Colleges with the Highest SAT Averages
Average SAT score of enrolled students. Reported by fewer than half of institutions as test-optional admissions has spread.
Ranked by average sat score · 973 of 2,406 institutions report this measure · Compiled 2026-09-01
Chase these schools
Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
#1
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
#2
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
#3
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
- 1University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private1554Compare nearby
Also on 10 other lists
- 2Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD · Private1553Compare nearby
- 3Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private1553Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#2
- Most Selective Colleges in America#2
- the Highest ACT Scores#3
- Psychology#3
- Biological Sciences#4
- Computer Science#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#6
- English Language & Literature#8
- History#8
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#10
- Are Least Likely to Leave#18
- Social Sciences#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#24
- 4Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA · Private1553Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#1
- Biological Sciences#1
- Business#1
- Liberal Arts#1
- Multidisciplinary Studies#2
- Physical Sciences#2
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#3
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#5
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#6
- Most Selective Colleges in America#7
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#8
- Computer Science#10
- Engineering#11
- Mathematics & Statistics#12
- Are Least Likely to Leave#14
- 5Rice UniversityHouston, TX · Private1553Compare nearby
- 6Stanford UniversityStanford, CA · Private1553Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Computer Science#2
- Biological Sciences#3
- Engineering Technology#3
- Most Selective Colleges in America#3
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#4
- Psychology#6
- the Highest ACT Scores#7
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#7
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#7
- Area & Ethnic Studies#8
- Social Sciences#8
- Engineering#10
- English Language & Literature#18
- Multidisciplinary Studies#22
- Are Least Likely to Leave#24
- 7Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, TN · Private1550Compare nearby
- 8Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York, NY · Private1547Compare nearby
Also on 14 other lists
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#3
- the Highest ACT Scores#4
- Most Selective Colleges in America#4
- Foreign Languages#5
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#9
- History#16
- Mathematics & Statistics#16
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#18
- Area & Ethnic Studies#19
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#21
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#25
- Computer Science#25
- Social Sciences#25
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#25
- 9Brown UniversityProvidence, RI · Private1546Compare nearby
- 10Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA · Private1545Compare nearby
Also on 12 other lists
- Social Sciences#2
- Business#3
- Visual & Performing Arts#3
- Multidisciplinary Studies#4
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#6
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#6
- Mathematics & Statistics#8
- Physical Sciences#8
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#11
- Architecture#12
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#13
- Computer Science#19
- 11University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA · Private1545Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#2
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#4
- Communications#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#4
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#5
- Multidisciplinary Studies#5
- Business#9
- History#10
- Most Selective Colleges in America#11
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#12
- Engineering#12
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#17
- Computer Science#18
- Are Least Likely to Leave#20
- Social Sciences#22
- 12Duke UniversityDurham, NC · Private1539Compare nearby
- 13Harvey Mudd CollegeClaremont, CA · Private1537Compare nearby
- 14Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private1535Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- Engineering#1
- English Language & Literature#1
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#3
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#3
- Most Selective Colleges in America#6
- Public Administration#10
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#11
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#14
- Psychology#15
- the Highest ACT Scores#20
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#24
- 15Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private1534Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- History#1
- English Language & Literature#5
- Most Selective Colleges in America#5
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#7
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#7
- Computer Science#9
- Social Sciences#9
- Multidisciplinary Studies#10
- the Highest ACT Scores#11
- Are Least Likely to Leave#15
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#16
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#17
- Psychology#24
- 16Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private1533Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#1
- Physical Sciences#1
- Mathematics & Statistics#3
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#9
- History#11
- Most Selective Colleges in America#12
- Computer Science#14
- English Language & Literature#14
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#17
- the Highest ACT Scores#19
- Are Least Likely to Leave#25
- 17Washington University in St LouisSaint Louis, MO · Private1530Compare nearby
- 18Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · Private1527Compare nearby
- 19New York UniversityNew York, NY · Private1527Compare nearby
- 20Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore, PA · Private1527Compare nearby
- 21Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · Private1526Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- 22Pomona CollegeClaremont, CA · Private1520Compare nearby
- 23Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY · Private1520Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Public Administration#1
- Mathematics & Statistics#11
- Psychology#11
- Communications#13
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#17
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#19
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#19
- Computer Science#20
- the Highest ACT Scores#21
- Architecture#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#22
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#23
- Are Least Likely to Leave#23
- Most Selective Colleges in America#23
- Area & Ethnic Studies#25
- 24Claremont McKenna CollegeClaremont, CA · Private1514Compare nearby
- 25Bowdoin CollegeBrunswick, ME · Private1514Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Average SAT score — sorted highest to lowest
- Source variable
SAT_AVG- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- Four-year, main-campus institutions awarding bachelor's degrees or higher (2,406 schools).
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded so that small-cohort medians do not distort the ranking.
- 973 of 2,406 institutions report this measure; the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
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- Explore games & mapsShowdown, Name That College, sports, and more lists
- Sports at University of ChicagoEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
Colleges with the Highest ACT Scores
Midpoint of the enrolled class's composite ACT scores, where reported.
The Most Selective Colleges in America
Lowest share of applicants admitted. Selectivity measures demand and class size, not teaching quality.
Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates
Share of first-time, full-time students who finish a bachelor's degree within four years.