Is 1200 a Good SAT Score?

A 1200 is good: the 75th percentile of SAT takers. Here is what it means and what to do with it.

SAT score
1200
Percentile
75th
Rating
Good
ACT equivalent
25

What a 1200 SAT score means

A 1200 is good. On College Board’s current tables it sits at the 75th percentile of students who took the SAT, so you scored at or above roughly 75% of test-takers (top 25%). Measured against all US juniors and seniors, including those who never take the test, it is the 81st percentile. The national average total is about 1025, so a 1200 is 175 points above the average. On the official concordance it is equivalent to about a 25 composite on the ACT.

Which colleges a 1200 fits

Admissions readers compare your score with the middle-50% range of admitted students, published in each college’s Common Data Set. A 1200 is above the range at the majority of four-year colleges and inside the range at many large public universities such as Arizona State, Alabama, Iowa State and Oregon. Ranges move a little each year, and a growing number of colleges are test-optional, so check each college’s current policy; the good-score guide lists sample ranges.

How a 1200 breaks down

The total is the sum of two sections scored 200–800, so several combinations produce a 1200:

Reading and WritingMathTotal
6006001200
6505501200
5506501200

Colleges see both sections, and STEM programs in particular look at Math on its own, so a 1200 built on a strong Math score reads differently from the same total the other way round. With balanced sections on the harder Module 2 path, a 1200 takes roughly 39 of 54 correct in Reading and Writing and 30 of 44 in Math; try your own numbers in the score calculator.

Moving a 1200 up

The next band starts at 1300 (Very good), 100 points away. Near this part of the scale each extra correct answer is worth roughly 10–15 points, so that is about 7 more questions right, spread across both sections. At this level most remaining points come from eliminating careless errors and from the harder question types in each section; keep taking full official practice tests and review every miss. See how to improve your SAT score, and remember that most colleges superscore, so a retake can target one section.

Nearby scores

Last updated September 2026. Percentiles from College Board’s current SAT User and Nationally Representative tables; ACT equivalents from the official 2018 concordance; college ranges approximate.

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1200 SAT score: frequently asked questions

Is 1200 a good SAT score?

A 1200 is good. It is at the 75th percentile of SAT takers, meaning you scored at or above 75% of students who took the test, and above the national average and solid for most four-year colleges. Whether it is good enough depends on the middle-50% ranges at the colleges you are applying to.

What percentile is a 1200 SAT score?

75th percentile among SAT takers (SAT User) and 81st among all US 11th and 12th graders (Nationally Representative), per College Board’s current tables.

What is a 1200 SAT score on the ACT?

A 1200 concords to an ACT composite of about 25 on the official ACT/College Board table.

How many questions do I need to get right for a 1200?

With balanced sections on the harder Module 2 path, roughly 39 of 54 in Reading and Writing and 30 of 44 in Math. The exact count varies by test form and by which Module 2 you receive; use the calculator to try your own split.

How do I get from 1200 to 1300?

That is 100 points, which means about 7 more correct answers spread across the sections on the harder Module 2 path. The improvement guide explains where those points usually come from.