# What Is a Good SAT Score? Percentiles for 2026 | topin

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## SAT total score percentiles

College Board publishes percentile ranks based on the scores of recent graduating classes of SAT takers. A percentile is the share of test takers who scored at or below your score. The class of 2025 averaged 1029.

__SAT total score percentiles (College Board, all test takers)__
| Total score | Percentile |
| ----------- | ---------- |
| 1600        | 99+        |
| 1550        | 99         |
| 1500        | 97         |
| 1450        | 95         |
| 1400        | 93         |
| 1350        | 89         |
| 1300        | 85         |
| 1250        | 80         |
| 1200        | 75         |
| 1100        | 62         |
| 1000        | 47         |
| 900         | 32         |
| 800         | 17         |

## Section score percentiles

__SAT section score percentiles (College Board, all test takers)__
| Section score | Reading and Writing | Math |
| ------------- | ------------------- | ---- |
| 800           | 99+                 | 99+  |
| 750           | 98                  | 95   |
| 700           | 92                  | 91   |
| 650           | 84                  | 84   |
| 600           | 72                  | 75   |
| 550           | 59                  | 64   |
| 500           | 43                  | 50   |
| 450           | 29                  | 37   |
| 400           | 16                  | 21   |

College Board's college-readiness benchmarks are 480 for Reading and Writing and 530 for Math: scores that suggest a good chance of success in first-year college courses. Score reports from Fall 2026 label these percentiles "All Tester Percentile"; older reports also show a nationally representative percentile, which is a little higher at most scores.

## How to set your target score

* List the colleges you are applying to and find each one's [middle 50% SAT range](/articles/sat-scores-ivy-league-top-colleges), usually on its admissions page or in its Common Data Set.
* Aim at or above the 75th-percentile figure for your reach colleges and the midpoint for the rest.
* Check whether each college [requires, recommends or does not consider test scores](/articles/colleges-requiring-sat-2026), and whether it superscores.
* For scholarships and programmes with a cut-off, the cut-off is your target.

Then measure where you stand. [A full-length timed mock](/sat/practice-test) gives you a starting score; the gap to your target tells you how much study time to plan. Most students improve fastest by fixing a few weak skills rather than studying everything evenly.

## Rough guide by score

* 1400 and above: around the top 7% of test takers, competitive for highly selective colleges.
* 1200 to 1390: above about three quarters of test takers, solid for many selective colleges.
* 1000 to 1190: around or above average; meets the benchmarks if both sections are above 480 and 530.
* Below 1000: below the average; focus on the high-frequency skills in [Algebra](/sat/math/algebra) and grammar first.

## Try a full SAT mock free

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## FAQs

Is 1200 a good SAT score?

1200 is around the 75th percentile, above about three quarters of test takers. Whether it is good for you depends on the score ranges of the colleges you are applying to.

What is the average SAT score?

The class of 2025 averaged about 1029 out of 1600, with a median of about 1010.

What SAT score is top 1%?

On College Board's percentiles, a total of about 1500 to 1550 or higher puts you in the top 1 to 3% of test takers.

Do SAT percentiles change every year?

They are updated from the scores of recent graduating classes, so they shift slightly over time. Use the latest figures on your score report.

## Sources (checked 2 October 2026)

* [College Board: SAT percentile ranks](https://research.collegeboard.org/reports/sat-suite/understanding-scores/sat)
* [College Board: Understanding SAT scores (PDF)](https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/understanding-sat-scores.pdf)

## Related articles

[All SAT study guides ](/sat)

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