SAT Percentiles and Score Rankings (Updated 2025)

body-feedback-rank-ranking-satisfaction-cc0-pixabay

Have you taken the SAT recently and need help deciding whether you should retake the test? Or maybe you haven’t taken the SAT yet but want to develop a target score.

One of the best ways to understand your SAT scores is to understand your SAT score percentiles. You can learn to maximize your study time, find the biggest score gains, and impress your dream school by understanding percentile rankings. Read on for a guide to maximizing your SAT score—and your college admissions chances—by using SAT score percentiles.

 

Bonus: Want to get a perfect SAT score? Read our famous guide on how to score a perfect 1600 on the SAT. You'll learn top strategies from the country's leading expert on the SAT, Allen Cheng, a Harvard grad and perfect scorer. No matter your level, you'll find useful advice here - this strategy guide has been read by over 500,000 people.

Read the 1600 SAT guide today and start improving your score.

 

What Are SAT Score Percentiles?

In addition to the composite score you get on the SAT (i.e., that number between 400 and 1600), you'll get a percentile ranking, ranging from 1 to 99. The SAT gives you a percentile ranking for your overall composite score as well as for each of the two section scores: Reading and Writing and Math.

Your percentile tells you how you did on the SAT compared with everyone else who took the test. For example, if you got a composite percentile of 76, this means you scored higher than 76% of students on the whole test. If you got a percentile of 47 on the Math section, you did better than 47% of students on SAT Math.

Screenshot 2023-11-10 at 4.36.52 PM

An example of an SAT score report with percentiles.
(College Board / College Board)

 

Your percentile score is not a grade out of 100. For instance, if you get a percentile of 90, this doesn't mean you got exactly 90% of the questions right. It just means that compared with everyone who took the SAT, you scored higher than 90% of them. (For more info on how the SAT is scored, see our scoring guide.)

So, why do percentiles matter? Colleges use percentiles to compare you with other students. If you got, say, an SAT score in the 90th percentile, this would make you competitive for many schools since you scored better than 90% of students nationwide.

Paying attention to your percentile ranking, as well as your composite score, can give you the best idea of your performance and help you make strategic choices about which colleges to apply to.

 

What Are the Percentile Ranges for the SAT?

OK, so you get that percentile rankings are important. But if you haven’t taken the SAT yet or have taken it and plan to retake it, what composite SAT score should you shoot for in order to get a certain percentile ranking?

Luckily, the College Board releases data about composite scores and matching percentile rankings to help you figure this out. These numbers change slightly from year to year, but we have the most recent info from 2024.

We've summarized the SAT percentile ranges, based on students who've taken the exam in the past three school years.  Just find your score to see your estimated percentile.

SAT Composite Score  Percentile Score
1600-1570 99+
1560-1530 99
1520-1500 98
1490-1480 97
1470-1450 96
1440-1430 95
1420-1410 94
1400-1390 93
1380 92
1370-1360 91
1350 90
1340-1330 89
1320 88
1310 87
1300 86
1290-1280 85
1270 84
1260 83
1250 82
1240 81
1230 80
1220 79
1210 77
1200 76
1190 75
1180 74
1170 73
1160 71
1150 70
1140 69
1130 67
1120 66
1110 64
1100 63
1090 61
1080 60
1070 58
1060 57
1050 55
1040 54
1030 52
1020 51
1010 49
1000 47
990 46
980 44
970 43
960 41
950 40
940 38
930 37
920 35
910 33
900 32
890 30
880 29
870 27
860 26
850 24
840 22
830 21
820 19
810 18
800 16
790 15
780 13
770 12
760 11
750 9
740 8
730 7
720 6
710 5
700 4
690-680 3
670-660 2
650-590 1
580-400 -1

 

Something to note about these percentile ranks is that they change the fastest with the middle scores. For example, the difference between 1450 and 1600—the highest possible score—is only 4 percentile points, 96 to 99.

However, the same point gap between 1100 and 1250 has a vast percentile difference—61 to 81. This means that if you scored 1100 or lower, increasing your overall composite by just 150 points would give a vast boost to your percentile rank and your admissions competitiveness!

 

Need more help with SAT Prep? Send your parent or guardian our guide to the SAT to get them thinking about the test prep process.

Send a Free SAT eBook

 

SAT Percentile Charts by Section

We also have data on percentile rankings for score ranges in Reading and Writing and Math. Check out the chart below to see how your scores stack up.

Section Score Range SAT R&W Percentiles SAT Math Percentiles
780-800 99+ 98 to 99+
760-780 99 to 99+ 96 to 98
740-760 97 to 99 95 to 96
720-740 95 to 97 93 to 95
700-720 93 to 95 92 to 93
680-700 91 to 93 89 to 92
660-680 87 to 91 87 to 89
640-660 83 to 87 84 to 87
620-640 79 to 83 81 to 84
600-620 74 to 79 77 to 81
580-600 69 to 74 72 to 77
560-580 63 to 69 67 to 72
540-560 58 to 63 62 to 67
520-540 51 to 58 55 to 62
500-520 45 to 51 49 to 55
480-500 38 to 45 44 to 49
460-480 32 to 38 38 to 44
440-460 26 to 32 33 to 38
420-440 20 to 26 27 to 33
400-420 14 to 20 21 to 27
380-400 10 to 14 15 to 21
360-380 6 to 10 10 to 15
340-360 3 to 6 5 to 10
320-340 2 to 3 3 to 5
300-320 1 to 2 1 to 3
280-300 1 1
260-280 1- to 1 1
240-260 1- 1- to 1
220-240 1- 1-
200-220 1- 1-

Source: SAT Understanding Scores 2023

Again, note that the ranks change dramatically toward the middle scores: 500 in Reading and Writing is only the 45th percentile, but 600 is 74th. In other words, a 100-point improvement—which is very manageable with some smart studying—could transform your score from poor to good.

Note that the Math curve is more competitive near the top than the Reading and Writing curve is. A 760 is in the 96th percentile on Math but in the 99th percentile on Reading and Writing, and a 700 is in the 92nd percentile on Math but in the 93rd percentile on Reading and Writing. This means that if you were aiming for the same percentile on both sections, you'd have to get a higher score on Math than you would on Reading and Writing.

For more info on SAT scores and rankings, check out our guide to average SAT scores in which we also look at score breakdowns by gender and ethnic group.

 

How Can Knowing Your SAT Percentile Help You?

We know that percentiles are important and that, in some cases, a relatively small composite score increase can have a huge effect on your percentile ranking.

However, your target composite score for the colleges you want to apply to is the most important. While percentiles help college admissions officers compare your scores, schools also have their own score ranges that typically don’t change much from year to year.

To find a college’s SAT score ranges, search "[School Name] SAT scores PrepScholar" on Google to find our Admission Requirements page with its SAT/ACT score ranges and info on GPA ranges and overall competitiveness. For more tips on how to use this strategy (and for a table you can fill out for your specific colleges), see our guide on what a good SAT score is.

But what about colleges that are test optional? Our experts explain how SAT scores can still help you get into test optional schools in this article. 

 

body-study-studying-student-cc0-pixabay

Maximize your study time by setting a personal SAT target score.

 

Finally, SAT percentile rankings can be a useful tool for you. Especially if you’re deciding whether or not to retake the SAT, percentiles really help put your SAT scores in context. For example, the difference between your 700 in Reading and Writing and 600 in Math might not seem enormous, but that score is in the 93rd percentile, while that Math score is in the 77th percentile. A huge difference!

This means you can get more bang for your buck if you focus on the Math section for your retake. Increasing your Math score by 100 points can raise your percentile from 76 to 91. However, raising your Reading and Writing score from 700 to 800, though super impressive, only improves your percentile ranking by 5%.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should ignore Reading and Writing—in fact, a gain of just 50 points would put you in the 99th percentile! But recognizing that you stand to gain more with Math can ultimately help you prioritize your study time better.

 

What’s Next?

Now that you know the ins and outs of national SAT percentiles, check out what the average SAT scores are, and take a look at the average SAT scores in your state.

Trying to figure out your SAT target score? Or maybe you took the SAT but aren't sure whether your score is competitive. Our guide can help you develop a personal SAT target score based on the colleges you're applying to.

Reaching for the stars? Check out what a good SAT score for the Ivy League looks like.

 

 



Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article!
About the Author
author image
Halle Edwards

Halle Edwards graduated from Stanford University with honors. In high school, she earned 99th percentile ACT scores as well as 99th percentile scores on SAT subject tests. She also took nine AP classes, earning a perfect score of 5 on seven AP tests. As a graduate of a large public high school who tackled the college admission process largely on her own, she is passionate about helping high school students from different backgrounds get the knowledge they need to be successful in the college admissions process.



Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!