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What are your chances of acceptance?
Your chance of acceptance
Duke University
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UCLA
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Your chancing factors
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
1.0
4.0
SAT: 720 math
200
800
| 800 verbal
200
800

Extracurriculars

Low accuracy (4 of 18 factors)

Good Scores on the SAT

Hello, I'm starting to break my head over this whole SAT thing. What would you guys say is a solid, 'good' score to aim for on the SAT?

a year ago

The definition of a "good" SAT score will vary greatly depending on the colleges you're considering. A score that falls around or above the 75th percentile of accepted students for your target schools would be considered a strong score, but that benchmark is different from college to college.

The highest SAT score possible is 1600. If you're aiming for highly selective schools like Ivy Leagues, you'll want to aim for a score of at least 1500 to be competitive, and potentially even slightly higher.

For less selective colleges, a "good" SAT score could fall in the high 1200s to 1300s range. Again, though, the range is school-specific. Always research the average SAT scores of accepted students at each individual university or college you're interested in. This information, which you can usually find on a school's website, will give you a more personalized sense of what score you should aim for.

Finally, while your SAT score is part of your application, it's not the only thing colleges consider. Your GPA, coursework, essays, letters of recommendation, and extracurricular activities all play significant roles in the college admissions process as well. So, make sure to also invest time and energy into these other key areas.

Good luck with your college process!

a year ago

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CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.