What is a good SAT score? Some real answers.

By General Education Advice
SAT Test Connecticut
Good SAT scores. We can help.

“What is a good SAT score?” I have been asked this question thousands of times.

“Where do you want to go to college?” That would be my most common response. “The SATs are relevant in a practical sense for one single reason: college admission. A good score helps you gain admission to the colleges that you want to attend.  You can literally look up the scores required for schools of interest and see what scores you need for where you will apply.”

That may be the literal truth but this answer is rarely satisfactory for my high school students, most of whom attend competitive Connecticut high schools. I realize that the question is really some version of “what score will make me look good to my high school friends, freemies, and enemies? And “what score will make my parents be proud of me/stop nagging me/approve of me?

As you can see, there is a practical answer and there is a psychological answer.

So here are some answers:

1200 is a score that is “good” – or at least respectable – among students who attend Shoreline, CT high schools.

1300 is a score that is “good” for those who hope to attend what they perceive as “good schools”

1400 is a score that will get students reviewed at competitive colleges in the top 50.

1470 is the unofficial score needed for typical Connecticut students (those without hooks) to be given consideration at top 20 (Ivy league and other super elite schools)

Real answers 🙂