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
Penn State Fayette Eberly Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania	1185
West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, Pennsylvania	1185
Citadel Military College of South Carolina Charleston, South Carolina	1185
Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas	1185
Penn State Berks Reading, Pennsylvania	1182
University of California Riverside Riverside, California	1180
University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky	1180
University of Louisiana at Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana	1180
University of Massachusetts Boston Boston, Massachusetts	1180
Penn State Altoona Altoona, Pennsylvania	1180
Penn State Greater Allegheny McKeesport, Pennsylvania	1180
Utah State University Logan, Utah	1180
Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, Tennessee	1179
Maine Maritime Academy Castine, Maine	1177
University of Missouri St Louis Saint Louis, Missouri	1175
Montana State University Bozeman, Montana	1175
The University of Montana Missoula, Montana	1175
University of Nevada Reno Reno, Nevada	1175

Search and filter all 482 colleges

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.