Is a 1390 a Good SAT Score?
With all of the hardship and effort you go through to complete the SAT, you want to know how well your results (or potential results) might compare to the others you could have achieved – and what kind of standing you could be in when applying for schools. So you will be wondering, is a 1390 a good SAT score?
An SAT score of 1390 out of 1600 is very good and typically puts you around the top 92nd percentile of all the results that are achieved nationally. It will be enough to get you into a lot of top schools, although some of the most prestigious establishments do expect an even higher score.
Read on to find out exactly how good this result is, and what it might mean for your further education plans.
How Does 1390 Compare to Other SAT Scores?
So, how good is a 1390 exactly? How does it compare to what other people will have managed to achieve?
One of the best ways to understand how highly you have scored is to look at where you sit in terms of the national percentiles. This number lets you know the percentage of the overall test takers that your score is higher than (depending on the year). For example, being in the top 99th percentile means you are in the highest 1% of all the test takers that year.
This handy chart will help to illustrate just how high a 1390 actually is (using the data from 2022):
| SAT Score Range | National Percentile |
| 1500 – 1600 | 98 – 99 |
| 1400 – 1500 | 93 – 98 |
| 1300 – 1400 | 86 – 90 |
| 1200 – 1300 | 75 – 86 |
| 1100 – 1200 | 61 – 75 |
| 1000 – 1100 | 43 – 61 |
| 900 – 1000 | 27 – 43 |
| 800 – 900 | 13 – 43 |
| 700 – 800 | 3 – 13 |
| 600 – 700 | 1 – 3 |
| <600 | 1 |
It’s worth noting that many more people score within the middle than they do at the very top or at the very bottom, so there is a much bigger difference between the percentiles within the middle range.
In 2022, a 1390 was in the 97th percentile for all of the students who could possibly have taken the SAT (known as the “Nationally-Representative Percentile”) but was only in the 92nd Percentile of actual SAT users.
Therefore, if you had taken the SAT in 2022, a score of 1390 would have put you above 92% of the population who took the test, so it is definitely considered to be among the highest scores that you could achieve.
What is the ACT Equivalent of a 1390 SAT Score?
Another way to get an idea of what a 1390 actually means is to compare it to the other largest national test for college admissions: the ACT. So, what would a 1390 be on the ACT?
Although the tests are obviously different and are scored differently, you can convert between the two to see what the equivalent score looks like. To help you to understand it, here’s a table of SAT scores and their ACT equivalents:
| SAT Score | ACT Composite Equivalent |
| 1600 | 36 |
| 1500 | 33 |
| 1400 | 30 |
| 1300 | 27 |
| 1200 | 25 |
| 1100 | 22 |
| 1000 | 19 |
| 900 | 17 |
| 800 | 14 |
| 700 | 12 |
| 600 | 11 |
If you converted a 1390 SAT score to the ACT equivalent composite result, it would be a score of 30 out of a possible 36. According to the most recent data from 2021, this was in the top 93rd percentile.
Check out these other related posts:
- Is 1270 A Good SAT Score?
- Is a 980 a Good SAT Score?
- What is a Good SAT Score?
- How To Study For The SAT?
What Schools Can You Get Into With a Score of 1390?
There are many schools around the country that will consider you with an SAT score of 1390, including some of the best. In fact, many great 4-year schools take students with an average score of 1390 or lower, with some of the most popular and prestigious being:
- University of Florida
- The University of Texas at Austin
- Purdue University
- University of California – Irvine
- Clemson University
- University of Miami
- University of Georgia
- Virginia Tech
- North Carolina State University at Raleigh
- Ohio State University
What Schools Would You Find It Hard to Get Into With a Score of 1390?
With that being said, there are a number of schools out there that receive applications from students with higher SAT scores on average. Some of those that you could definitely apply to with a 1390, but might struggle to get into, include:
- Stanford University
- Pennsylvania State University
- University of California – Berkeley
- University of California – Los Angeles
- Cornell University
- University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
- Boston University
- New York University
- University of Southern California
- Georgia Institute of Technology – Main Campus
What SAT Score Should You Be Aiming For?
At the end of the day, what constitutes a “good” SAT score is very dependent on you as an individual and the goals that you have for the future. Many excellent schools and further education opportunities do not require extremely high scores on the SAT to apply, and they will look at other elements of your experience and academics besides that score alone.
Some schools do not require you to take the ACT or SAT at all, and any application you send will also be considered based on the quality of your letters of recommendation, your high school transcripts, your personal statement or essays, your extracurricular activities, and any interview that you do or portfolio of work that you show them.
In some circumstances, though, a good SAT score can be essential. If you are applying to the Ivy League, a high SAT or ACT score is often a prerequisite, and 1450 or more is usually considered to be competitive enough for you to be considered.
Summary: Is a 1390 a Good SAT Score?
So, is a 1390 a good SAT score? It certainly is, and it would put you in good standing to apply for some of the best schools in the country.
With that being said, many of the Ivy League schools and other highly prestigious institutions receive applicants with SAT scores that average 1450 or more, so you may want to aim higher in order to compete.
Equally, there will be other aspects of your application to consider besides your admissions test score, and a 1390 would place you in around the 92nd percentile for the entire country.
