Ranked

599 uS universities with the highest SAT scores

Average SAT of admitted students, highest first, with ACT midpoint and acceptance rate beside it.

#UniversityIn-stateCost of attendance BorrowPaying downSATAcceptance
41 University of Southern California Los Angeles, California $72,097 $90,300 24% 80% 1495 10%
42 Vassar College Poughkeepsie, New York $71,030 $87,419 39% 93% 1494 19%
43 University of Rochester Rochester, New York $67,080 $85,962 40% 80% 1488 40%
44 Georgetown University Washington, District of Columbia $68,017 $88,741 18% 88% 1487 13%
45 Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa $68,106 $83,440 13% 89% 1486 15%
46 University of Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia $21,803 $39,926 20% 86% 1480 17%
47 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia $12,058 $28,167 17% 85% 1480 14%
48 Boston University Boston, Massachusetts $68,102 $86,285 23% 82% 1480 11%
49 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, North Carolina $67,642 $87,499 14% 88% 1475 22%
50 University of Maryland, College Park College Park, Maryland $11,809 $29,299 22% 79% 1473 45%
51 Davidson College Davidson, North Carolina $64,410 $79,475 9% 84% 1469 13%
52 Bates College Lewiston, Maine $66,590 $83,532 14% 88% 1468 13%
53 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, Michigan $17,736 $34,654 24% 79% 1465 16%
54 Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, Massachusetts $67,018 $84,926 44% 80% 1463 36%
55 Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts $68,080 $86,448 28% 83% 1462 41%
56 Villanova University Villanova, Pennsylvania $67,776 $84,793 35% 90% 1460 27%
57 Babson College Wellesley, Massachusetts $57,152 $80,192 27% 91% 1457 17%
58 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York $64,081 $82,404 51% 92% 1456 63%
59 Occidental College Los Angeles, California $66,274 $84,800 37% 88% 1452 44%
60 Oberlin College Oberlin, Ohio $67,366 $87,404 31% 82% 1447 34%
61 Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey $63,462 $79,790 53% 91% 1446 48%
62 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, Illinois $16,004 $33,642 27% 79% 1440 42%
63 Simpson College Indianola, Iowa $47,656 $61,227 71% 76% 1440 86%
64 Macalester College Saint Paul, Minnesota $68,104 $82,991 36% 89% 1440 29%
65 Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania $64,980 $80,856 37% 88% 1440 26%
66 SOKA University of America Aliso Viejo, California $38,728 $55,064 37% 79% 1440 43%
67 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina $8,994 $26,055 13% 81% 1439 15%
68 Reed College Portland, Oregon $69,350 $86,376 40% 85% 1437 25%
69 George Washington University Washington, District of Columbia $67,710 $83,856 32% 80% 1433 47%
70 Connecticut College New London, Connecticut $67,242 $84,623 35% 91% 1432 37%
71 Kenyon College Gambier, Ohio $71,520 $87,590 21% 87% 1429 31%
72 Southern Methodist University Dallas, Texas $67,040 $85,606 21% 75% 1428 63%
73 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Terre Haute, Indiana $58,649 $77,890 41% 93% 1427 77%
74 University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, Wisconsin $11,603 $28,679 20% 84% 1427 45%
75 Yeshiva University New York, New York $51,800 $70,892 16% 80% 1426 56%
76 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, California $61,293 $82,026 37% 88% 1426 48%
77 Lafayette College Easton, Pennsylvania $65,398 $83,133 20% 91% 1424 31%
78 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, Massachusetts $17,772 $34,549 47% 77% 1423 60%
79 Fordham University Bronx, New York $64,915 $82,762 47% 77% 1418 59%
80 Trinity University San Antonio, Texas $53,676 $68,224 44% 86% 1416 26%

Questions

Highest sat in the US: which university leads?
University of Southern California — an average SAT of 1495.
Where does this data come from?
The US Department of Education College Scorecard, which publishes what institutions charge, what students borrow and repay, and the test scores of admitted students. Nothing here is estimated — universities without a published figure are left out of the ranking.
Is the cheapest university the best value?
Not necessarily. Price is one half of value; the other is what graduates earn and whether they clear the debt. Each university page links to its earnings and repayment record.
All university data Cheapest tuition Most expensive Best loan repayment Fewest borrowers Highest acceptance

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard. Universities without a published figure for the ranked measure are not listed.