United States Public Colleges Ranked by Highest SAT Score

Below is a list of the 482 public colleges in the United States with the highest SAT Score for incoming freshmen. University of Virginia Main Campus leads the list with an average SAT Score of 1475. 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 Public Colleges Ranked by Highest SAT Score
College	Average SAT Score
Rutgers University Camden Camden, New Jersey	1175
Western Carolina University Cullowhee, North Carolina	1175
Christopher Newport University Newport News, Virginia	1175
University of North Florida Jacksonville, Florida	1170
Ball State University Muncie, Indiana	1170
State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, New York	1170
William Paterson University of New Jersey Wayne, New Jersey	1167
Penn State Abington Abington, Pennsylvania	1167
Eastern Connecticut State University Willimantic, Connecticut	1165
Florida International University Miami, Florida	1165
Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan	1165
State University of New York at Cortland Cortland, New York	1165
State University of New York at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, New York	1165
University of Minnesota Rochester Rochester, Minnesota	1165
Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, Massachusetts	1161
Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas	1160
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth North Dartmouth, Massachusetts	1160
Virginia Military Institute Lexington, Virginia	1160

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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.