Move the slider to any digital SAT total and this shows the approximate national percentile — the share of test-takers scoring at or below it. Percentiles, not raw scores, are what tell you whether a number is competitive.
Your total score
Roughly 85 in every 100 test-takers score at or below 1400.
The full percentile table
The anchors the slider interpolates between. Percentiles are approximate and are published per cohort year rather than per test date, so the same scaled score maps to the same percentile whichever administration you sat.
| Total score | Percentile | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 800 | ~10th | Bottom decile |
| 1000 | ~26th | Below average |
| 1050 | ~33rd | Near the national average |
| 1150 | ~50th | Median |
| 1200 | ~58th | Above average |
| 1300 | ~73rd | Strong |
| 1400 | ~85th | Very strong |
| 1450 | ~91st | Top decile |
| 1500 | ~95th | Top 5% |
| 1550 | ~98th | Top 2% |
| 1600 | ~99th | Perfect |
Counselors and teachers: this table is free to reuse. There is a copy-paste version with the embed code if you want it in your own deck or handout.
The two percentiles, and why they disagree
College Board reports two percentiles for every score, and quoting the wrong one is how a score gets talked up by ten points of perceived standing.
The Nationally Representative percentile models all US students in that grade — including the many who never sit the SAT at all. The SAT User percentile counts only students who actually took the test, a self-selected and stronger group. The same score therefore reads higher on the nationally representative scale. For anything to do with admissions, the User percentile is the more honest comparison, and the table above sits closer to it.
What a percentile does not tell you
It does not tell you whether a specific college will take you. A percentile compares you to everyone who sat the test; a college's middle 50% compares you only to the students it admitted, which at a selective school is a far stronger group. A 1400 is the 85th percentile nationally and simultaneously below the median admitted score at the most selective twenty universities. Both statements are true.
The decision that actually matters — whether to submit the score at all — is made against that per-college range, not against the national percentile.
Frequently asked questions
What percentile is a 1400 SAT score?
About the 85th percentile, meaning roughly 85% of test-takers score at or below 1400. It is very strong at nearly every university, and sits in the bottom quarter of the admitted range at the most selective twenty.
Why do two websites give different percentiles for the same score?
Because College Board publishes two. The Nationally Representative percentile models all US students in that grade, including those who never sit the SAT, and reads higher. The SAT User percentile covers students who actually took it, and is the more honest comparison for admissions.
Is a percentile the same as a college's middle 50%?
No, and confusing them is the most common mistake. A percentile compares you to all test-takers nationally. A college's middle 50% compares you only to the students it admitted, which is a far stronger group at a selective school.
Does the percentile change between test dates?
Not meaningfully. Percentile tables are published per cohort year, not per administration, so the same scaled score maps to the same percentile whichever date you sat.
Get a percentile with a reason attached
A free full-length adaptive mock places you in the range with a per-skill breakdown, so the number comes with the errors that produced it.