What's my SAT score as an ACT score? The official conversion, interactive
Convert SAT to ACT, or ACT to SAT, with the official concordance tables from ACT and the College Board, plus what the tables can and can't tell you about which test to send.
The question we keep seeing
“I have an SAT score and a college lists ACT ranges (or the other way round). How do the two line up?”
The short answer
- ACT and the College Board publish one official concordance between the two tests. A 1350 SAT corresponds to a 29 ACT, and a 30 ACT to a 1370 SAT.
- The tables show comparable scores, not equal ones, and they don't predict what you'd get if you took the other test.
- Each ACT point covers three to five SAT scores, so small SAT differences often vanish in conversion.
Colleges publish their middle-50% ranges for both tests, and applicants with a score on one test want to know where they stand on the other. There is exactly one official answer: the concordance tables that ACT and the College Board produced togetherFootnote 1Source 1ACT and the College Board, 2018 ACT/SAT Concordance Tables (PDF)The official tables: SAT total to ACT composite (Table A1) and ACT composite to SAT total, with ranges (Table A2).act.org. Any other conversion chart you find online either copies these tables or makes up its own.
Convert a score
Comparable ACT composite: 29
ACT composite scale, 9 to 36. Each ACT point covers a band of SAT scores (hover a box to see it).
Source: ACT and the College Board, 2018 ACT/SAT Concordance Tables (Tables A1 and A2). The tables show comparable scores, not equivalent ones, and don't predict how you would score on the other test.
How the tables were made
A concordance links scores on two different tests that measure similar things. The study behind these tables matched students who took both tests and lined up scores that sit at the same point in the distributionFootnote 1Source 1ACT and the College Board, 2018 ACT/SAT Concordance Tables (PDF)The official tables: SAT total to ACT composite (Table A1) and ACT composite to SAT total, with ranges (Table A2).act.orgFootnote 2Source 2ACT/SAT Concordance (ACT)Explains that the tables identify comparable scores rather than equating them, and are not updated annually.act.org. That is why ACT describes the result as comparable scores rather than equivalent onesFootnote 2Source 2ACT/SAT Concordance (ACT)Explains that the tables identify comparable scores rather than equating them, and are not updated annually.act.org. A 29 and a 1350 are about equally rare, but the tests don't measure the same skills in the same way.
Three things the tables don't tell you
- What you'd score on the other test. The tables don't predict individual performanceFootnote 2Source 2ACT/SAT Concordance (ACT)Explains that the tables identify comparable scores rather than equating them, and are not updated annually.act.org. Plenty of students do noticeably better on one test than the other. A practice test is the only way to find out which is yours.
- Anything about the newest versions. The tables date from 2018Footnote 1Source 1ACT and the College Board, 2018 ACT/SAT Concordance Tables (PDF)The official tables: SAT total to ACT composite (Table A1) and ACT composite to SAT total, with ranges (Table A2).act.org, before the digital SAT and the shortened ACT. The official ACT page still presents the 2018 tables and says they aren't updated every yearFootnote 2Source 2ACT/SAT Concordance (ACT)Explains that the tables identify comparable scores rather than equating them, and are not updated annually.act.org. Treat conversions as approximate.
- How a college reads your score. Colleges set their own testing policies. Some superscore, some don't, and test-optional schools vary in how much weight a submitted score carries. Check each one.
Why the bands matter
The ACT runs from 1 to 36. The SAT runs from 400 to 1600 in steps of 10. So each ACT point has to cover several SAT scores: three to five of them, depending on where you are on the scale. Going from 1330 to 1350 on the SAT doesn't change the ACT equivalent at all, but 1350 to 1360 moves it up a point. Hover over the strip under the converter to see each band.
Try it in Katalyna
College list
See where your scores sit against each school's published ranges.
Frequently asked
Under the official 2018 concordance, a 1400 SAT concords to a 31 ACT.
A 30 ACT concords to a 1370 SAT. SAT scores from 1360 to 1380 all concord to a 30.
Yes. The tables were produced jointly by ACT and the College Board in 2018 and are published by both organizations. They show comparable scores and don't predict how you'd do on the other test.
The official tables date from 2018, before both changes, and ACT's page still presents them. Treat conversions for current tests as approximate.