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
North Carolina Central University Durham, North Carolina	1040
Central Washington University Ellensburg, Washington	1040
California State University San Marcos San Marcos, California	1040
University of Baltimore Baltimore, Maryland	1035
SUNY College of Technology at Delhi Delhi, New York	1035
Minot State University Minot, North Dakota	1035
Lamar University Beaumont, Texas	1035
Texas Woman's University Denton, Texas	1035
University of Virginia's College at Wise Wise, Virginia	1032
California State University Sacramento Sacramento, California	1030
San Francisco State University San Francisco, California	1030
Southern Illinois University Carbondale Carbondale, Illinois	1030
University of New Mexico Main Campus Albuquerque, New Mexico	1030
Angelo State University San Angelo, Texas	1030
East Texas A&M University Commerce, Texas	1030
Marshall University Huntington, West Virginia	1030
University of South Carolina Beaufort Bluffton, South Carolina	1025
University of Houston Downtown Houston, Texas	1025

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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.