California Public Colleges Ranked by Highest SAT Score

Below is a list of the 26 public colleges in California with the highest SAT Score for incoming freshmen. University of California Berkeley leads the list with an average SAT Score of 1420. 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 California Public Colleges Ranked by Highest SAT Score
College	Average SAT Score
University of California Berkeley Berkeley, California	1420
University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles, California	1415
University of California San Diego La Jolla, California	1375
University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California	1345
University of California Irvine Irvine, California	1330
California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, California	1315
University of California Davis Davis, California	1280
University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California	1260
San Diego State University San Diego, California	1195
University of California Riverside Riverside, California	1180
California State Polytechnic University Pomona Pomona, California	1130
California State University Long Beach Long Beach, California	1130
San Jose State University San Jose, California	1125
California State University Fullerton Fullerton, California	1090
California State Polytechnic University Humboldt Arcata, California	1080
California State University Chico Chico, California	1070
California State University Monterey Bay Seaside, California	1060
Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, California	1050

Search and filter all 26 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.