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
Sam Houston State University Huntsville, Texas	1025
Adams State University Alamosa, Colorado	1020
CUNY New York City College of Technology Brooklyn, New York	1020
Sul Ross State University Alpine, Texas	1020
The University of Texas Permian Basin Odessa, Texas	1020
Southwest Minnesota State University Marshall, Minnesota	1018
University of Hawaii West Oahu Kapolei, Hawaii	1017
Mississippi University for Women Columbus, Mississippi	1015
University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, Nebraska	1015
New Jersey City University Jersey City, New Jersey	1015
Purdue University Northwest Hammond, Indiana	1015
Northwestern State University of Louisiana Natchitoches, Louisiana	1014
Gordon State College Barnesville, Georgia	1010
Valdosta State University Valdosta, Georgia	1010
East Central University Ada, Oklahoma	1010
Shepherd University Shepherdstown, West Virginia	1009
University of South Carolina Sumter Sumter, South Carolina	1007
West Liberty University West Liberty, West Virginia	1006

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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.