The highest SAT score you can possibly earn is 1600. The lowest SAT score is 400. Your total SAT score is comprised of a Math section score and an Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score.
While it's impossible for you to get a zero on the test (everyone who takes the SAT will receive at least a 400), you have almost similar odds of doing very well on the test without studying.
Your SAT composite score should be 1500 or higher (about 750 or higher per section) if you want to be competitive at highly selective schools. Anything below that will significantly lower your chances. Anything below 1400 (about 700 per section) is decidedly low and makes your admission more unlikely.
Harvard SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)
In other words, a 1460 places you below average, while a 1580 will move you up to above average. There's no absolute SAT requirement at Harvard, but they really want to see at least a 1460 to have a chance at being considered.
A good SAT Subject Test Score is one that fits within the range of scores your college usually looks for or accepts. Many colleges are happy with scores of 650 or above, but highly selective schools may want to see a 700 or 750—or even higher.
Is A 1000 SAT Score (40th Percentile) Good? A score of 1000 on the SAT places you at the 40th percentile of all exam takers. With a score of 1000, you'll be eligible to apply to a decent number of colleges, however, it won't make you a competitive applicant at most of them.
Unfortunately, 780 is not a good SAT score. In reality, it's a weak score that will keep you from achieving your college admissions goals. Although you're still outperforming the majority of test takers, it's still not enough to get you into the top schools in the country.
U.S. Qualifications for Oxford and Cambridge
Successful candidates would typically have SAT Reasoning Test scores of at least 700 in Critical Reading, Mathematics and the Writing Paper, or ACT with a score of at least 32 out of 36.
As we said, admission to Harvard is extremely competitive. Even with a perfect SAT score of 1600 and a GPA of 4.0, your chances of admission are about 10%.
There's no absolute SAT requirement at Yale, but they really want to see at least a 1470 to have a chance at being considered.
Hari, from Colorado, achieved 1600 on the SAT, the highest SAT score ever recorded. He also received a perfect score of 36 on the ACT.
How Hard Is the SAT? Unlike what some will say, the SAT is no easier or harder than the ACT. It just depends on your subject skills and your learning style. Most of the content covered on the exam is from 9th and 10th grade, with some added advanced concepts from junior year.
The test was originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and later became the Scholastic Assessment Test. The acronym SAT no longer stands for anything but is the actual name of the test.
Approximately 0.07% of students (7 in 10,000) who take the SAT achieve a perfect score. Since roughly 1.7 million people take the test each year, that comes out to around 1,000 people who score a perfect 1600.
The highest scaled score is 120. Pupils scoring at least a scaled score of 100 will have met the expected standard in the test. A pupil awarded a scaled score of 99 or less has not met the expected standard in the test.
Mark Zuckerberg.
The founder of Facebook scored the perfect 1600 on the SAT and attended Harvard University. There's no surprise there on the score or prestigious university!
1. Bill Gates: It's no question that the famous multi-billionaire creator of Microsoft is a pure genius and his SAT score certainly compliments that fact. Gates notched a 1590 on his SATs, 10 points away from a perfect score!
Will Smith: The actor said in his Biography channel profile that he scored 1600 on his SATs, too. But instead of moving on to higher education, he pursued a career in music before scoring his iconic small-screen role as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”... and the rest is history.
How U.K. Universities Use College Board Test Scores. Most U.K. universities accept SAT, and/or AP Exam scores as a way for applicants to meet the requirements for undergraduate programs, and some may require them.
Undergraduate qualifications
If your graduate course at Oxford requires a 'strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours' in the UK system, you will usually need a bachelor's degree (honours) with an overall grade of 2:1 (upper second-class) or a GPA of 3.5 out of 4.0.
None of our courses have a specific GCSE requirement; however, there are some parts of our admissions process that use GCSE grades to contextualise applicants' performance, and we are not able to use other Level 2 qualifications (or equivalent) to replicate those measures for students not taking GCSEs.
While many high achievers strive to reach a 1600, in reality any score above a 1500 typically falls within the 99th or 98th percentile. This means that if you've scored a 1500 on the SAT, it may not be in your best interest to retake the test when you could work on other parts of your application.
A score of 1100 on the SAT puts you at the 58th percentile, meaning you scored higher than 58% all 2 million+ test takers. Earning an 1100 makes you eligible to apply to most colleges and universities as a decent candidate.