SAT Superscore 2026-27: How to Calculate It and Which Colleges Use It

An SAT superscore is your best Reading and Writing score plus your best Math score, even if they came from different test dates. Say you scored 740 Reading and Writing in August and 780 Math in September. Your SAT superscore is 1520. Each college decides if it uses superscores. Of the 29 colleges we checked on September 28, 2026, 24 use your best section scores across test dates.

Short answer: you do not build a superscore yourself. You send your scores, and a college that superscores picks your best section from each date. In College Board's words: "Some institutions use superscoring, which means they consider your highest section scores across multiple test dates." Harvard uses your best section scores but says it does not "create superscores." Georgetown, UT Austin and Penn State do not superscore. The University of California does not look at SAT scores at all. Every college policy on this page is quoted from that college's own website.

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What is an SAT superscore?

A superscore is a total made from your highest section scores across all the SATs you have taken. The SAT has two sections, Reading and Writing and Math. Each section is scored from 200 to 800, and the total runs from 400 to 1600, per College Board's score guide.

College Board's own explainer puts it this way: "Colleges that superscore the SAT use your best section-level scores, even if they're from different tests." It adds that many of these colleges "encourage students to submit all test scores, and some colleges require that all scores be sent."

Two words you will see a lot:

• Composite score (or total score). The total from one test date. One sitting, both sections.
• Superscore. Your best Reading and Writing plus your best Math, from any of your test dates.

How do you calculate your SAT superscore?

Take your highest Reading and Writing score from any test date. Take your highest Math score from any test date. Add them. That sum is your SAT superscore.

Here is a real case. A student on r/Sat posted after the September 2026 scores came out: "1460. only went up 10 points from august, really disappointed bc i went up 70 points for math (710 to 780) but dropped 60 for r&w (740 to 680)." We quoted it in our September 2026 SAT scores report. Here is that student's superscore.

Test date	Reading and Writing	Math	Total for that date
August 2026	740	710	1450
September 2026	680	780	1460
Superscore	740 (August)	780 (September)	1520

The best single date is 1460. The superscore is 1520, which is 60 points higher. At a college that superscores, this student's SAT is a 1520.

SAT superscore calculator (works on paper)

You do not need an app. Copy this table, fill in each test date, and circle the highest number in each section column.

Step	What to write	Your numbers
1	Reading and Writing score from each test date	Test 1: ___ · Test 2: ___ · Test 3: ___
2	Math score from each test date	Test 1: ___ · Test 2: ___ · Test 3: ___
3	Highest Reading and Writing (circle it)	___
4	Highest Math (circle it)	___
5	Add steps 3 and 4. This is your superscore.	___ (400 to 1600)
6	Highest single-date total, for colleges that do not superscore	___

If you only have one score so far, estimate each section from a practice test with our Digital SAT score calculator, then see where a total lands with the SAT percentile lookup.

Composite score vs superscore: what is the difference?

A composite score comes from one test date. A superscore mixes your best sections from different dates. Which one a college sees depends on its score-use policy. College Board's explainer names three common policies.

Policy	What the college uses	The student above would count as	Colleges in our table with this policy
Superscore	Best Reading and Writing plus best Math, across dates	1520	Most of them, for example Cornell, Georgia Tech and UGA
Single highest test date	Your highest total from one date	1460	UT Austin and Penn State
All scores required	You must send every date. The college then applies its own rule.	Depends on the college	Penn State asks for scores from every date. MIT, Wake Forest and Johns Hopkins ask you to report all of them.

On the "single highest test date" policy, College Board says some schools "will take your single highest total SAT score, regardless of whether it's your most recent." On "all scores required," it adds: "These schools take into consideration the highest section scores and will see any improvements you may have made between sections or the whole exam itself."

Can you superscore the SAT yourself? How Score Choice works

No. College Board does not send a superscore. It sends full test dates, and the college does the math. College Board's help page says: "You can't choose to send your Math section score from one test day and your Reading and Writing section score from another test day. You can choose which scores to send by test date."

That choice is called Score Choice. It lets you send only some test dates to a college. The rules, all from College Board:

• It is free. "There are no extra fees for choosing which scores to send to a single college" (College Board help).
• It does not work on your free score sends. Each weekend SAT comes with free score reports to up to four colleges or other organizations. Score Choice "is not applicable to any of your free score sends," and "those scores are automatically included" (College Board help).
• Free sends have a deadline. You "have until nine days after the test to use or change your free score sends. After that, there's a fee" (Sending Scores from SAT Weekend). Extra reports cost $15 each, per the SAT fee table.
• Colleges can't block it, but some want everything. "Colleges cannot opt out of or reject Score Choice." But "some colleges require students to submit all SAT scores" (College Board help).
• If you skip it, everything goes. "If you decide not to use Score Choice, all your scores will be sent to the colleges you choose" (College Board help).

So weigh two options. Free sends are fast and cost nothing, but they include that test no matter how it goes. Waiting lets you pick your best dates with Score Choice, but each report then costs $15. If a college superscores and does not ask for all scores, sending only your best dates gives it the same superscore.

Which colleges superscore the SAT?

We read the admissions page of 29 colleges on September 28, 2026. The table shows what each one says today about SAT scores. The last column quotes the college's own sentence and links to the page. If a page did not state its superscore policy, we wrote "Not stated on its admissions page." We did not fill any gap from memory or from another prep site.

College	SAT or ACT policy on its page today	Uses your best section scores across dates?	Must you send all scores?	In the college's own words
Harvard	Required.	Uses highest section scores (says it does not "create superscores").	No, Score Choice allowed.	"We do not create superscores for applicants. We will evaluate your application noting the highest test scores in each section across test dates for the SAT" (source).
Yale	Required.	Yes (you may report a superscore).	Not stated on the page we read.	"i.e. your highest section scores or an ACT composite score from across multiple test administrations." (source).
Princeton	Test optional for fall 2027 (required from fall 2028).	Yes (not across paper and digital SAT).	No, Score Choice allowed (all scores encouraged).	"Princeton will consider the highest individual section results across all sittings of the SAT" (source).
Brown	Required.	Yes.	No, Score Choice accepted.	"We do accept Score Choice, and will superscore within both the SAT and ACT." (source).
Cornell (SAT ranges)	Required.	Yes.	No, Score Choice accepted.	"For the SAT, Cornell considers the highest section scores across test dates and participates in the College Board Score Choice program." (source).
Dartmouth	Required.	Yes (automatic, across dates and formats).	No, Score Choice allowed.	"will automatically be superscored, meaning we will consider the highest result on individual sections of either exam regardless of the test date or testing format." (source).
Columbia (SAT ranges)	Test optional for 2026-27 (fall 2027); required from the 2027-28 cycle.	Yes.	No, Score Choice allowed.	"Yes, Columbia will superscore your test scores." (source).
University of Pennsylvania (SAT ranges)	Required (hardship waiver available).	Yes.	No, Score Choice allowed (all scores encouraged).	"we will combine your highest Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing with your highest Math score across multiple tests to calculate a superscore." (source).
MIT	Required.	Yes.	Yes, self-report all exams taken.	"we primarily consider the highest score achieved in each section." (source).
Duke	Test optional (2026-27 cycle).	Yes (highest section scores).	No, Score Choice allowed.	"Duke will consider the highest scores on each section of the SAT, regardless of the test date." (source).
Northwestern (SAT ranges)	Test optional.	Yes.	No, score choice allowed.	"we will continue to superscore the SAT." (source).
Vanderbilt	Test optional for fall 2027 and 2028 (required from fall 2029).	Yes.	No (all scores encouraged).	"Vanderbilt will superscore both the ACT and the SAT." (source).
Johns Hopkins	Required.	Yes.	Asks you to report all available scores.	"we superscore, meaning if you take the SAT or ACT more than once and submit multiple scores, we consider your highest section scores across all test dates." (source).
Georgetown	Required.	No (one full SAT; no superscores).	Not stated on its admissions page.	"Georgetown requires submission of at least one full SAT or ACT and does not accept superscores." (source).
Emory	Test optional for fall 2027.	Yes.	Not stated on its admissions page.	"Emory superscores both the SAT and the ACT." (source).
USC (SAT ranges)	Test optional for 2027-28 entry.	Yes.	Not stated (official scores only, no self-report).	"The highest scores for each section of the SAT and ACT exams will be recorded, even if achieved in different sittings." (source).
Wake Forest	Test optional (since 2008).	Yes.	Asks you to report all test scores.	"please simply be sure to report all test scores to us; we will superscore them." (source).
Boston University (SAT ranges)	Test optional through fall 2028.	Yes.	No, Score Choice allowed.	"BU superscores both the SAT and ACT." (source).
Georgia Tech (SAT ranges)	Required.	Yes (highest section scores).	Not stated on its admissions page.	"SAT – Highest section score on Evidence-Based Reading & Writing and Math." (source).
UT Austin (SAT ranges)	Required.	No (highest single test date).	Not stated on its admissions page.	"No, we use the highest score from one test date." (source).
University of Florida (SAT ranges)	Required.	Yes.	Not stated on its admissions page.	"UF will superscore (take the highest scores for each subsection, not including Science) to create the highest possible total score." (source).
Florida State (SAT ranges)	Required.	Yes.	Asks you to self-report all your test scores.	"FSU considers scores from every individual test date to ensure the highest possible superscore." (source).
University of Georgia (SAT ranges)	Required (no test-optional path).	Yes.	Not stated on its admissions page.	"For the SAT, this means we take your highest Reading and Writing score and highest Math score and combine them for your superscore total." (source).
University of Michigan (SAT ranges)	Test optional (2027 application cycle).	Yes.	No (send a superscore or all scores).	"We will use an applicant's highest superscore" (source).
University of California (all UC campuses) (SAT ranges)	Scores not considered for admission (test-blind), fall 2027 included.	Does not apply.	Does not apply.	"UC does not consider SAT or ACT test scores when making admissions decisions or awarding scholarships." (source).
Purdue (SAT ranges)	Expected (exceptions allowed).	Yes.	Not stated on its admissions page.	"For a given test, you may use your highest scores in each section from across different testing dates when reporting your full score." (source).
Virginia Tech (SAT ranges)	Test optional through fall 2028.	Not stated on its admissions page.	Not stated on its admissions page.	"Virginia Tech remains test-optional for first-year applicants entering through Fall 2028." (source).
Penn State (SAT ranges)	Test optional.	No (highest single test date).	Yes, enter scores from every test date.	"Penn State will use a student's highest combined score from one single test date. Penn State does not utilize a superscore." (source).
Clemson (SAT ranges)	Test optional.	Yes.	Not stated (official scores only).	"Clemson superscores both the SAT and ACT." (source).

Some notes the table can't hold:

• Harvard. Its FAQ says: "We do not create superscores for applicants. We will evaluate your application noting the highest test scores in each section across test dates for the SAT." In practice your best sections count. Harvard does not call it a superscore.
• Princeton. "We do not superscore between the paper test and the digital test." Dartmouth says the opposite: it superscores "regardless of the test date or testing format."
• Test optional now, required soon. Princeton requires tests again for fall 2028 entry. Columbia requires them from the 2027-28 cycle. Vanderbilt requires them from fall 2029.
• Stanford and NYU are not in the table. Both admissions sites blocked our requests on September 28, 2026, so we could not read their policies. Check their pages directly.
• Policies change. Several pages above give no entry year. Check each college's page again before you apply.

For SAT ranges and acceptance rates, our college profiles cover 265 US colleges using College Scorecard data. The College Finder matches colleges to your score.

Do Ivy League schools superscore the SAT?

All eight Ivy League schools consider your highest SAT section scores across test dates. Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Penn and Yale use the word superscore. Cornell and Princeton say they consider the highest section scores across sittings. Harvard does the same but says it does not "create superscores."

• Require the SAT or ACT: Harvard, Yale, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth and Penn. Their current pages state the requirement with no end date.
• Test optional for fall 2027: Princeton and Columbia. Both will require tests again after that.
• Score Choice: Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia and Penn say you may use it. Yale's testing page does not say either way.

Two Ivies ask for a little more. Princeton and Penn both allow Score Choice but encourage you to send all your scores. Penn says it encourages students "to submit their entire testing history."

Which colleges do not superscore the SAT?

Of the 29 colleges we checked, three say they do not superscore the SAT:

• Georgetown: "Georgetown requires submission of at least one full SAT or ACT and does not accept superscores."
• UT Austin: "No, we use the highest score from one test date."
• Penn State: "Penn State will use a student's highest combined score from one single test date. Penn State does not utilize a superscore." Penn State is test optional.

At these schools, your best single sitting matters most. For the student above, that is 1460, not 1520.

The University of California is a different case. UC says it "does not consider SAT or ACT test scores when making admissions decisions or awarding scholarships," and a UC statement says students applying for fall 2027 "will not be required to submit SAT or ACT scores." Superscoring does not matter for UC admission.

Can you superscore the SAT for Bright Futures?

Yes. Florida's Bright Futures Scholarship superscores the SAT. The 2026-27 Bright Futures Student Handbook, Chapter 1 from Florida's Office of Student Financial Assistance says: "The SAT® combined score is the sum of the best Reading (Critical Reading or Evidence-Based Reading and Writing) and Math section scores from any timely test sitting of the SAT®."

Award	SAT score for 2026-27 graduates	SAT score for 2027-28 graduates
Florida Academic Scholars (FAS)	1330	1350
Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS)	1190	1200

The handbook also says the SAT, ACT or CLT "may be taken an unlimited number of times on or before August 31 of the high school graduation year (or through January 31 for mid-year graduates)." A Florida senior who is short in one section can retake and let the best sections add up. Two Florida universities in our table, UF and FSU, also superscore for admission.

Does the Common App superscore your SAT?

No. The Common App is where you type in your scores. The colleges set the rules. Common App's own guide to the Testing section says: "Each college and university can choose their own testing policy." It also says the scores you enter "are self-reported and not official. Official test scores will still need to be sent to colleges through the testing agency."

So report your scores the way each college asks. Some colleges, like Yale, say you may report a superscore. Others, like USC and Clemson, accept only official scores from College Board.

Does the ACT have a superscore too?

Yes, and it works a little differently. ACT builds the superscore for you. Its Superscore FAQ says: "Once you've taken the ACT more than once, ACT combines your best section scores into a single Superscore composite." That composite now uses only "your best English, math, and reading section scores." Science is no longer part of it.

College policies can differ by test. Harvard uses your highest SAT sections across dates but "your strongest sitting for the ACT." If you are deciding between the two tests, start with our ACT vs SAT guide and the SAT to ACT conversion chart.

Should you retake the SAT to raise your superscore?

If a college on your list superscores, a retake can only help your superscore. It can raise one section and cannot lower your best one. College Board's explainer says: "Colleges don't look unfavorably upon retaking, so don't worry about it hurting your admission chances."

Some colleges say it directly. UGA: "Lower scores from other test dates will never negatively impact your application." FSU: "Lower scores from any test date will not negatively impact a student's admission decision."

Students on Reddit worry about the weak half of each test. One r/Sat student with a 710/780 June test and a 770/700 August test asked if colleges will "devalue my score bc my other two scores within the two tests I superscored were relatively weak." Another asked if a new Math score even matters after a 790: "I've ONLY been studying for reading so far." The colleges quoted above say they use your best section from each date. MIT says it "primarily" considers "the highest score achieved in each section."

In our own data, most retakes went up. In the September 2026 report, 69 r/Sat students compared their new score with an earlier real SAT. 53 went up, 6 stayed the same and 10 went down, with a median gain of 60 points. That is a self-selected Reddit sample, not a national figure.

A retake makes sense when:

• One section is clearly behind the other, and the colleges you want superscore.
• You have time to study that section before a test date that still meets your deadlines.
• You are near a cutoff that superscores, such as the Bright Futures 1330 or 1190.

It makes less sense when your top colleges use one sitting (UT Austin, Penn State, Georgetown) and both sections are already close to your goal.

When can you retake the SAT this year?

The next SAT is October 3, 2026, but late registration closed September 22. Here are the rest of the 2026-27 SAT Weekend dates from College Board's dates and deadlines page and score release page.

Test date	Registration deadline	Late registration deadline	Student scores released
November 7, 2026	October 23, 2026	October 27, 2026	November 20, 2026
December 5, 2026	November 20, 2026	November 24, 2026	December 18, 2026
March 6, 2027	February 19, 2027	February 23, 2027	Not yet published
May 1, 2027	April 16, 2027	April 20, 2027	Not yet published
June 5, 2027	May 21, 2027	May 25, 2027	Not yet published

See all dates with a countdown on our SAT test dates page. For how long scores take and how to send them fast, read when SAT scores come out. The cost of each retake and each extra score report is in how much the SAT costs. If money is tight, check the SAT fee waiver. College Board says that with a fee waiver "you can send as many scores as you want" for free.

How to raise one section before your retake

Superscoring rewards focus. You do not need to raise your whole score. You need to raise the section that is behind. That changes how you study.

1. Find the weak section with a real, timed test. Create a free account and take one full-length adaptive SAT section free, with a real Module 1 to Module 2 route and a scaled score. Pick the section you plan to raise.
2. Practice only that section. The Test Advantage's SAT Question Bank groups its Digital SAT question banks by test month, with separate English and Math banks. The June 2026 Reading and Writing Question Bank is free: try sample questions without an account, or make a free account to work the full bank. Math banks, such as the September 2026 SAT Math Question Bank, are part of the paid catalog. You can browse everything on the practice test catalog.
3. Fix one skill at a time. Free lesson notes teach one Digital SAT skill at a time (a free account is needed to open them). For Reading and Writing, try Words in Context or Verbs. For Math, try Quadratic Equations or Reading Data. See every topic in the question banks.
4. Plan backward from the test date. Our free SAT study plan generator builds a week-by-week plan from your test date and weekly hours.
5. Send the right scores. After your retake, work out your new superscore with the table above. Then send each college what its policy asks for.

How we built this page: every College Board rule is quoted from satsuite.collegeboard.org and blog.collegeboard.org, fetched on September 28, 2026. Every college policy is quoted from that college's own admissions site, fetched the same day; U-M's quotes come from its admissions help center. The Bright Futures rule is from the 2026-27 Student Handbook published by Florida's Office of Student Financial Assistance; its server refused our connection, so we read the August 24, 2026 archived copy of the same PDF. Retake numbers come from our September 2026 Reddit report and are self-reported. The Test Advantage is not affiliated with College Board, the Common App or any college named here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an SAT superscore?

An SAT superscore is your highest Reading and Writing section score plus your highest Math section score, taken from any of your SAT test dates. College Board says colleges that superscore "use your best section-level scores, even if they're from different tests." Each section is scored 200 to 800, so a superscore runs from 400 to 1600.

How do you calculate your SAT superscore?

List the Reading and Writing and Math scores from every SAT you took. Pick the highest Reading and Writing score and the highest Math score, then add them. Example: 740 and 710 in August, 680 and 780 in September. The superscore is 740 plus 780, or 1520, while the best single date is 1460.

Which colleges superscore the SAT?

Of 29 colleges we checked on their own admissions pages on September 28, 2026, 24 use your best section scores across test dates. They include Yale, Princeton, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, Penn, MIT, Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, Emory, USC, Georgia Tech, UF, FSU, UGA, Michigan and Purdue. Virginia Tech's pages do not state a policy.

Do Ivy League schools superscore the SAT?

All eight Ivy League schools consider your highest SAT section scores across test dates. Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Penn and Yale call it superscoring. Cornell and Princeton say they consider the highest section scores. Harvard does the same but says it does not create superscores. Princeton does not combine paper and digital SAT scores.

Which colleges do not superscore the SAT?

Of the 29 colleges we checked, Georgetown, UT Austin and Penn State do not superscore the SAT. Georgetown says it does not accept superscores. UT Austin and Penn State use your highest total from one test date. The University of California does not consider SAT scores for admission at all.

Can you superscore the SAT for Bright Futures?

Yes. Florida's 2026-27 Bright Futures Student Handbook says the SAT combined score is the sum of the best Reading and Writing and Math section scores from any timely test sitting. For 2026-27 graduates the SAT scores are 1330 for Florida Academic Scholars and 1190 for Florida Medallion Scholars. You can test until August 31 of your graduation year.

Does the Common App superscore your SAT?

No. The Common App is where you self-report scores, and each college sets its own testing policy. Common App's Testing guide says self-reported scores are not official and official scores still go to colleges from the testing agency. Report scores the way each college asks; some accept a self-reported superscore and some want official reports only.

Should you retake the SAT to raise your superscore?

If your colleges superscore and one section is behind, a retake can raise that section without lowering your best one. College Board says colleges do not look unfavorably upon retaking. UGA and FSU say lower scores from other dates will not hurt you. The next SAT dates are November 7 and December 5, 2026.

Related Concepts

sat superscore SAT Digital SAT College Board Score Choice composite score Reading and Writing Math Common App Bright Futures Scholarship Florida Academic Scholars Florida Medallion Scholars Ivy League Harvard Yale Princeton Brown Cornell Dartmouth Columbia University of Pennsylvania MIT Georgia Tech Georgetown

Related Guides

Sources and Citation Targets

• Brown admissions: SAT testing policy
• Georgia Tech admissions: SAT testing policy
• Princeton admissions: Standardized testing (fall 2027 policy)
• Princeton admissions: SAT testing policy
• University of California (all UC campuses) admissions: SAT testing policy
• USC admissions: SAT testing policy
• Cornell admissions: SAT testing policy
• Dartmouth admissions: SAT testing policy