SAT Percentiles and Score Rankings (Updated 2018)

SAT Percentiles and Score Rankings (Updated 2018) SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips 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 twosection scores: Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) 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. An example of an SAT score report with percentiles. Your percentile score is not like 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 90thpercentile, 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 2018. We've summarized the SAT percentile ranges here in a percentile chart. Just find your score to see your estimated percentile. SAT Composite Score Range Percentile Score 1550-1600 99+ 1500-1550 99 to 99+ 1450-1500 97 to 99 1400-1450 94 to 97 1350-1400 91 to 94 1300-1350 87 to 91 1250-1300 81 to 87 1200-1250 74 to 81 1150-1200 67 to 74 1100-1150 58 to 67 1050-1100 49 to 58 1000-1050 39 to 49 950-1000 31 to 39 900-950 23 to 31 850-900 15 to 23 800-850 10 to 15 750-800 5 to 10 700-750 2 to 5 650-700 1 to 2 600-650 1- to 1 550-600 1- 500-550 1- 450-500 1- 400-450 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 3 percentile points, 98 to 99. However, the same point gap between 1100 and 1250 has a vast percentile difference- 58 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! Did you know boosting your SAT score by 160 points can dramatically change your chances of getting into your dream school?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: SAT Percentile Charts by Section We also have data on percentile rankings for score ranges in EBRW and Math. Check out the chart below to see how your scores stack up. Section Score Range SAT EBRW Percentiles SAT Math Percentiles 780-800 99+ 98 to 99+ 760-780 99 to 99+ 97 to 98 740-760 98 to 99 96 to 97 720-740 97 to 98 94 to 96 700-720 94 to 97 92 to 94 680-700 92 to 94 89 to 92 660-680 88 to 92 86 to 89 640-660 84 to 88 83 to 86 620-640 78 to 84 79 to 83 600-620 72 to 78 75 to 79 580-600 66 to 72 69 to 75 560-580 59 to 66 64 to 69 540-560 52 to 59 57 to 64 520-540 45 to 52 49 to 57 500-520 38 to 45 40 to 49 480-500 31 to 38 34 to 40 460-480 25 to 31 28 to 34 440-460 19 to 25 22 to 28 420-440 14 to 19 17 to 22 400-420 9 to 14 13 to 17 380-400 6to 9 9 to 13 360-380 3 to 6 6 to 9 340-360 2 to 3 3 to 6 320-340 1 to 2 1 to 3 300-320 1- to 1 1 280-300 1- 1- to 1 260-280 1- 1- 240-260 1- 1- 220-240 1- 1- 200-220 1- 1- Source:SAT Understanding Scores 2018 Again, note that the percentile ranks change dramatically toward the middle scores: 500 in EBRW is only 38%, but 600 is 72%. In other words, a 100-point improvement- which is very manageable with some smart studying- could transform your score from poorto good. Note that the Math curve is more competitive near the top than the EBRW curve is. A 750 is in the 96thpercentile on Math but in the 99thpercentile on EBRW, and a 700 is in the 92ndpercentile on Math but in the 94thpercentile on EBRW. 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 EBRW. For more info on SAT scores and rankings, check out our guide to average SAT scoresin 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 â€Å"[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 onwhat a good SAT score is. 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 EBRW and 600 in Math might not seem enormous, but that EBRW score is in the 94th percentile, while that Math score is in the 75th 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 75 to 92. However, raising your EBRW score from 700 to 800, though super impressive, only improves your percentile ranking by 5%. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should ignore EBRW- 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. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Tired of wasting time prepping in ways that don't work? We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. It's the best prep program available right now. Best of all, we guarantee your money back if you don't improve your score by 160 points or more. Check out our 5-day free trial today: Improve Your SAT Score by 160+ Points, Guaranteed 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. Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. 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