United States Private Colleges Ranked by Highest SAT Score

Below is a list of the 783 private colleges in the United States with the highest SAT Score for incoming freshmen. California Institute of Technology leads the list with an average SAT Score of 1555. 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 Private Colleges Ranked by Highest SAT Score
College	Average SAT Score
Bacone College Muskogee, Oklahoma	985
Logan University Chesterfield, Missouri	984
St. Thomas Aquinas College Sparkill, New York	982
Methodist College Peoria, Illinois	980
Tabor College Hillsboro, Kansas	980
Madonna University Livonia, Michigan	980
Concordia University Texas Austin, Texas	980
Huston Tillotson University Austin, Texas	980
Our Lady of the Lake University San Antonio, Texas	980
Bethel College North Newton North Newton, Kansas	975
Bethel University McKenzie, Tennessee	975
Saint Mary of the Woods College Saint Mary of the Woods, Indiana	972
University of Saint Francis Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, Indiana	970
Kentucky Christian University Grayson, Kentucky	970
Judson University Elgin, Illinois	967
Lourdes University Sylvania, Ohio	965
St. Thomas University Miami Gardens, Florida	960
Rockford University Rockford, Illinois	960

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This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: August 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.