SAT Score Percentiles
January 7, 2029
Applying to a prestigious undergraduate program or university is chock-full of essential to-dos. Not only do you need to submit your academic transcripts, as well as your GPA and letters of recommendation, but a high SAT score is usually also required to be admitted to elite schools. Frankly, sorting students by their SAT (or ACT) scores is a way of organizing the thousands of applications schools receive each year. Can you imagine being on the admissions committee at a school like Harvard, with all of the essays and transcripts you'd have to look at? Just the thought is headache-worthy!
This organization of student scores is how percentiles come into play as important factors in undergraduate admissions. For example, many colleges and universities publish their SAT percentiles in the 75th and 25th categories. This article will explore percentiles to help shed some light on a sometimes confusing topic. Hopefully, you'll understand the way percentiles are used in undergraduate admission, and if you have a projected SAT score of your own, you'll likely be able to determine your own percentile.
Finally, we will also explore percentiles in the 75th and 25th categories for some elite schools. If any of them are on your list, you will be able to see the kind of competition you'll be up against. Ready to learn more about this process? We break it down for you in a hopefully easily understandable way so you can absorb what you need to know and then get back to your rigorous course of study for the SAT!
SAT Composite Percentiles
Most SAT percentiles are published or categorized for composite, or total, scores. Below you will see total scores in the left column and their percentiles on the right. A percentile indicates the percentage of test takers who didn't do as well. For instance, a 90th percentile score means 90% of everyone who took the exam got a lower score. Take a look and see where you might line up—or where you hope to be when you send out applications.
| Total Score (400-1600) | Percentile |
| 1600 | 99+ |
| 1550 | 99 |
| 1500 | 98 |
| 1450 | 96 |
| 1400 | 93 |
| 1350 | 90 |
| 1300 | 86 |
| 1250 | 82 |
| 1190 | 75 |
| 1150 | 70 |
| 1120 | 66 |
| 1050 | 56 |
| 1010 | 50 |
| 1000 | 48 |
| 950 | 41 |
| 900 | 33 |
| 850 | 25 |
| 800 | 18 |
| 750 | 11 |
| 700 | 5 |
| 530 | 1 |
SAT Percentiles by Reading & Writing and Math Sections
Sometimes schools will publish SAT percentiles broken out by the Reading & Writing and Math sections. Again, a composite (total) score percentile is more common and streamlined, but if your undergraduate discipline requires more of a focus in math or verbal skills, this may be useful for you. It never hurts to find out where you stand in terms of percentiles for each section.
Section Score Range (200-800) | Reading & Writing Percentile | Math Percentile |
| 770-800 | 99 to 99+ | 97 to 99+ |
| 740-770 | 97 to 99 | 95 to 97 |
| 710-740 | 94 to 97 | 93 to 95 |
| 680-710 | 90 to 94 | 89 to 93 |
| 650-680 | 85 to 90 | 85 to 89 |
| 620-650 | 79 to 85 | 81 to 85 |
| 590-620 | 71 to 79 | 75 to 81 |
| 560-590 | 63 to 71 | 68 to 75 |
| 530-560 | 55 to 63 | 60 to 68 |
| 500-530 | 45 to 55 | 51 to 60 |
| 470-500 | 36 to 45 | 43 to 51 |
| 440-470 | 27 to 36 | 35 to 43 |
| 410-440 | 19 to 27 | 25 to 35 |
| 380-410 | 11 to 19 | 16 to 25 |
| 210-380 | 1 to 11 | 1 to 16 |
SAT Percentiles by School
This is probably the information you've been waiting for, as it reveals the 75th and 25th percentiles for each school. While there are many other schools that publish this information, these are just a handful that are some of the more elite. Notice the acceptance rate is also included in this table, which sheds more light on the process and odds of acceptance as a whole. Is your school listed here? If so, where do you line up in terms of percentiles?
| School | SAT 75th Percentile | SAT 25th Percentile | Acceptance Rate |
| Brown University | 1560 | 1510 | 5.7% |
| University of Chicago | 1510 | 1560 | 4.5%* |
| Columbia University | 1560 | 1510 | 4.3% |
| Cornell University | 1510 | 1560 | 8.4% |
| Dartmouth College | 1500 | 1570 | 6.0% |
| Duke University | 1500 | 1570 | 4.8% |
| Harvard University | 1580 | 1510 | 4.2% |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 1520 | 1570 | 4.5% |
| University of Pennsylvania | 1570 | 1510 | 4.9% |
| Princeton University | 1560 | 1500 | 4.4% |
| Rice University | 1560 | 1510 | 7.8% |
| Stanford University | 1510 | 1570 | 3.6%* |
| Vanderbilt University | 1560 | 1510 | 4.7% |
| Yale University | 1560 | 1480 | 4.6% |
*2024 rate
SAT Percentiles: The Takeaway
In the end, raising your percentile depends on getting a higher score. So, now that you understand percentiles, return your focus to effective test day strategies and techniques that will increase your already impressive score. Below is a table featuring SAT section and total averages from 2024-2022. Ideally, you want to try to surpass these averages, as it will increase your chances of admission.
| Year | Reading & Writing | Math | Total |
| 2024 | 519 | 505 | 1024 |
| 2023 | 520 | 508 | 1028 |
| 2022 | 529 | 521 | 1050 |
Our final advice? Study hard, stay the course, and don't forget that knowledge is power. Knowing your percentile and checking it periodically as you take mock SAT exams will help give you insight and clarity about your path forward.