Does anyone know how to convert SAT scores to percentiles? It seems like a useful way to gauge where I stand, but all the info I’ve found is pretty much gibberish to me. Help would be much appreciated!
Absolutely, happy to help you understand SAT score to percentile conversions! The percentile essentially tells you how well you did relative to all other test takers. For example, if you scored in the 75th percentile, this means you scored better than 75% of the test takers.
Let's say you got a total score of 1400 (out of 1600) on the SAT. To convert this into percentiles, you would consult a table provided by College Board that shows SAT score percentiles. As of the most recent version of this table (latest available due to the change to the digital exam), a score of 1400 falls in the 93rd percentile.
This means that if you got a 1400 on the SAT, you scored better than 93% of all other test takers.
Remember that each year, the percentiles might change a little because the distribution of scores among test takers may vary. So always check for the most recent table from the College Board or other credible sources to find accurate percentiles.
One final point is that while the percentiles can give you a sense of how well you did compared to others, colleges consider many other factors in addition to test scores when deciding on admissions, so don't stress too much about small percentile differences!
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