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SAT Scoring Information

Ask The Experts


So, you've taken the SATs and got your score. What does that mean?

We all know SAT scores are used for college admissions. But what score is good enough to get admitted into the college of my dreams?

This depends on a few things. First of all, the college. It's simple- the better reputation a college has, the higher your SAT score has to be if you want to get in.

The thing is, it's not just your SAT. So even if your score is at the bottom of the range for the school you want to go to, you may still get in. Colleges look at more than just SAT scores- extra curriculars, GPA average, class rank and admission essays are also admission factors, so if you've done well there, you're on your way.

Finally, note that the average on the SAT is about 1500 out of a possible 2400. If your score is below average, you should consider retaking the SAT or taking the ACT, which is another test sometimes used by American colleges for admission purposes. If your scores get close to 2100, you've done well and will most likely be accepted to most colleges.

Here's a chart that details a few top colleges and the SAT score ranges of the middle 50 percent of admitted students:

College Critical Reading Mathematics Writing
Harvard 690-800 700-790 690-780
MIT 660-760 720-800 660-750
UCLA 570-680 610-720 580-690
Princeton 690-800 700-790 680-780
Carleton 670-750 660-740 640-740
Duke 690-770 690-790 680-780
Stanford 660-760 680-780 670-770
Brown 660-760 670-770 660-760
Columbia 660-760 670-780 660-750
Cornell 630-730 660-770 630-720
Dartmouth 660-770 680-780 670-770
University of Pennsylvania 650-750 680-770 660-750
Yale 700-790 690-790 690-790

Got any more questions? Start a discussion about SAT scores in the SAT Prep community.

Good luck getting admitted to the college of your dreams!

Ask The Experts


  1. malikluvsu saidWed, 11 Feb 2009 09:32:33 -0000 ( Link )

    very helpful !!

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  2. E_Kumar saidMon, 16 Feb 2009 10:04:28 -0000 ( Link )

    thanks for the info

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  3. tausifjamal saidTue, 03 Mar 2009 05:02:35 -0000 ( Link )

    But with what scores can we get 50-70% scholarship?

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  4. oLahav saidTue, 03 Mar 2009 14:16:32 -0000 ( Link )

    SAT scores cannot guarantee you a scholarship. There’s no rule that says “with a score of 690-790 you’ll get a 65% scholarship”. Some schools will base their scholarship decisions in part on your SAT scores, but scholarships are also judged on many other criteria, including your past activities, leadership abilities, intellectual capacity (as reflected by SAT and scores in high school), and more. The higher you score on the SAT, the better your chances are to get a good scholarship, but you do have to keep working hard and applying in order to get those scholarships.

    Also, 50-70% are very hard to find and get, especially these economic times where people and schools don’t have the money to offer to students. I would personally rather focus on gaining a few smaller scholarships than one big scholarship, as this is much more realistic.

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  5. djm saidFri, 24 Apr 2009 16:08:53 -0000 ( Link )

    reallyy helpful!!

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