What is a good SAT score? June 2019

So, you have finished your SATs and now the SAT scores are out. Chances are you did fairly well. But what is a good SAT score? How do you know if it is a good enough SAT score to get to your dream college? What are the other ways you can use your SAT score even if it is not good enough for your dream college admissions?

Firstly, your SAT score report tells you your global ranking in percentile value. Please see the blog on how to interpret your SAT score.

That should give you the first hint at how good your SAT score is. Basically, what it means, is that it is all relative. It is not as much about how high your score is as it is about how high your percentile ranking is in that particular year.

Next, there is enough information online on what is the minimum SAT score for each of the colleges. Find that first. Better yet, if you have not already done so, create an excel sheet and note down the names of your dream colleges and mark the minimum admissible percentile against each one of them. Compare it against your SAT score – that should tell you how good your score is.

The other interesting thing about SAT score is that colleges consider it along with your GPA in high school. There are some colleges that focus more on SAT score, and some that focus more on your GPA. But the really good colleges, the Ivy league ones, need you to be an all-round performer – they look at both your SAT score AND your high school GPA along with the letters of recommendation.

Do read about our blog on college admissions in the US how important is your sat score

In short, you may have a great SAT score, but you focussed on the SAT so much that you did not give enough attention and time to do equally well in your high school and got an average GPA. Now what happens? The answer to how good your SAT score is definitely not how “high” it is but is it good enough to get you the admission to the college you wanted?

Lastly, a good SAT score need not mean always mean a score that is neededto get you admission to college of your choice; it may also be one with which you choose a college that maybe lower in the college rankings but has great programs in your subject AND gives you a scholarship as well based on your SAT score. How good is that!

All said and done, not everybody can get an admission to their dream colleges. Sometimes, life has a way of giving us some thing that is different from what we dreamt of or aimed for, a way of making us choose something different from what we felt attracted to all along. College life is just the first step in building your career. Take it in your stride.