Is 1400 a good SAT score?
A 1400 score on the SAT is well above the average test score. It is a good score for many schools, but it’s not a good score for highly selective colleges and universities.
In this post, we’ll explore:
SAT scores + a balanced college list
Colleges for a 1400 SAT score
Is a 1400 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 1400 on the SAT is well above the average.
To be more precise, a 1400 SAT score is in the 93rd percentile for students who took the test in 2022 (source: College Board). That means that a student with a 1400 SAT scored higher nine out of ten of the other students who took the test.
(Percentile means what percentage of students scored at or below that number. For example, 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 1400 SAT score is in the 97th percentile (source: College Board). That puts students who scored a 1400 in the top 3% of students nationally!
In many ways, that makes a 1400 a fantastic SAT score.
To put this in context:
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 1400 is well to the right of the main “hump” of the curve, at the beginning of the “long tail” on the righthand part of the graph. It’s clearly stronger than the majority of scores, and it indicates that a student has a strong knowledge of the material covered by the SAT (high school math, basic logic, English grammar, and reading comprehension).
In the world of US college admissions, it’s the impressive students in that “long tail” who are going to be competitive for top-tier colleges and universities.
So how can you know where exactly you’d be a competitive applicant with a 1400 SAT score?
Is 1400 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 1400 SAT score
Using the data, here are some target colleges and universities for a 1400 SAT score:
School Middle 50% SAT score range
Purdue University 1190 – 1430
St. Louis University 1220 – 1430
University of Texas Austin 1230 – 1500
St. Olaf College 1240 – 1430
University of Miami 1250 – 1420
University of Georgia 1250 – 1460
Ohio State University 1250 – 1440
Sarah Lawrence College 1260 – 1470
Rochester Institute of Technology 1270 – 1450
University of North Carolina 1280 – 1490
University of Florida 1290 – 1460
Fordham University 1300 – 1480
Wesleyan University 1300 – 1510
Binghamton University 1310 – 1470
University of Minnesota 1310 – 1490
George Washington University 1310 – 1490
University of Wisconsin Madison 1320 – 1500
University of Illinois 1320 – 1510
University of Virginia 1320 – 1510
School Middle 50% SAT score range
Santa Clara University 1330 – 1490
Rhodes College 1330 – 1490
University of Maryland 1330 – 1510
Oberlin College 1340 – 1460
Kenyon College 1340 – 1500
Macalester College 1340 – 1510
University of Michigan 1340 – 1520
Colgate University 1350 – 1490
Villanova University 1350 – 1490
College of William & Mary 1360 – 1520
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1360 – 1520
Boston University 1360 – 1520
Tulane University 1360 – 1510
University of Rochester 1370 – 1520
Grinnell College 1370 – 1530
Brandeis University 1370 – 1530
Amherst College 1370 – 1550
Scripps College 1380 – 1520
Middlebury College 1380 – 1530
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.
As you can see from this list, students with a 1400 SAT score can be competitive applicants at many excellent flagship public universities like the University of Virginia, the University of Michigan, and the University of Maryland.
In fact, the average SAT score for the 50 best public universities in the US is between 1198 and 1397. (For individual test sections, the average is 595–685 Reading & Writing and 600–713 Math.)
This means that if you want to attend one of the best public research universities in the US, a 1400 is a good score to aim for.
(Of course, the “middle 50%” range does go higher for many of these top public universities, so raising your score to 1500 would give a stronger chance of admission — your overall chances will depend on the rest of your application.)
A 1400 SAT is also a good score for many selective liberal arts colleges across the US. For example, it’s about average for colleges like Rhodes, Macalaster, and Kenyon.
If we look at the 30 top-ranked liberal arts colleges in the US, the average SAT score is between 1318 and 1495. (For individual test sections, the average is 658–735 Reading & Writing and 660–759 Math.)
At top-tier liberal arts colleges like Amherst, Scripps, and Middlebury, a 1400 is on the lower side, but it’s beginning to be within range to be competitive. 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.
Unfortunately, a 1400 SAT is still not a good score if you want to attend the best liberal arts colleges in the country. For example, it’s not high enough to be competitive at Pomona (where the middle 50% scores are 1470–1570), Dartmouth (1440–1560), Swarthmore (1430–1560), or Williams (1410–1560).
A 1400 SAT is also not a good score for students who dream of attending an Ivy League school or a top-20 university.
The average SAT score at the Ivy League schools is between 1446 and 1566, or 736–796 for Math and 710–770 for Reading and Writing.
The average SAT scores at the top 20 universities in the US are similar: between 1450 and 1564, or 740–797 for Math and 711–768 for Reading and Writing.
These numbers mean that unless you have other elements that are truly outstanding (like you’re an Olympic-level athlete, a winner of an international-level research competition, or similar), with a 1400 SAT score you’re unlikely to be a competitive applicant at the very best colleges and universities in the US.
The good news is 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 start out scoring around 1400 on the SAT, you may very well be able to achieve a score in the 1500s that would be competitive for the Ivy League or any other top-tier school.
If you’d like to work with me for SAT test prep, sign up here or reach out at info@ivybloomacademics.com.
Is a 1400 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 1400 SAT score is likely to be high enough, but 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. It’s likely that with a 1400 SAT score, students would be able to apply for admission to academic honors programs. Check with the specific requirements of the school or program.
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 1400 may be well high enough to meet these cutoffs. 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. At less competitive schools, a SAT score of 1400 may earn students academic scholarships, either 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.
At more selective colleges and universities, a 1400 SAT is unlikely to be high enough to earn academic scholarships.
Most college guidance counselors can help students to find appropriate scholarships that they may be eligible for; I’ve also helped students and families with the process of finding scholarships and special grants.
College can be incredibly expensive, but you’d be surprised how many good opportunities exist — many of my students have been able to earn full-tuition scholarships for college and get their degree loan-free!
Raise your SAT score from 1400 to 1550+ and be competitive everywhere
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. It can be tougher to make large gains in the higher score ranges, but it’s definitely possible, and even small improvements can have a significant impact on your competitiveness for college admissions and scholarships.
That means that if you are currently scoring around a 1400 on the SAT, you may well be able to achieve a 1550 or even a perfect score of 1600 with targeted practice. That would put you in range to be a competitive applicant to any top-tier college or university across the country — even Ivy-League schools!
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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!