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
Northeastern University Oakland Oakland, California	1470
Georgetown University Washington, District Of Columbia	1470
University of Richmond University of Richmond, Virginia	1470
Davidson College Davidson, North Carolina	1465
Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, North Carolina	1465
Rhode Island School of Design Providence, Rhode Island	1463
Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana	1460
Babson College Wellesley, Massachusetts	1460
Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts	1455
Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, Massachusetts	1455
Villanova University Villanova, Pennsylvania	1452
Occidental College Los Angeles, California	1450
Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, New Jersey	1442
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, New York	1442
Oberlin College Oberlin, Ohio	1440
Lehigh University Bethlehem, Pennsylvania	1435
Macalester College Saint Paul, Minnesota	1430
Kenyon College Gambier, Ohio	1430

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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.