A good SAT score is a major component of a strong college application, even in the era of test-optional admissions. The admissions landscape is competitive, and anything you can offer that shows your ability and college-readiness will give you a boost over the competition.
If you just got your SAT results back, you might be wondering: Is 1300 a good SAT score? Yes, 1300 is a good score, as it puts you in the 86th percentile of all SAT test takers. At the most selective institutions, however, a 1300 might not be enough to get in the door. But this score makes you competitive for thousands of colleges across the country.
Table of Contents
- Is 1300 a Good SAT Score?
- What Is the Average SAT Score?
- How Is My SAT Score Calculated?
- What Is an SAT Superscore?
- Do Colleges Accept SAT Superscores?
- Ways to Raise My SAT Score
- What Colleges Should I Apply to With a 1300 SAT Score?
Is 1300 a Good SAT Score?
An SAT score of 1300 is well above average. It puts you in the 86th percentile, meaning only 14 percent of those who took the test at the same time as you scored higher. If 1300 were a bad score that wasn’t competitive for college admissions, very few people would even get to go to college, since most people score significantly lower than 1300.
That said, what’s considered a good SAT score for you depends on the school you want to go to and the competitiveness of their admissions process. If, for instance, you want to attend a school like Stanford University, a score of 1300 — even though it’s far above average and signals a high level of intelligence and academic ability — is not a competitive score. That’s because the average student who matriculates at Stanford scores between a 1470 and a 1570.
As long as you have a variety of good safety schools in your college application mix, you should have no worries about getting in somewhere with a 1300 SAT.
What Is the Average SAT Score?
The average SAT score is just below a 1050. It has steadily risen over the last couple of decades from an average score of 1000. In fact, when the SAT scoring system was devised, the idea was that the scores would form a perfect bell curve running from a low score of 400 to a high score of 1600. The midpoint between these two numbers, 1000, would represent both the mean and the median score — the top of the bell curve, so to speak.
That’s largely how it worked out for several decades after the test became popular. In recent years, however, the multi-billion-dollar test prep industry has begun to skew the distribution toward the top end by teaching students how to “game” the test. These high-scoring students, most of whom have strong abilities to begin with and parents with the financial resources to pay for prep classes, aren’t necessarily smarter than their counterparts from 30 years ago. They just understand how the test works and what tricks they can use to “beat” it.
How Is My SAT Score Calculated?
The SAT has two sections: Math and Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW). It also has a third section for writing that used to be mandatory, but that section has since been made optional. Each of the two required sections have score ranges of 200 to 800. Where your score falls within the range depends not only on how many questions you answer correctly in that section but also on how everyone else who takes the same test does on it.
The SAT is generally offered seven times each year. Your score is curved against everyone in the country who takes the test on the same date as you. Sometimes it takes getting every question correct on either the Math or EBRW section to score a perfect 800, while other times you can miss a question. It depends on how everyone else does and how the bell curve works out.
That said, a section score of 800 means you scored above the 99th percentile on that section — fewer than 1 percent of test takers scored the same or better.
What Is an SAT Superscore?
Your SAT superscore combines your best section scores from multiple SAT attempts into one composite score. For example, if your first attempt at the SAT resulted in a Math score of 700 and an EBRW of 600, your composite score for that attempt would be 1300. If you took it a second time and your math dropped to a 600 but your EBRW rose to a 700, your composite score would again be 1300. However, your superscore from the two tests combined would be 1400, since it would include your highest result on each section.
Do Colleges Accept SAT Superscores?
Many colleges accept SAT superscores. In fact, it is more common for colleges to accept a superscored SAT than it is for them to accept a superscored ACT. Colleges prefer looking at superscored SATs over regular SAT scores because it allows them to report higher score ranges for their incoming class when they fill out their common data set. When a school has incoming students with high SAT scores, the school looks more competitive and elite. It also gets a boost in the U.S. News rankings, since standardized tests make up 5 percent of a school’s score.
The downside to SAT superscores becoming so popular among colleges is that unless you got close to a perfect score on your first attempt, it almost forces you to take it a second or third time to be competitive. That’s because you’ll be competing for spots against kids who might not have scored better than you on a single sitting, but who have crazy high superscores as a result of attempting the test several times.
Ways to Raise My SAT Score
If you aren’t completely happy with your 1300 score and think you’re capable of scoring higher, there are several ways to raise your SAT score — sometimes by 100 points or more. Here are three things you can do between now and your next attempt to boost your score.
Take a Prep Course
SAT test prep is a billion-dollar industry for a reason: it works. Students often boost their scores by several hundred points just by taking a prep course between attempts. If you’re sitting at a 1300 right now, imagine what an extra hundred to two hundred points could do to your score. You could go from “strong flagship state school candidate” to “realistic Ivy League candidate” almost overnight.
Prep courses have a reputation for being expensive, but not all of them are. You can find effective courses to fit just about any budget. Best of all, most of the reputable SAT prep courses have score increase guarantees. If your score doesn’t go up by a certain number of points, you pay nothing.
Do Practice Tests
If you don’t have the time or money for a full-blown prep course, taking practice tests can boost your score, too. You can find books full of them at places like Barnes & Noble or on Amazon. Or, you can take practice SAT tests online. Many practice tests even highlight the questions you missed and explain exactly what you got wrong, helping you avoid making the same mistake when you encounter a similar question on the actual test.
Just Take It a Second Time
You might not even need a practice test or a prep course to score better the second time around. Sometimes, all it takes is a little familiarity with both the test and the testing process in general to quiet your nerves and help you focus. If you felt overwhelmed or nervous on your first attempt, it might have affected your performance and cost you some points. Why not try it again under calmer, more confident conditions?
What Colleges Should I Apply to With a 1300 SAT Score?
A 1300 on the SAT makes you competitive for the vast majority of colleges in America. And many of the schools that have SAT midranges above 1300 are test optional, so you can always apply to those schools without submitting your score. In order to be competitive as a test-optional applicant, though, the rest of your application — grades, leadership positions, extracurricular involvement, volunteer work, special talents — should be not just strong but compelling.
A few schools with high U.S. News rankings and SAT medians near 1300 include the following:
- University of California, Davis (#38 in National Universities)
- University of Texas at Austin (#38 in National Universities)
- The Ohio State University (#49 in National Universities)
- Purdue University (#49 in National Universities)
- Florida State University (#55 in National Universities)
- Syracuse University (#59 in National Universities)
- Bucknell University (#38 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
- Denison University (#42 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
- Franklin and Marshall College (#42 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
- DePauw University (#46 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
- Sewanee—The University of the South (#50 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
- Dickinson College (#50 in National Liberal Arts Colleges)
A score of 1300 on the SAT is a great score — barely one in 10 test takers score higher. However, it might not be good enough to get into some colleges and universities. You should review the common data sets at the schools you’re considering. If most students who get in are well above a 1300, consider trying to raise your score or applying test optional.
