college, not by College Board. Many colleges superscore, but not all, so check each school’s admissions page.
How to use it: if your Reading and Writing score is already strong, you can spend most of the prep time before your second test on Math.
Score Choice: which scores colleges see
Score Choice is the student’s side. It lets you decide which test dates to send to each college. If you have a 1350 and a 1460, you can send only the 1460.
The exception: some colleges require all your scores. Score Choice doesn’t override that, and College Board shows each college’s requirement when you send scores.
Sending scores costs money (after the first four)
- Free: your first four score reports, if you choose the colleges up to 9 days after the test.
- After that: $15 per report, and $31 for rush delivery.
If you’re not sure your score will be good enough, you can wait for results and send later. You just pay $15 per college instead of nothing.
Next step
If Math is what’s holding your score below your target colleges’ range, book a free call. Bring your score report and your college list, and we will set a realistic Math target and a plan to reach it.