Yes: 1400 is a very strong score, roughly the 85th percentile of all SAT test-takers. A 1400 puts you in the top 15% of test-takers. It is competitive at the large majority of American colleges and sits just below the median at the most selective ones. A genuinely good score that is also, at the very top of the market, a merely average one.
What 1400 means in context
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Total score | 1400 out of 1600 |
| Percentile | ~85th |
| Beats | ~85% of test-takers |
| Typical balanced split | 700 R&W + 700 Math |
| Rating | Very strong |
Percentiles are approximate and shift slightly year to year with the test-taking population. Treat the figure as a band rather than a precise rank. College Board's own Understanding SAT Scores carries the published tables.
Where 1400 is competitive
Nearly every state flagship, the great majority of selective private universities, and strong merit aid at schools a tier below your reach list.
Where it's a stretch
Top-20 national universities and Ivy League schools, where 1400 typically falls in the bottom quarter of admitted students. Submittable, but not doing much work for you.
At 1400 the submit decision is straightforward almost everywhere except your reach schools, where the score is inside the published range but in its lower half. That is the one place the lookup earns its keep: how to read a college's Common Data Set.
The useful framing at this score is not whether 1400 is good, which it plainly is, but whether it is doing any work at the top of your list. A score that sits at the 25th percentile is not helping an application; it is merely not hurting it.
Should you submit it?
Submit it essentially everywhere. 1400 is at or above the midpoint at the large majority of American universities, and the small number of places where it is not are your reach schools, where withholding tends to look worse than a mid-range score.
The one exception worth taking seriously is a list made up entirely of top-20 institutions, where 1400 falls in the bottom quarter and is genuinely doing little work. Even there, a growing number of schools require the score anyway, which settles it. Merit thresholds remain a separate calculation.
Getting to 1500
The gap from 1400 to 1500 is about 10 questions across the whole 98-question test.
This is the plateau, and it's the hardest 100 points on the test, harder than 1100 → 1200, despite being the same nominal gain.
The reason: by 1400 you mostly know the content. Roughly 70% of your remaining misses are careless errors and timing losses, and neither responds to more practice tests. The full diagnosis and an eight-week plan are in 1400 to 1500: the jump that breaks most students, which is the guide written specifically for where you are.
At 1400 you need the harder Module 2 in both sections to go further, 1500 is mathematically unreachable on the easier path. If one section routed you to the easy module, that is your entire problem and it lives in Module 1. The score calculator shows exactly what each path allows.
Is another sitting worth it?
This is where the answer stops being automatic. 1400 is above the midpoint nearly everywhere, so a retake is no longer about clearing a bar; it is about whether the top of your list justifies the work. The points are also harder to get than they look, because at 1400 most of what remains is careless error and timing rather than unlearned content, and neither responds to simply doing more tests. A free full-length practice test under real conditions settles it faster than deliberating.
Worth another sitting if any of these hold:
- Your reach schools put 1400 in the bottom quarter of their range.
- A named merit threshold sits above you.
- Your split is lopsided enough that one section has obvious room.
If none of them do, the marginal hour belongs to your essays. And if your schools superscore, a targeted second sitting aimed at the weaker section is close to free.
Frequently asked questions
Is 1400 a good SAT score?
Yes: 1400 is roughly the 85th percentile, above about 85% of test-takers. Whether it's good enough depends on your list: competitive means at or above the middle of your schools' published ranges.
What percentile is a 1400 SAT score?
About the 85th percentile. This shifts slightly year to year with the test-taking population, so read it as a band rather than an exact rank.
What is a 1400 SAT score out of each section?
Balanced, about 700 R&W and 700 Math. Real splits are often lopsided, which is actually easier to improve, since you can target one section, especially with superscoring.
How many questions can you miss for a 1400?
On a balanced split, about 10 in Reading & Writing and 9 in Math (700 per section). Full answer
Should I retake the SAT with a 1400?
Retake if 1400 is below the middle 50% at schools you want, if your colleges superscore (a second sitting can only help), or if a scholarship threshold is just above you. Full answer
What colleges can I get into with a 1400 SAT?
No score guarantees or excludes admission anywhere. It's one factor among grades, rigor, essays and activities. To judge fit, check each college's Common Data Set section C9 for the 25th/75th percentile of enrolled students.