As you likely know, the SAT is scored on a scale of 400 to 1600. So, 1600 is a perfect SAT score. Nevertheless, people often wonder, “Is 1600 a good SAT score?” And while it may seem obvious that 1600 is a good score, there are reasons to ask that question. After all, even though 1600 is the highest possible SAT score, is it really helpful for getting into top schools or getting scholarships? In this article, I’ll answer those questions and more.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
- How Good Is 1600 on the SAT in Statistical Terms?
- How Good Is a 1600 SAT Score for Getting Into Colleges?
- Is a 1600 Good for Scholarships?
- Is a 1600 SAT Score Possible for Me?
- Who Got a 1600 on the SAT?
- Key Takeaways: Is 1600 a Good SAT score?
- What’s Next?
Let’s begin by seeing how good a 1600 SAT score is in terms of statistics.
How Good Is 1600 on the SAT in Statistical Terms?
We can start to see how good a 1600 SAT score is by doing a score comparison with the average SAT score. According to the College Board, since the change to the 400 to 1600 range in 2016, the average SAT score has ranged from 1050 to 1068. Thus, 1600 is about 540 points higher than the typical worldwide average score. So, in comparison with the average, 1600 is clearly a strong score.
To see more clearly how strong 1600 is, let’s also consider the 1600 SAT score percentile. The College Board reports the percentile of an SAT score of 1600 as 99+. Since a 99th percentile score is in the top 1 percent of scores, what makes sense is that a 99+ percentile score is in the top 0.5 percent of SAT scores. After all, it makes sense that the College Board would round down to 99th for any percentile below the 99.5th percentile and round up to 99+ for the 99.5th percentile or higher. So, 1600 is a top 0.5 percent score and thus is a very strong SAT score in terms of statistics.
KEY FACT:
Percentile information indicates that 1600 is higher than at least 99.5 percent of SAT scores.
Now, you may be wondering how many people get 1600 on SAT test days during a given year. So, even though the College Board does not report that number, let’s do our best to figure it out.
How Rare Is a 1600 SAT Score?
The following table has the SAT score percentiles for SAT total scores from 1500 to 1600. We can use this information along with information on the number of people who take the SAT each year to estimate how many people score 1600 on the SAT.
| SAT Total Score | Percentile |
|---|---|
| 1600 | 99+ |
| 1590 | 99+ |
| 1580 | 99+ |
| 1570 | 99+ |
| 1560 | 99+ |
| 1550 | 99 |
| 1540 | 99 |
| 1530 | 99 |
| 1520 | 98 |
| 1510 | 98 |
| 1500 | 98 |
Looking at the table, we see that 1530 is a 99th percentile score. So, about 1 percent of SAT test-takers score 1530 or higher.
Then, 1560 is a 99+ percentile score. So, 0.5 percent or less of SAT test-takers score 1560 or higher.
Meanwhile, there have been about 1.5 to 1.7 million SAT test-takers per year recently. So, we can calculate that 8,500 or fewer test-takers score 1560 or higher each year.
Estimating the Number of 1600 SAT Scores
Notice that it takes three scores for the percentile to go from 99th to 99+. Around 1 percent of test-takers score 1530, and then only 0.5 percent score 1560, three scores higher. So, the percentage of test-takers who get a given score drops pretty fast as we go up the scores. Also, it’s likely that, as we approach the top of the score scale, the percentage of test-takers who get higher scores drops increasingly fast.
Thus, even though the last number we can calculate is that, at most, 8,500 test-takers score 1560, I think it’s a safe bet that fewer than 1,000/1,700,000 people score 1600 in a given year. In other words, less than 0.1 percent of SAT test-takers score 1600.
KEY FACT:
A reasonable estimate is that fewer than 1,000 people score 1600 on the SAT each year.
We’ve seen how good a 1600 SAT score is in terms of SAT score statistics. Let’s now discuss how good a 1600 SAT score is for getting into colleges and universities.
How Good Is a 1600 SAT Score for Getting Into Colleges?
We can define what is considered a good score for a particular college or university as an SAT score that is above that school’s recent average SAT scores. A great score for a school is one that is above the school’s middle 50 percent range of SAT scores. In other words, it’s one that is above the 75th percentile of scores for a particular school.
Using those score benchmarks, an SAT score of 1600 is a great score for every school because 1600 is above the 75th percentile SAT score at every college or university. In recent years, the 75th percentile scores at some schools, including Harvard, MIT, and Yale, have come close to 1600. However, so far, no school has had a 75th percentile score above 1580.
An SAT score of 1600 is a great score for every school because 1600 is above the 75th percentile SAT score at every college or university.
Still, the fact that 1600 is a great SAT score for all schools isn’t the whole story. Let’s explore college admissions and scores in more detail to see what a 1600 SAT means for your applications.
How Much Will a 1600 SAT Score Help My College Applications?
How much a 1600 SAT score will help your applications depends on which schools you apply to.
For schools ranked in the top 100 but below the top 50, if you have a reasonable application and a 1600 SAT score, you’ll almost certainly get accepted. Even if there are areas of weakness in your application, these schools may consider a high SAT score an offset to any weakness that is not extreme.
Schools in the top 50 but below the top 20 or 25 will also see a 1600 SAT score as a big plus. Average scores at these schools tend to be in the 1300s or 1400s. So, 1600 is well above average for these schools. It’s also over 100 points above the 75th percentile at many of them. Thus, a 1600 SAT score can make an applicant stand out at these schools and can make up for a somewhat below-average GPA or other less-than-ideal aspect of an application.
KEY FACT:
In the cases of all but the most highly ranked schools, a 1600 SAT score will make an applicant stand out and will likely offset weakness in other areas of an application.
What About the Most Competitive Schools?
At the most competitive schools, the story is different. While, as we’ve discussed, 1600 is above the mid-50 percent SAT score ranges for all schools, there are many applicants to top schools with high test scores, high GPAs, and otherwise strong profiles. Especially at top-ranked schools such as Ivy League schools, MIT, or Duke, many applicants have SAT scores in the 1500s.
Meanwhile, schools don’t see an SAT score of 1600 as much different from, say, 1550. In general, since the score standards are so high at these schools, the score competitiveness of a 1600 is not as great as at other schools.
So, while a 1600 SAT score certainly helps an application to top schools, it doesn’t do that much more than meet their score expectations. Thus, even with a 1600 SAT score, to stand out and get accepted, you’ll need other aspects of your application to also be particularly strong. So, if you’re wondering, “Can you get into Harvard with a 1600 SAT score?,” the answer is yes, you can. However, whether you will depends on how strong your application is overall.
KEY FACT:
Since many applicants to the most highly ranked schools have strong test scores, the score significance of a 1600 is not as great at these schools.
Another question that often comes up is whether a 1600 SAT score is good for scholarships. So, let’s explore that as well.
Is a 1600 Good for Scholarships?
A 1600 will make you eligible for many scholarships, since it meets the SAT score requirement of any scholarship that has one. So, with a 1600 SAT score, you can apply for a variety of scholarships that can cover at least part of your college expenses.
Also, an SAT score of 1600 can help you get a full-ride scholarship to some schools not in the top 20 that want to attract high-caliber students who would not otherwise attend those schools. So, with a 1600 SAT score and a high GPA, you may be able to get all your college expenses covered if you’re willing to go to a school that is not ranked as high as some schools you could get accepted to.
Top 20 schools, on the other hand, don’t commonly award full scholarships based on merit, since all accepted applicants to those schools have very strong profiles. So, a 1600 SAT score probably will not help with getting a merit scholarship to one of the highest-ranked schools. Rather, to get significant help with expenses associated with attending a top-ranked school, you’ll likely have to apply for need-based financial aid.
KEY FACT:
A 1600 SAT score can help an applicant get a partial or full-ride scholarship.
Now, you may be wondering whether you can score 1600 on the SAT. So, let’s discuss the answer to that question.
Is a 1600 SAT Score Possible for Me?
The short answer to whether a 1600 SAT score is possible for you is yes! Here’s why. The SAT is a rather learnable test because there is nothing very complicated on today’s SAT. Rather, the SAT tests knowledge and skills students typically develop through normal high school education. So, even if your current SAT score is well below 1600, with effective SAT test prep, you can learn to score 1600.
At the same time, it may not make sense for you to seek to score 1600, since increasing your SAT score can involve a significant time commitment. Also, a 1600 SAT score isn’t necessary for getting into any school. So, there may be more valuable things you can do to improve your applications, such as maximize your GPA or get more involved in extracurriculars.
If you really want to score 1600, the best way is to master one SAT Math or Reading and Writing section topic at a time. To master a topic, first review the concepts and strategies involved in the topic. Then, do practice questions involving the topic untimed to learn to get them correct basically 100 percent of the time. Finally, work on more quickly answering questions involving the topic, until you’re answering them at SAT test pace.
Then, move on to another topic and do the same thing. By mastering one topic at a time this way, you’ll eventually master the entire SAT.
To learn more about how to achieve a perfect SAT score, see this post on how to get a 1600 on the SAT.
KEY FACT:
The best way to score 1600 is to master one SAT topic at a time.
Before we wrap up, just for fun, let’s see who in the public eye has scored 1600 on the SAT.
Who Got a 1600 on the SAT?
Some well-known people who scored 1600, or close to it, on the SAT are:
- Microsoft founder Paul Allen scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT.
- Senator Chuck Schumer got a perfect 1600.
- Actor and musician Will Smith is rumored to have scored a perfect 1600.
- Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is reported to have scored 1600 or 1590, according to various sources.
- The other Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, came close by scoring 1590.
- Former Federal Reserve chairperson Ben Bernanke scored 1590.
- Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor scored 1580.
- Singer Ke$ha scored 1500.
Let’s now wrap up with some takeaways from what we’ve discussed.
Key Takeaways: Is 1600 a Good SAT score?
Here is what we’ve seen about a 1600 SAT score:
- 1600 is a 99+ percentile SAT score that is likely achieved by fewer than 1,000/1,700,000 test-takers each year.
- A 1600 SAT score will help your application to any college or university, though a 1600 SAT score alone is not sufficient for getting into a top-ranked school.
- Having a 1600 SAT score makes an applicant eligible for many scholarships and can help you get a full-ride scholarship to some schools.
- Since the SAT is a very learnable test, it’s possible for students with lower SAT scores to get to 1600 with effective SAT preparation.
What’s Next?
To learn how to get a perfect SAT Math score, you can read this post on how to get 800 on SAT Math.
For some ideas on how to stay dedicated to your SAT prep, see this post on how to motivate yourself to study for the SAT.
