SAT vs ACT Score Comparison — Concordance Guide

Both the SAT and ACT are widely accepted by US colleges, but their scores use entirely different scales: the SAT runs from 400 to 1600, while the ACT runs from 1 to 36. Comparing them directly requires a concordance table.

What Is a Concordance Table?

The College Board and ACT jointly publish concordance tables based on students who took both exams. Rather than a mathematical formula, the tables are empirically derived — they show which score on one test corresponds to the same percentile of performance on the other.

The most current version is the 2018 College Board / ACT Concordance, which this guide and the converter below use.

SAT to ACT Conversion (Selected Scores)

SAT Score	ACT Composite
1600	36
1540	34
1500	33
1450	32
1400	30
1350	28
1300	26
1250	24
1200	22
1150	21
1100	19
1050	18
1000	17

Why Scores Don't Convert Perfectly

Multiple SAT scores can correspond to the same ACT composite. For example, SAT scores of 1340 and 1350 both concordance to an ACT 28. This means ACT-to-SAT conversions often return a range rather than a single number.

Do Colleges Accept Both Equally?

Yes. All four-year US colleges accept both tests without preference. A concordant score is treated as equivalent for admissions purposes, though each college sets its own policy — always verify directly with the institution.

Source

College Board and ACT. Concordance Tables for the SAT® and ACT®. 2018.
Available at: collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/educators/higher-ed/scoring/concordance

Quick Tool

Use the SAT to ACT Score Converter to convert any specific score instantly.