Is 1460 a Good SAT Score?

A 1460 is excellent: the 96th percentile of SAT takers. Here is what it means and what to do with it.

SAT score
1460
Percentile
96th
Rating
Excellent
ACT equivalent
33

What a 1460 SAT score means

A 1460 is excellent. On College Board’s current tables it sits at the 96th percentile of students who took the SAT, so you scored at or above roughly 96% of test-takers (top 4%). Measured against all US juniors and seniors, including those who never take the test, it is the 99th percentile. The national average total is about 1025, so a 1460 is 435 points above the average. On the official concordance it is equivalent to about a 33 composite on the ACT.

Which colleges a 1460 fits

Admissions readers compare your score with the middle-50% range of admitted students, published in each college’s Common Data Set. A 1460 is at or just below the middle-50% range of the most selective universities, and comfortably above the range at excellent public flagships such as Michigan, Virginia, Georgia Tech and UCLA. 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 1460 breaks down

The total is the sum of two sections scored 200–800, so several combinations produce a 1460:

Reading and WritingMathTotal
7307301460
7806801460
6807801460

Colleges see both sections, and STEM programs in particular look at Math on its own, so a 1460 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 1460 takes roughly 48 of 54 correct in Reading and Writing and 39 of 44 in Math; try your own numbers in the score calculator.

Moving a 1460 up

The next band starts at 1500 (Exceptional), 40 points away. Near this part of the scale each extra correct answer is worth roughly 15–25 points, so that is about 3 more questions right, spread across both sections. At this level improvement is about consistency under time pressure: the remaining misses are usually careless rather than content gaps. 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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1460 SAT score: frequently asked questions

Is 1460 a good SAT score?

A 1460 is excellent. It is at the 96th percentile of SAT takers, meaning you scored at or above 96% of students who took the test, and strong for selective universities and merit scholarships. Whether it is good enough depends on the middle-50% ranges at the colleges you are applying to.

What percentile is a 1460 SAT score?

96th percentile among SAT takers (SAT User) and 99th among all US 11th and 12th graders (Nationally Representative), per College Board’s current tables.

What is a 1460 SAT score on the ACT?

A 1460 concords to an ACT composite of about 33 on the official ACT/College Board table.

How many questions do I need to get right for a 1460?

With balanced sections on the harder Module 2 path, roughly 48 of 54 in Reading and Writing and 39 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 1460 to 1500?

That is 40 points, which means about 3 more correct answers spread across the sections on the harder Module 2 path. The improvement guide explains where those points usually come from.