What Is a Good SAT Score in 2020?

One of the most common questions we get here at CollegeVine is what counts as a good SAT score. There really isn’t a straightforward answer to this question, since a “good score” depends on a number of different factors, including your personal context. Everything from overall test averages to the schools on your college list will determine what a good SAT score is for you. 

Nonetheless, the reason we receive this question so often is because an applicant’s SAT scores are often one of the factors most heavily weighed by college admissions committees. Some adcomms use these as an initial screening tool to filter out under qualified candidates. Other adcomms use them to differentiate between similar candidates. Regardless of how exactly your SAT scores are used during the admissions process, there’s little doubt that it will be closely scrutinized. 

In this post, we’ll tackle a few different ways to determine what’s a good SAT score for you personally, how to set a great SAT goal for yourself, and the average SAT scores at some of the top colleges in the country. To learn more about how your SAT scores stack up, keep reading. 

What Is the Average SAT Score?

It’s hard to decide what a strong SAT score is without having a sense of what other people taking the exam are scoring. Let’s face it, if you scored the highest on an exam but only answered half of the questions correctly, your 50% means something different than your 75% on an exam where the highest score was a 98%. In the table below, we provide SAT scores along with the average percentile of 2019 test takers who scored below that number. The higher your SAT User percentile, the better your score is perceived to be by colleges and scholarship committees.

Of course, when we talk about SAT scores, we are actually talking about three separate data points. Students who take the SAT receive one score from 200-800 for the Evidence Based Reading and Writing Test (EWR), and another score ranging from 200-800 for the Math test, leading to a composite score ranging from 400-1600, which is the sum of the section scores. 

In 2018, the average ERW score was 536, the average math score was 531, and the average overall composite score was 1068. 

How to Set Your Target SAT Score

Of course, there is a certain amount of subjectivity to consider when looking at SAT scores. A great SAT score for one student may not be a great score for another student. If you’re trying to set a target for your SAT score, there are a few different factors you should consider. 

What Is Your Starting Point?

Take a practice SAT to find out your starting point. Take the test under actual testing conditions, using the same resources and time constraints you’d have during an official test. This will give a realistic picture of where you’re starting from in your studying journey. Alternatively, you could use your PSAT score. Check what percentile you achieved on your PSAT and compare it to the same percentile SAT score to get a rough idea of what you might score on the SAT. 

Once you start studying, your score will hopefully improve. In general, the lower your score is to begin with, the more improvement you’ll see. If your score on a particular section is below 500, you may feasibly improve up to 200 points. For higher scores, you can aim to improve between 100 and 150 points. 

You should also realize that you’ll likely take the actual SAT test more than once, and your score will likely continue to improve each time you take it. Most students take the SAT two or three times, and the greatest score increases on actual tests occur between the first and second test administration. 

No matter where you’re starting from, establishing a baseline can help you set realistic goals for your SAT score based on the time you have before college applications and scholarship deadlines. 

What Colleges Do You Want to Attend?  

The other factor you’ll need to consider when setting a target score is what the SAT score range is at the colleges you want to attend. Generally, the more selective a college is, the higher the average SAT score of admitted students will be. Therefore, if you want to attend a selective college, you should expect to achieve a top SAT score in order to be a competitive applicant.