United States Private Colleges Ranked by Highest SAT Score

Below is a list of the 783 private colleges in the United States with the highest SAT Score for incoming freshmen. California Institute of Technology leads the list with an average SAT Score of 1555. Alternatively, check out the ACT version of these rankings.

The SAT is a standardized test used by colleges to evaluate applicants. It is not a guarantee of success in college, but it is a strong indicator of academic potential.

List of United States Private Colleges Ranked by Highest SAT Score
College	Average SAT Score
Haverford College Haverford, Pennsylvania	1505
University of Southern California Los Angeles, California	1500
Hamilton College Clinton, New York	1500
Vassar College Poughkeepsie, New York	1500
Middlebury College Middlebury, Vermont	1497
Scripps College Claremont, California	1490
Boston College Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	1490
Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts	1490
Colgate University Hamilton, New York	1485
Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio	1485
Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virginia	1485
Smith College Northampton, Massachusetts	1480
Webb Institute Glen Cove, New York	1480
Wesleyan University Middletown, Connecticut	1477
Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa	1475
Bates College Lewiston, Maine	1475
Boston University Boston, Massachusetts	1475
University of Rochester Rochester, New York	1475

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This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: March 15, 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.