ACT to SAT Concordance Table

Full concordance table based on the official College Board study. Note: these are approximate ranges — the College Board provides midpoint equivalents, not exact one-to-one mappings.

ACT ScoreSAT ScoreSAT Range

3616001590–1600

3515701540–1600

3415301510–1550

3315001490–1510

3214701460–1480

3114401430–1450

3014101400–1420

2913801370–1390

2813501340–1360

2713201310–1330

2612901280–1300

2512501240–1270

2412201210–1230

2311901180–1200

2211601150–1170

2111301120–1140

2011001090–1110

1910701060–1080

1810401030–1050

1710101000–1020

16980970–990

15940930–960

14900890–920

13860850–880

12820810–840

11780770–800

10740730–760

9700690–720

8660650–680

7620610–640

6580570–600

5540530–560

4500490–520

3460450–480

2420410–440

1380370–400

Source: College Board concordance study (2018). Ranges reflect the middle 50% of students who took both tests.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the ACT to SAT conversion exact?

No. The College Board provides concordance tables that show equivalent score ranges, not exact one-to-one conversions. An ACT score of 28 corresponds to roughly an SAT score of 1310–1330, with 1320 as the midpoint. Use the midpoint for planning purposes but remember that test difficulty and section adaptive scoring mean your actual results may vary.

Which test should I take — ACT or SAT?

Both tests are widely accepted by colleges. The SAT tends to emphasise reasoning and vocabulary, while the ACT includes a science section and tends to move at a faster pace. Take a full practice test in each format to see which suits you better. Our SAT vs ACT guide covers the key differences in detail.

Do colleges prefer one test over the other?

Almost all US colleges accept both the ACT and SAT equally. No top college prefers one over the other. Some states (e.g. Alabama, Tennessee) require the ACT for high school juniors, but there is no disadvantage to submitting either test.

Can I use this for college applications?

Use concordance tables as a guide for target-setting, not as a substitute for taking the actual test. Most colleges super-score both tests, meaning they take the highest section scores across multiple test dates. Neither test is "easier" to game through conversion.

Does the concordance change with the Digital SAT?

The current concordance table was updated in 2018 when the SAT was redesigned. The Digital SAT (launched 2023) uses the same scoring scale (400–1600) as the 2016+ paper SAT, so the concordance with ACT remains valid.