What is a “good” SAT/ACT score?
A good score helps you accomplish your goals. Two common goals likely drive how you define a “good” score on the SAT/ACT.
- The point of college entrance exams like the SAT and the ACT is to – wouldn’t you know it – get you into college. A good score doesn’t guarantee you’ll get an interview or admissions, but a bad score might prevent you from moving further in the admissions process.
- Scholarship eligibility. Your student can receive financial support based on how well they do on their college entrance exams.
College Entrance
Different colleges and universities set different standards for what they consider a “good” score. Even though colleges might claim “There are no minimum test scores required to be admitted” this doesn’t mean they don’t use test scores as a way to thin the applicant pool. The best way to find out is to look at the previous year’s admitted class average score. College Board receives data from colleges about admissions and you can use this link to find the college you’re interested to check the scores https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search/filters.
For example, the University of South Florida and Florida State University have ranges of 1240-1370 for the SAT and 27-30 for the ACT, while the University of Florida has a range of 1320-1470 for the SAT and 28-33 for the ACT. Some competitive schools like the University of Chicago have ranges like 1510-1560 and 34-35, and Yale University has an SAT range from 1500-1560 but doesn’t report the ACT.
Ideally, you want to get as high a score as possible, but it’s important to keep in mind you’re goals for college. There are many paths to a good career and many colleges offer a good education. These scores are also just part of your application and some schools don’t even require you to take these standardized tests. A “good” score is one that keeps the doors you want open.
Scholarships
States have scholarships based on SAT scores. Florida Bright Futures requires a 1340 or higher to be a Florida Academic Scholar (FAS) and a 1210 or higher to be a Florida Medallion Scholar. Florida Academic Scholars get tuition and fees paid for in full if they choose a public program or a comparable award if they go to a private school in state. They also receive 300 dollars per semester towards other educational costs. The National Merit Scholarship is rewarded based on PSAT scores and offers thousands of dollars in scholarship money. These scholarships have other requirements, so please refer to the websites to read more about them.
Unlike college entrance, scholarships like Florida Bright Futures have a transparent list of requirements that you can achieve. A concrete goal like this is useful for students and a nice incentive to study and work towards a specific score.
Summary
A good score keeps your options open. Getting a 1300 isn’t an easy score to achieve, but it is possible for most students if they study and apply themselves. The average SAT score is around 1024. The difference between a 1025 and a 1300 is a difference of about 16 questions on a test that is 120 questions long. The key to closing that gap is identifying the problem types that you get wrong and WHY you got them wrong and learning how to get those types of questions right every time.
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If you are interested in help preparing for the SAT/ACT we offer individual tutoring, small group classes, and online courses. You can learn more about our services on our website Selectc.com