What colleges can you get into with a 1250 SAT?
A 1250 SAT is a solid, above-average score, above the admitted middle at most colleges. It sits about 100 points above the median admitted 75th-percentile SAT (about 1150) across the 1,100+ colleges we track. Below, every school is sorted into safety, target, and reach using real admitted-student data, so you can build a balanced list. For your actual odds, the free calculator folds in your GPA, course rigor, and activities too.
For example, a 1250 SAT is a strong match at Baldwin Wallace University, a likely safety at SUNY Fredonia, still a reach at Belmont University.
Safety schools
658 schools where a 1250 SAT your score clears the admitted middle, so academics are unlikely to be what holds you back.
Target / Match schools
237 schools where a 1250 SAT your score sits right in the competitive admitted range.
Reach schools
103 schools where a 1250 SAT your score is below the admitted middle, so the rest of your profile has to carry more weight.
High reach schools
96 schools where a 1250 SAT admission is a long shot on scores alone; these stay reaches for almost everyone.
What safety, target, and reach mean here
How to read these tiers.
Tiers are anchored on each school's admitted 75th-percentile SAT and adjusted for selectivity. A safety means a 1250 comfortably clears the admitted middle; a target means it lands right in the competitive range; a reach means it is below the middle, so the rest of your application has to carry more weight. The most selective schools stay reaches at every score, because no single number decides a holistic review. These are planning bands, not probabilities. The percentage chance is computed, per school, by our transparent model in the calculator, with the full method published on the methodology page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 1250 SAT a good score?
A 1250 is a solid, above-average score: it sits about 100 points above the median admitted 75th-percentile SAT (about 1150) across the 1,100+ colleges we track. It is competitive at a wide band of four-year colleges.
What colleges can I get into with a 1250 SAT?
Across our database, a 1250 is a safety-level score at 658 schools and a target/match at 237 more, for 895 realistic options. The tiered lists on this page name them, and the calculator estimates your specific odds once your GPA, rigor, and activities are included.
Is a 1250 SAT enough for the Ivy League or top-20 schools?
The most selective schools admit students with SATs roughly in the 1500-1580 range, so a 1250 would be below their admitted middle. They stay reaches, but a strong GPA, rigor, and a distinctive profile still matter more than the test alone.
How much does the SAT matter compared with GPA?
At most schools, GPA and course rigor carry more weight than a single test score, and many schools are test-optional. CollegeCalcAI's model weights each factor using each school's reported Common Data Set, so the SAT's importance changes school by school. See the GPA lookup for the grades side of the picture.
More SAT scores
Jump to another SAT score.
Admitted SAT ranges reflect publicly reported data (U.S. Department of Education / NCES IPEDS / Common Data Sets) and are rounded. Safety, target, and reach are planning bands, not guarantees. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are computed by a fixed, transparent model and are a planning tool, not a prediction of any admission decision.