Is 1200 a good SAT score?
A 1200 score on the SAT is somewhat above-average. It is a good score for some schools, but it’s not a good score for selective colleges and universities.
In this post, we’ll explore:
SAT scores + a balanced college list
Colleges for a 1200 SAT score
Is a 1200 SAT good enough for scholarships and special programs?
Athletic scholarships
Academic honors programs
Special majors and other academic programs
Academic scholarships
What’s a good score on the SAT?
As a test prep specialist with over a decade spent working with students to help them prep for the SAT, probably the #1 question that students ask me is what score they need to get on the SAT.
The thing is that there isn’t a single number that I can give to define a “good” score on the SAT.
(Or rather, the only score that’s definitely good enough for applying to any school is a 1550, which is near-perfect score. But fortunately most students don’t need a 1550!)
The average score on the SAT is 533 for the Evidence-Based Reading & Writing section, 528 for the Math section, and 1060 for the complete SAT.
That means that a score of 1200 on the SAT is somewhat above average.
To be more precise, a 1200 SAT score is in the 75th percentile for students who took the test in 2022 (source: College Board). That means that a student with a 1200 SAT scored higher than three quarters of the other students who took the test.
(Percentile means what percentage of students scored at or below that number. So if you scored in the 60th percentile, you did better than 60% of the other students who took the SAT.)
Because the students who actually take the SAT tend to be a little more prepared, the College Board also gives us an estimate of how that score would compare for all of the students in the US.
Compared to all students in the US, a 1200 SAT score is in the 81st percentile (source: College Board).
You can see in this graph of SAT scores at a national level that test scores that test scores make approximately what we often call a “bell-shaped curve”: most students have scores in the middle, while few students have very low scores or very high scores.
Looking at the arrow, we see that a SAT score of 1200 is just to the right of the main “hump” of the curve. It’s better than average, but we can see it’s to the left of that “long tail” of the top quarter of students who scored in the 1210–1600 range.
In the end, a 1200 is not a bad score! But what does a 1200 SAT mean for your college admissions chances?
Is 1200 a good SAT score?
The main reason that students take the SAT is to get into college, so ultimately the definition of a “good SAT score” will depend on the type of college you want to attend.
SAT scores + a balanced college list
When you apply to college, it’s important to have a balanced college list. This means that you have a mix of schools:
Safety schools: you can almost certainly get admitted
Target schools: your application profile is similar to the average student at this school — so it’s not a sure bet, but it’s fairly likely that you’d be admitted
Reach schools: your application profile probably isn’t strong enough to be admitted, but you should still go for it — you might get lucky!
A balanced college list should have at least two schools from each category.
We can look at data from admitted students in recent years to know what kind of SAT score is good enough for a particular college. At “safety schools,” your SAT score should make you one of the top applicants. At “target schools,” your SAT score should be about average.
Many colleges and universities publish data for the 25th percentile and the 75th percentile SAT scores of their freshman class. This data tells us the range of SAT scores of half of their student body. We sometimes refer to it as the “middle 50,” because 50% of students at that school have scores within that range.
Safety schools: your test scores and GPA should be above the 75th percentile, and the school should have an admittance rate greater than 30%
Target schools: your test scores and GPA should be within the middle 50% of students, ideally closer to the top of the range
Reach schools: your test scores and GPA can be lower than the 25th percentile, but this will make you unlikely to be admitted unless you have amazing extracurriculars or college essays!
Of course, having an SAT score that falls within the middle 50% of the students at that school doesn’t guarantee admission.
Your GPA, the difficulty of the classes you took in high school (academic rigor), your college essays, your extracurricular achievements and awards, and your letters of recommendation are also very important to your college applications.
Test scores are just one component of a successful college application — but having strong scores will help your application!
(There are a small handful of schools that are not using test scores in 2023, and test scores will not help at these schools. Check if your schools are one of the rare few not using test scores.)
When I work with students one-on-one for test prep or college essay coaching, I often help them make sure that their college lists are balanced for the strength of their application. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at info@ivybloomacademics.com.
Colleges for a 1200 SAT score
Using the data, here are some target colleges and universities for a 1200 SAT score:
School Middle 50% SAT score range
Portland State University 1000 – 1250
Florida International University 1060 – 1240
Ohio University 1070 – 1290
University of Alabama 1070 – 1370
Howard University 1080 – 1290
University of Illinois Chicago 1080 – 1310
Iowa State University 1080 – 1330
University of Kentucky 1080 – 1330
Hofstra University 1080 – 1370
University of Rhode Island 1090 – 1290
Luther College (Iowa) 1090 – 1320
University of Kansas 1090 – 1330
School Middle 50% SAT score range
Michigan State University 1100 – 1320
University of Arizona 1120 – 1370
University of Iowa 1130 – 1350
Marquette University 1180 – 1360
Butler University 1150 – 1340
Kalamazoo College 1160 – 1380
Baylor University 1160 – 1350
Indiana University 1160 – 1380
Florida State University 1180 – 1340
University of Colorado Boulder 1170 – 1390
University of Tennessee Knoxville 1170 – 1340
Purdue University 1190 – 1430
As you can see, with a 1200 SAT score students can begin to consider some of the large flagship public universities like Ohio University, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Arizona.
A 1200 is within the middle 50% range for universities like Indiana University, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of Tennessee Knoxville, but it’s definitely at the low end of the range for those schools. Unless your grades, extracurriculars, and college essays are particularly strong, you should try to get your scores higher to be a competitive applicant at those schools.
A 1200 SAT score isn’t high enough to be a competitive applicant at the best public universities (like the University of Virginia or the University of Michigan). It’s also not a good score for selective or highly-selective colleges and universities, and it’s definitely not in range for the Ivy League or any other school ranked in the top 50.
Don’t see your dream school on this list? Get the SAT score data for 975 more colleges and universities and check what SAT score you need for the colleges on your list.
If your SAT score isn’t currently high enough to be a competitive applicant at the college you want to attend, know that most students are able to raise their SAT scores with the right preparation and practice.
The students I work with one-on-one for SAT prep are able to improve their scores by about 250+ points on average. If you’d like to work with me, sign up here or reach out at info@ivybloomacademics.com.
Is a 1200 SAT good enough for scholarships and special programs?
Athletic scholarships
Are you a top athlete with scholarship offers for your sport?
Many students need to achieve certain minimum test scores in order to be eligible to receive athletic scholarships. I’ve helped a number of student-athletes who were offered scholarships from amazing schools like the University of Notre Dame or the University of North Carolina — but who needed to raise their SAT or ACT scores first.
These cutoffs vary by college and by sport. A 1200 SAT score may be high enough, but it might not. Be sure to check the details of your scholarship offer.
Academic honors programs
Many schools, especially larger universities, have special honors programs that provide extra mentorship, exclusive internships, smaller class sizes, and other advantages.
The difficulty of getting into one of these honors programs varies hugely depending on the school, but SAT minimums for honors programs tend to start around 1200+. This means that a 1200 SAT might barely be strong enough, but it may not. Check with the specific requirements of the school, or boost your SAT to a higher score (like a 1300+) that would be a safer bet for honors programs.
Special majors and other academic programs
Some colleges and universities might have additional requirements in order to enter into a particular major or program, like pre-med, business, or engineering.
An SAT score of 1200 may be high enough to meet these cutoffs, but it might not. Check with your college guidance counselor and the admissions office at that school for more information.
Academic scholarships
Many academic merit scholarships are based on GPA and test scores. It’s unlikely that a SAT score of 1200 is high enough to win an academic scholarship, whether from an external source or directly from the college or university.
For example, the Florida Bright Futures scholarships, which can award students 100% of tuition and fees, require a score of at least 1330 on the SAT.
Raise your SAT score from 1200 to 1450
With the right test prep, most students are able to raise their SAT scores.
The students I work with one-on-one for tailored SAT prep are typically able to raise their scores by about 250+ points.
That means that if you are currently scoring around a 1200 on the SAT, you may well be able to achieve a 1400 or 1450 with targeted practice.
Right now I’m sharing 5 days of SAT tips and exercises delivered to your inbox for free.
If you’d like to join my current student roster for one-on-one expert test prep, you can sign up here or reach out at info@ivybloomacademics.com.
Happy studying!