SAT to ACT Converter
Convert a total SAT score (400–1600) to an equivalent ACT composite (1–36) using the official College Board 2018 concordance table.
How the SAT-to-ACT converter works
The SAT and ACT are different tests with different scales, so a direct conversion is impossible — two students with the same SAT total will not necessarily earn the same ACT composite. What exists instead is a concordance: a population-level alignment, jointly published by the College Board and ACT, Inc., that maps SAT totals to ACT composites based on score distributions of students who took both tests. The 2018 concordance remains the most recent official reference and is what this converter uses.
The table maps SAT totals in 10-point increments to ACT composites from 7 to 36. Because the ACT scale is coarser (a 1–36 integer), a range of SAT scores often maps to the same ACT value. For example, SATs from 1200 to 1230 both concord to an ACT of 26. The calculator performs a nearest-value lookup — your SAT is matched to the closest anchor in the table, and that anchor's ACT value is returned.
Worked example
Suppose you scored a 1420 on the SAT. The 2018 concordance anchor at 1420 is ACT 32 — a direct match. If instead you scored 1410, the calculator finds the closest anchor (1420, since 1390 is 20 points below) and returns 32. A 1380 is closest to 1390, which maps to 31. Scores right on a midpoint default to the higher anchor, consistent with how the College Board presents the table.
Concordance is population-level, not personal
This is the single most important caveat. The concordance is built from aggregate score distributions. It says "among students who took both tests, the 75th-percentile SAT corresponds to the 75th-percentile ACT." It does not say that any individual student who scored X on the SAT will earn Y on the ACT. The two tests emphasize different skills: the ACT has a science section, the SAT weights evidence-based reading more heavily, and their math sections overlap imperfectly. Expect your actual cross-test score to land within a couple ACT points of the conversion.
When to use the conversion — and when not to
The conversion is useful when a college publishes its middle-50 range in one test's units and you want to compare your score. If a school reports "ACT 28–32" and you have a 1350 SAT, the converter tells you roughly where you sit (~ACT 29, within the middle 50). It is also useful when deciding which of two tests to submit — if your concorded score is meaningfully higher on the one you took, submit that one.
The conversion is not useful as a college application input. Submit your actual test score. Admissions offices have their own internal conversion tools and will not ask you to do the math for them. Do not try to game the concordance by picking the test that looks better — most colleges now accept both, score-choice policies vary, and your underlying performance is what matters.
Common misconceptions
- "A 1400 always equals a 31." No. A 1400 falls between the 1390 (→31) and 1420 (→32) anchors. Depending on rounding, it could concord either way, and individual students could take both tests and score outside either bucket.
- "The concordance is updated every year." It is not. The 2018 release is the most recent joint publication. Some third parties maintain informal updates, but none is official.
- "My section subscores convert too." The concordance maps total SAT to composite ACT only. Section-level concordance (SAT Math → ACT Math) is a separate table with different values, and not all sections even correspond.
- "The digital SAT has a new concordance." As of the most recent test cycles, the College Board reports the digital SAT on the same 400–1600 scale. The 2018 concordance is still the reference; no new joint table has replaced it.
What this calculator is not
This is a lookup tool, not a predictor. It does not know how you would actually perform on the ACT. It cannot account for differences between the paper and digital SAT administrations, for section-specific strengths or weaknesses, or for how a given college weights the two tests in its admissions process. Use the output as a reference point for comparing test results, nothing more.