Is a 1250 a Good SAT Score?

There aren’t many tests that you will take that could make more of a difference to your future than the SAT. The score you get could put you on the path to the perfect school, or it could keep your applications from being noticed in the right way. So if you’re getting ready to take the SAT this year you should know, is a 1250 a good score?

Achieving 1250 out of a possible 1600 on the SAT is a good score to get, and it will generally place you within the top 20% of all those who take the test. It will allow you to be considered by many great schools, but there will be some that receive a high number of applicants with even bigger numbers.

For the low-down on where a 1250 falls, how it compares to what else you could get, and where it might take you at the end of the day, have a read through the rest of this article!

Is a 1250 High For The SAT?

The scoring system for the SAT can be a little tricky to quantify if you do not know much about the test itself, since you aren’t going to be given a handy “A” or “B” grade to tell you how well you did.

Instead, the scores that you are given for this test will be compared to those that other test takers are able to achieve, so you need to know where you rank in regard to the other applicants you will be competing against. This is where percentiles become incredibly useful.

Based on the most recent data available, scoring a 1250 on the SAT would put you in the 86th percentile according to the nationally representative sample of potential test takers, but in the 81st percentile of actual SAT users.

This means that you are competing within the top 15-20% of the country, and are well above the average. Take a look at the chart below to see how your rank might change if you were to gain or lose a few points:

Exploring the percentile ranks can really demonstrate just how much difference a few points can make. Since most people will score within a similar range on the test, the percentiles in the middle area vary much more significantly than they do at the very top or the very bottom.

If you’re hoping to stand out a little more, then pushing yourself to achieve higher a 1300 or higher might be what you need to really stand out. This would land you more comfortably in the top 15% of test takers, and give your application a considerable boost.

What Would a 1250 SAT Be On The ACT?

There is, of course, another test that may be very important when it comes to applying to schools and that is the ACT. It can be very helpful to get some idea of what your score might look like on this alternative admissions test, but they are scored incredibly differently.

You can make a relatively straightforward conversion, though it is worth noting that this is far from accurate, especially because the SAT has a much greater score variance overall.

With as accurate a comparison as possible, a 1250 on the SAT would be the equivalent of scoring a 26 on the ACT, but just 10 points more would be considered to be around the equivalent of a 27.

Have a look at the table below to see where other SAT scores could land if they were converted over to the ACT:

What Places Usually Accept a 1250 SAT?

Scoring within the top 20% of those who take the test will enable you to apply to the majority of higher education establishments in the country, and you will have a really good chance of being accepted somewhere really wonderful.

There are many incredible schools that usually accept candidates who receive a 1250 or just below, and some of those great options include:

• University of San Francisco
• Iowa State University
• University of Kansas
• James Madison University
• University of Cincinnati, Main Campus
• DePaul University
• University of Kentucky
• George Mason University
• University of Iowa
• Louisiana State University and Agricultural ; Mechanical College

What Places Usually Need Higher Than a 1250 SAT?

On the other hand, there will be a lot of people out there with notably higher SAT scores, and they will usually be applying to the same group of top-end schools. Applying to these places is not impossible, but it may be difficult to be successful without a slightly higher score.

To give you a picture of what kind of places might be harder to apply to, these are some of those schools that usually accept applications that have an SAT score of between 1300 and 1400:

• Auburn University
• University of Georgia
• University of Florida
• The University of Texas at Austin
• Purdue University, Main Campus
• University of Washington, Seattle Campus
• Ohio State University, Main Campus
• University of Miami
• University of California, Irvine
• Baylor University

Is a 1250 Good Enough For Me?

When all is said and done, the true measure of how good your SAT score is will be where it manages to take you. If you are looking to get into a truly high-level school, then a 1250 might not be good enough for what you want to achieve. However, you could equally find that your ideal institution would be more than happy with a score this high.

You need to consider where you are trying to get to, and what you are personally capable of. Pushing yourself to achieve your best give you the best opportunity to succeed, wherever you want to go.

Putting in some extra time and effort now could be what takes your SAT score to the next level. Take practice tests, begin your preparations early, and book yourself in to actually take the SAT more than once, and you could be looking at a 1350 instead.

Also read:

• Is a 1200 a Good SAT Score?
• What is a Good SAT Score?
• When Do SAT Scores Come Out?
• How long is the SAT?

Conclusion: Is a 1250 a Good SAT Score?

So, would a 1250 on the SAT be a good score? It certainly is, but there will be a lot of candidates applying alongside you who will get scores significantly higher as well.

Whether or not this score is good enough will depend on the schools you want to apply to, and the other elements of your application – such as your interview, essays, portfolio, and references.