Confused about how the SAT is scored or what makes a score “good”? Whether you're aiming for a perfect 1600 or just want to understand how the SAT works, this guide breaks down the full SAT scoring scale, what counts as a strong score, and what it takes to get into your dream college.
The SAT is scored on a composite scale from 400 to 1600, with two sections (Math and Evidence-Based Reading & Writing) each contributing 200–800 points.
A perfect SAT score is a 1600, meaning virtually no question was answered incorrectly. Only 1% of test takers score between 1530-1600. The average reported score for the Class of 2024 was 1024.
Perfect scores do not guarantee admission to college. However, students aiming for a perfect score should follow 10 key tips, including maintaining a study schedule, taking digital practice tests, using a process of elimination, and more (listed below).
The SAT is scored on a composite scale from 400 to 1600. This total score combines two sections:
Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW): 200–800
Math: 200–800
When you take the SAT, you will get a certain number of questions right—your raw score—on the Reading + Writing and Math sections. Your raw scores from each subject will then be converted into a scaled score on the 200 – 800 point scale. Each test has a slightly different scoring scale from all others, though generally, they are very similar to one another.
Each section is scaled in 10-point increments, so it is possible to get a 200, a 210, a 220 (and so on up the line), up to an 800.
A perfect score on the SAT is a 1600. This score will be made up of:
The average reported SAT score for the Class of 2024 is:
This is a tricky question to answer, but it is a good one. The top 1% of all test-takers comprises those scoring in the range of 1530-1600 on the SAT scoring scale. The top 1% of 1.973 million test-takers comprised over 19,000 test-takers from the Class of 2024. This suggests that there are some few thousand (at a maximum) who received a perfect score.
For reference, the 1400-1600 range comprises the top 7% of all test takers (and 7% of the testing population in total).
There are two elements to receiving a perfect score on the SAT: a bit of hard work and a little luck.
As such, achieving a perfect score—which, on the SAT, does mean getting nearly every question right on two distinct sections with multiple question types—has an element of randomness to it. To some degree, chance favors the prepared mind, so study up if the goal is to get to a 1600.
If you're still on a mission to get a perfect score on the SAT, below are 10 tips on how to achieve this goal.
You can't perfect something if you're unfamiliar with how it works. In order to achieve a perfect (or near-perfect) SAT score, it helps to have familiarity with the SAT, its sections, its style, the timing and pacing of the sections within the exam, and the content found within it. This means reviewing things like (but not limited to) the grammar rules found among the Writing questions, the properties tested in the Math sections, and the types of Reading Comprehension passages and vocabulary found in the Reading section.
The best part about the test is that you do not have to answer questions in order. Address the easiest questions first and go back and tackle the more difficult ones. Sometimes, once the juices have started flowing, those "hard" questions aren't as intimidating as they were when you first started.
Additionally, because of the structure of the Math modules, which feature numeric entry questions spread throughout, it is necessary to know how to pace yourself through those sections. It is very difficult to randomly guess on numerical entry questions– which often feature strikingly specific answers–and get them right, so make sure you have time to consider them if the goal is an 800 on the Math section.
There are plenty of online resources students can leverage when preparing for the SAT. The College Board touts its partnership with Khan Academy—for good reason! Research shows that students who use Khan Academy and official materials increase their scores more than students who don’t use those materials.
We’d like to highlight some particularly useful resources that are all free, and some are found in the College Board references.
If you're a competitive person, working with someone might motivate you to study harder. If you're not a competitive person, it can still benefit you to bounce ideas off another person, quiz each other, and work through challenging concepts as a team.
It's also important to know when is the right time to start studying. Generally, the sweet spot to begin studying for a test is somewhere between 4-12 weeks in advance of the official exam. This gives you enough time to work through practice tests, without forgetting important information before test day.
Once you've set a timeline to study, create a working schedule you can stick to. If you're a student who has competing priorities or commitments you must attend to, you may want to consider breaking up study sessions into more manageable pieces. For example, dedicate Mondays to Reading, Tuesdays to Writing & Language, and Wednesdays and Thursdays to math—no calculator, then calculator. Then, plan to take a full-length practice test one Saturday per month.
No, seriously. It may seem counterintuitive to give yourself a break, but it can actually help you retain information better. A good starting point is to take a 5-10 minute break for every hour you study. From there, you can up the rewards. Did you study your hardest topic? Treat yourself to something.
We find that the most common calculators students have are Texas Instruments, specifically the TI83 or TI-84. The Texas Instruments website has some great tools and apps you can even download to your calculator. Make sure you use the calculator effectively. Just because you can use it on the whole Section 4/Calculator Math doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes questions are more quickly solved without a calculator. In fact, nearly every question can be solved without a calculator. So, be mindful of how much you're relying on your calculator and if it's more effective to solve the problem yourself.
One of the best (and easiest) ways to prepare for the Reading and Writing and Language Tests is by, well, reading! Read the latest recommendation on BookTok, subscribe to an email newsletter, Google what words mean, and challenge yourself to use them in a sentence every day. By reading a little bit every day, students develop their vocabulary, brush up on grammar and punctuation, and feel more confident about taking the SAT.
We hear many students say that they have “test anxiety.” It is a real phenomenon, and it’s one that can be addressed. We talk with students about managing their stress and turning anxiety into excitement. We view these tests as a performance of sorts—and many of our students are performers, whether in athletics or dance or drama or music. The reality is that tests are not going to go away, especially if you go to college or want to become a certified professional (a nurse, doctor, lawyer, psychologist, even a driver). At some point in life, you’ll need to deal with testing head-on, and taking these tests is a way to develop those skills.
Related: 7 Tips to Overcome College Admissions Stress
When you're faced with a difficult question, use the process of elimination to narrow down the answer. You may not feel confident about the answer, but if you increase your chances of getting it right from 25% to 50%, you have better odds.
On the same note, don't try and outsmart the test by relying on answer-choice probability or pattern recognition. "I haven't answered C in a while, so it must be C." Don't think like that. It can create unnecessary test anxiety, and it's not rooted in any legitimate logic.
Yes, in an ideal world, you’d be able to prepare on your own or with a friend and everything would turn out just fine. But the reality is that we sometimes need a coach to hold us to our goals and keep us accountable. Or, maybe you’ve improved on your own already, but just want to tweak your strategies or timing. That’s where Collegewise Tutoring & Test Prep can help. We offer 1:1 tutoring or small group sessions (or both) onlin,e and we have amazing tutors who are passionate about the subjects they teach.
Our fourth tip mentions rewards during studying. Maintain this positive reinforcement before and after taking the test. It will keep up morale and make the test more bearable. You made it through a significant rite of passage. You earned whatever it is that you see as your just reward.
The simple answer to this question is a resounding no. Perfect scores (and, generally, high scores) may be helpful with the admissions process, but they don’t guarantee admission, and they certainly aren’t at the center of why a school may accept an applicant.
It's “not very important” to get a perfect score on the SAT. Is a perfect score helpful? Surely. But so is almost anything else a person may put into the application process.
Here’s one way to think about SAT scores in the 1550-1600 range (which is to say, in the top 1% of all scoring results): if you were to add up the freshman classes of every Ivy League school, you’d be short of the 22,000 students in the top 1% of all SAT test takers. This suggests two things: (1) Not everyone going to some of the most competitive schools in the nation has scores in the top 1% range and (2) Not everyone who has an SAT score in the top 1% matriculates to the most competitive universities.
A good score on the SAT is the one that helps you get into the college of your choosing. It doesn’t matter if that score is a 950, or a 1050, or a 1250, or a 1450, or higher or lower than any of the values cited here. Check university admissions webpages to see where students matriculating to the schools of your choosing tend to land: if the middle 50% are scoring from a 1050 to a 1250, then a good score falls somewhere in the middle (and, ideally, above).
For more information about the College Board's SAT scores and scoring scale, click here.
Technically, the lowest score would be 0. That would happen if you didn't even complete the test. However, assuming you have taken the test, the lowest possible score would be a 400. This would mean that you received a minimum of 200 in each section.
As we mentioned earlier, the highest possible score a student can get on the SAT is a perfect score of 1600. Scoring 1600 means you've missed virtually no questions on the SAT.
The SAT raw score refers to the exact number of questions you answered correctly on the test. The raw scores are then converted to a scaled score between 200-800 that adjusts to account for test difficulty.
To convert your raw score into a scaled score, use the Albert Digital SAT Score Calculator.
The SAT is only one factor in the college admissions process. Most colleges remain test-optional in 2025, however, others have reinstated standardized testing policies. For colleges requesting test scores, they use them in the following ways:
Most colleges practice holistic admissions, meaning they evaluate more than just one component when deciding who they will and won't admit to their college. The great thing about applying to college in a predominantly test-optional world is that students can decide which colleges receive their scores. Take the time to identify when it makes sense to submit your scores.
About Us: With more than 25 years of experience, Collegewise counselors and tutors are at the forefront of the ever-evolving admissions landscape. Our work has always centered on you: the student. And just like we’ve always done, we look for ways for you to be your best self - whether it’s in the classroom, in your applications or in the right-fit college environment. Our range of tools include counseling, test prep, academic tutoring, and essay management, all with the support of our proprietary platform, leading to a 4x higher than average admissions rates.