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
Marion Military Institute Marion, Alabama	1155
University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky	1155
East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina	1155
Worcester State University Worcester, Massachusetts	1154
University of Pittsburgh Greensburg Greensburg, Pennsylvania	1154
New College of Florida Sarasota, Florida	1152
Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, Georgia	1150
University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa	1150
Montana Technological University Butte, Montana	1150
Rutgers University Newark Newark, New Jersey	1150
CUNY Queens College Queens, New York	1150
University of Rhode Island Kingston, Rhode Island	1150
South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota	1150
Penn State York York, Pennsylvania	1147
Jacksonville State University Jacksonville, Alabama	1145
Fitchburg State University Fitchburg, Massachusetts	1145
University of Minnesota Morris Morris, Minnesota	1145
Missouri State University Springfield Springfield, Missouri	1145

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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.