Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (2024)

June 7, 2024

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (1)

You’re wondering if 1300 is a good SAT score and the short answer to that question is “Yes”. In fact, scoring a 1300 on the dot places you in the 86th percentile among all SAT takers and around the 90th percentile of all high school students nationwide. Of course, “good” is a relative term in the world of college admissions so we’ll give you some further context by looking at the average SAT scores at a number of institutions across the selectivity spectrum.

Is a 1300 a Good SAT Score for the Ivy Leagues?

We could give you some mumbo jumbo about how evaluations are made on a holistic basis and how since many elite schools remain test-optional it really depends on other factors, but that wouldn’t be intellectually honest. Outside of very rare cases and dependent on factors such as racial background, legacy status, and athletic recruitment, it is extremely rare for a student to gain acceptance to an Ivy League institution.

Firstly, the average SAT score for enrolled students at Columbia, Princeton, Penn, Brown, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Cornell is well over 1500. Additionally, the acceptance rates at most of those schools are in the 4-5% range. Therefore, our honest assessment is if your SAT is around a 1300, you would need to improve your score significantly to prove competitive at Ivy League schools. The same goes for colleges like Stanford, UChicago, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Rice, Carnegie Mellon, Williams College. Ditto for other schools of that ilk.

Interested in working with a professional to improve your SAT score?

View our Preferred SAT Prep Providers

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score for Most Colleges?

Earning a 1300 on the SAT is good enough score to earn your way into thousands of public and private universities, including some of those that are ranked in the #100 in the United States.

What are the Best Colleges for a Student with a 1300?

To assist your college search, we wanted to highlight 30 awesome colleges with an average SAT around a 1300. Assuming solid grades in a rigorous curriculum, many of these schools may be within your reach. However, we must point out that there are way more than 30 schools that may fit your needs. Our hope is this will serve as a useful launching off point for your college search. Additionally, we invite you to explore more schools on our Dataverse and College List-Building Tool.

More About our College Cards (Below)

For each of the schools, College Transitions will provide you with—when available—the university’s:

  • Enrollment
  • Cost of Attendance
  • Acceptance Rate
  • MedianSAT
  • MedianACT
  • Retention Rate
  • Graduation Rate

We will also include a longer write-up of each college’s:

  • Academic Highlights – Includes facts like student-to-faculty ratio, average class size, number of majors offered, and most popular majors.
  • Professional Outcomes – Includes info on the rate of positive outcomes, companies employing alumni, and graduate school acceptances.

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (2)

Arizona State University

  • Tempe, AZ

Academic Highlights: The faculty-to-student ratio is a fairly high 19:1, but not all classes call for stadium seating. In fact, 40% of course sections seat fewer than twenty students. Business is the concentration in which 22% of total bachelor’s degrees are conferred. Engineering (9%), biology (9%), and the health professions (7%) are the next three most popular. The WP Carey School of Business offers many highly ranked programs as does the Fulton Schools of Engineering.

Professional Outcomes: A healthy 83% percent of ASU graduates looking for work are employed within six months of earning their degrees. The median salary for an ASU grad is roughly $55,000. Among the school’s top fifty employers are Amazon, Apple, Intel, The Vanguard Group, and Walt Disney Company. Approximately one-fifth of recent grads enrolled in graduate school. Similar to employment, the size and scope of the university lead to many graduate pathways. Many grads continue at ASU itself, but some continue at various prestigious institutions.

  • Enrollment: 65,492
  • Cost of Attendance: $28,142 (in-state); $48,284 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1250
  • Median ACT: 23
  • Acceptance Rate: 90%
  • Retention Rate: 86%
  • Graduation Rate: 69%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (3)

Auburn University

  • Auburn, AL

Academic Highlights: The faculty-student ratio is 20:1, but only about 35% of classes enroll fewer than 20 students. Overall, undergraduates can choose from over 150 majors across 12 colleges, which include highly regarded business and engineering programs. Majors in architecture, apparel merchandising & design, and interior design receive high marks, as does nursing. In 2022, the greatest number of degrees conferred were in business (24%) followed by engineering (18%), biological/life sciences (10%), and health professions (6%).

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 58% of the Class of 2022 were employed full-time, 23% had entered graduate programs. 59% were pursuing master’s degrees, 28% professional degrees, and 4% doctorates. In 2022, the average starting salary was $58,708; engineering graduates enjoyed the highest average starting salary ($71,656). At least ten recent grads can be found at each of Vanderbilt, Emory, Columbia, Georgia Tech, NYU, and Johns Hopkins.

  • Enrollment: 25,379
  • Cost of Attendance: $27,932 (in-state); $49,340 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1320
  • Median ACT: 28
  • Acceptance Rate: 44%
  • Retention Rate: 92%
  • Graduation Rate: 81%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (4)

Baylor University

  • Waco, TX

Academic Highlights: Class sizes at Baylor generally range from small to medium, with 48% of sections containing fewer than 20 students and 76% enrolling fewer than 29. Far more Bears major in business/marketing (25%) than the second-place finisher, health professions (19%). Other popular academic pursuits are biology (12%) and communication/journalism (7%), both of which are very strong. The Hankamer School of Business is highly respected across the country.

Professional Outcomes: At the 180-day post-graduation point, those who earned their diplomas from Baylor had entered the world of full-time employment at a 50% clip, and 28% had entered a graduate or professional degree program. Large numbers of recent grads were scooped up by many of the most desirable employers in the country including Dell (19), EY (16), and Oracle (16). The average starting salary was $59k. Among recent grads, the most commonly attended graduate school was Baylor itself (125), followed by Texas A&M (12).

  • Enrollment: 15,213
  • Cost of Attendance: $69,970
  • Median SAT: 1320
  • Median ACT: 30
  • Acceptance Rate: 46%
  • Retention Rate: 90%
  • Graduation Rate: 81%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (5)

Chapman University

  • Orange, CA

Academic Highlights:Chapman offers 50 majors in STEM, humanities, communication, the arts, and business. Overall, 46% of classes enroll fewer than 20 students and the student-to-faculty ratio is 13:1. One-third of all degrees earned are in the area of business; the next most pursued are the visual and performing arts (21%), journalism (9%), and psychology (6%). In addition to the famed film program, the school gets acclaim for its innovation and the quality of undergraduate teaching.

Professional Outcomes: The Walt Disney Company, Amazon, Deloitte, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Google, and NBCUniversal are the most common employers of Chapman graduates. Students in the Argyros College of Business and Economics earned an average starting salary of $77,164 in 2023. 62% of that cohort had already secured employment by graduation day. Most graduates remain in the state of California, with Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Irvine attracting particularly high numbers of alumni.

  • Enrollment: 7,869
  • Cost of Attendance: $90,370
  • Median SAT: 1300
  • Median ACT: 29
  • Acceptance Rate: 73%
  • Retention Rate: 91%
  • Graduation Rate: 84%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (6)

Clemson University

  • Clemson, SC

Academic Highlights: There are seven undergraduate colleges within the larger university. Class sizes are mixed, and many sections are smaller than you would expect for such a large university where the student-to-faculty ratio is 16:1. Fifteen percent of classes have single-digit enrollments, and 55% contain fewer than 30 students. Business and engineering also the most popular majors with a 21% and 18% market share of diplomas, respectively. The next most frequently conferred degrees are in biology (9%), the social sciences (7%), and health professions (7%).

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduation, 92% of 2022 grads had already entered the working world or were pursuing a graduate degree. The top employers of newly-minted diploma holders include Michelin, Amazon, Vanguard, and Wells Fargo. Computing and Applied Sciences reported a median starting salary of $62,000. College of Business graduates enjoyed median earnings of $60,000. Of the 19% of recent graduates directly entering grad school, the largest number retained their Tiger stripes by continuing their studies at Clemson.

  • Enrollment: 22,566
  • Cost of Attendance:
  • Median SAT: 1310
  • Median ACT: 30
  • Acceptance Rate: 43%
  • Retention Rate: 92%
  • Graduation Rate: 85%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (7)

Creighton University

  • Omaha, NE

Academic Highlights: One of 28 Jesuit universities in the country, there are 51 distinct majors are available in 22 broad fields of study. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1, Creighton is able to offer small class sizes to undergrads and almost half of all sections are under 20 students. Health professions/nursing are the most pursued degree (29%), followed by business (28%), biology (13%), and social sciences (7%). Accounting, Analytics, and Nursing are three areas where the university has a particularly stellar reputation.

Professional Outcomes:The Class of 2022 saw 71% quickly find employment, 25% enroll in graduate school, and just 1% still searching for their next step six months after receiving a diploma. The median starting salary for this group was $52,800 and notable employers included 3M, EY, Accenture, Goldman Sachs, NASA, Merck, KPMG, and General Mills. The majority of those entering graduate school were pursuing master’s degrees (45%), health professions including med school (33%), and law school (5%).

  • Enrollment: 4,290
  • Cost of Attendance: $62,508
  • Median SAT: 1320
  • Median ACT: 27
  • Acceptance Rate: 76%
  • Retention Rate: 92%
  • Graduation Rate: 78%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (8)

Academic Highlights: There are 80+ undergraduate majors to choose from at Drexel and they offer a reasonable 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio with commensurately reasonable class sizes. Fifty-two percent of sections contain 19 or fewer students, and just a sliver under 9% of sections contain fifty or more. Looking at the number of degrees conferred by discipline, the big three at Drexel are business (25%), health professions (21%), and engineering (17%). Visual and performing arts (9%), and CS (8%) round out the list of majors with a sizable representation.

Professional Outcomes: One year after graduating, 97%, Dragons have arrived at their next destination; 81% were employed, and 13% had matriculated into graduate or professional school. The largest employers of Drexel alumni are Comcast, Merck, Vanguard, and Johnson & Johnson. The average starting salary for Drexel grads with a full-time job was $64,774. Drexel’s medical school acceptance rate was 60%, roughly 20 points higher than the national average. It offers an accelerated BS/MD program with its own Drexel University College of Medicine.

  • Enrollment: 13,881
  • Cost of Attendance: $81,508
  • Median SAT: 1330
  • Median ACT: 29
  • Acceptance Rate: 80%
  • Retention Rate: 87%
  • Graduation Rate: 78%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (9)

Fairfield University

  • Fairfield, CT

Academic Highlights: A 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio is fully felt in the classroom as courses average only 20 students per section. While 41% come in under that marker and only a smattering of sections contain 40+ students, the greatest number of courses have enrollments in the 20-29 range. A whopping 42% of degrees conferred are from the highly respected Dolan School of Business. Next in popularity are majors within the health professions (18%) and the social sciences (8%)—both areas also receive high marks at Fairfield.

Professional Outcomes: Fairfield’s Class of 2022 found its next destination within six months of graduating at a hard-to-beat 98% clip. Major employers include PwC, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase & Co., EY, UBS, and Merrill Lynch all employ one hundred or more Stags, and Fairfield grads also have strong representation at IBM, Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Prudential. Thus, it’s no wonder that the average starting salary is a healthy $67,054. Thirty percent of 2022 grads enrolled directly in graduate or professional school.

  • Enrollment: 4,757
  • Cost of Attendance: $77,440
  • Median SAT: 1310
  • Median ACT: 30
  • Acceptance Rate: 52%
  • Retention Rate: 91%
  • Graduation Rate: 84%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (10)

Gonzaga University

  • Spokane, WA

Academic Highlights: Gonzaga is a midsize Jesuit university that offers 53 undergraduate majors and 68 minors. An enviable 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio leads to an average class size of 18 students, and the school rates well in surveys of undergraduate instructional quality. Less than 2% of course sections enroll more than 50 students. Business/marketing is the area of study that attracts the most Zag undergrads; 24% earn degrees in that discipline. The next most common areas of degree conferment are biology (12%), engineering (11%), journalism (7%), and psychology (7%).

Professional Outcomes: The 2022 cohort enjoyed a 95% success rate. Seventy-six percent of those surveyed found full-time employment within six months, with a large number of grads getting hired by Providence Health & Services (16), UW Medicine (14), and Boeing (12). The average starting salary for 2022 grads was $67,911. Of the 17% of 2022 grads who entered a graduate/professional degree program, the most popular institutions were Gonzaga (54), the University of California (5), Arizona State (3), and Boston University (3).

  • Enrollment: 5,084
  • Cost of Attendance: $71,210
  • Median SAT: 1320
  • Median ACT: 29
  • Acceptance Rate: 70%
  • Retention Rate: 92%
  • Graduation Rate: 85%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (11)

Hobart & William Smith Colleges

  • Geneva, NY

Academic Highlights: The offerings at Hobart & William Smith are wide with 45 majors and 68 minors. The average class size is just 16 students, and 100% of courses are taught by full-time faculty; the student-to-faculty ratio is an excellent 9:1. The social sciences account for the greatest number of degrees conferred each year, typically more than 25%. The next most popular areas of concentration are in biology, psychology, journalism, and the physical sciences.

Professional Outcomes: In a typical year, approximately two-thirds of HWS grads immediately enter the world of full-time employment while 15% jump right into pursuing a graduate or professional degree. Companies employing the greatest number of grads include Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, Google, UBS, JPMorgan Chase, and Citi. On the graduate and professional school front, HWS alumni fare quite well, including at many of the top programs in the country.

  • Enrollment: 1,559
  • Cost of Attendance: $80,000
  • Median SAT: 1320
  • Median ACT: 31
  • Acceptance Rate: 68%
  • Retention Rate: 86%
  • Graduation Rate: 74%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (12)

Indiana University

  • Bloomington, IL

Academic Highlights: IU offers 200+ majors. The university’s 18:1 student-to-faculty ratio is not bad for a school of Indiana’s size, and it does make an effort to keep undergraduate classes on the small side. While there are a number of introductory courses that transpire in giant lecture halls, 37% of all sections contain no more than 19 students. Business/marketing is the most popular major accounting for 30% of the total degrees conferred and biology is second at 9%. IU’s computer science degree program is the school’s third most frequently conferred degree at 8%.

Professional Outcomes: Class of 2022 grads reached their next employment or graduate school destination at a 94% rate within six months of receiving their degrees. The median starting salary for A&S grads was $41,000. In the Kelley School of Business, 97% were placed successfully within six months, and the median starting salary was $67,000. Among the most frequently attended graduate schools by recent grads are Indiana Bloomington (including its own law and medical schools), Purdue, Loyola Chicago, Northwestern, and Columbia.

  • Enrollment: 35,660
  • Cost of Attendance: $25,170 (In-State); $53,860 (Out-of-State)
  • Median SAT: 1280
  • Median ACT: 30
  • Acceptance Rate: 82%
  • Retention Rate: 91%
  • Graduation Rate: 81%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (13)

Ithaca College

  • Ithaca, NY

Academic Highlights: Ithaca has five schools that specialize in business, communications, humanities and sciences, health sciences and human performance, and music. You won’t find yourself in many classes with more than 29 of your fellow undergraduates as 82% of sections fall below that marker. Ithaca students frequently earn degrees in the disciplines of communication/journalism (24%), the visual and performing arts (18%), health professions and related programs (15%), business/marketing (11%), and the social sciences (5%).

Professional Outcomes: Within nine months of graduating, 52% of one recent graduating cohort had already found their first post-college job and 22% were still seeking employment. Media companies like ESPN and NBCUniversal Media are among the largest employers of Ithaca alumni along with corporations like IBM, Morgan Stanley, Google, Salesforce, and Amazon. More than five recent grads enrolled at nearby Cornell University and multiple grads traveled to Columbia University, Syracuse University, Boston University, and Northwestern University.

  • Enrollment: 4,619
  • Cost of Attendance: $75,013
  • Median SAT: 1300
  • Median ACT: 30
  • Acceptance Rate: 75%
  • Retention Rate: 83%
  • Graduation Rate: 74%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (14)

Miami University – Oxford

  • Oxford, OH

Academic Highlights: Miami University sports a reasonable 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio, lower than Ohio State. As at most publics, classes certainly aren’t tiny, but Miami U. keeps the majority of courses—65% to be precise—at an enrollment of 29 or fewer. Almost one-quarter of graduates earn a degree in business/marketing, making it the most popular area of academic concentration. Other commonly pursued majors include the social sciences (9%), health professions (9%), journalism (8%), biology (6%), parks and recreation (6%), and education (6%).

Professional Outcomes: The overall success rate for the Class of 2022 was 99%, roughly the same as for the previous two cohorts. Fifty-five percent of recent Miami grads were employed and by mid-career, alumni enjoy a median salary of $118k. Over one-quarter of recent grads elected to continue their education in graduate or professional school. Miami boasts a strong premed program that resulted in 63% of medical school applicants gaining acceptance over the last four years.

  • Enrollment: 16,865
  • Cost of Attendance: $34,342 (In-State); $56,558 (Out-of-State)
  • Median SAT: 1270
  • Median ACT: 27
  • Acceptance Rate: 88%
  • Retention Rate: 89%
  • Graduation Rate: 81%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (15)

New Jersey Institute of Technology

  • Newark, NJ

Academic Highlights:There are 125 undergraduate and graduate majors on the menu at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Sporting a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio, the school is able to offer 32% of course sections with a cap of 19 students and only 4% enroll more than 50 individuals. Engineering is the most popular major accounting for 40% of all degrees conferred in 2022. Next on the list were computer science (28%), engineering technologies (11%), biology (5%), and business (5%).

Professional Outcomes:Recent grads enjoyed an 85% employment rate within six months of earning their diploma and another 5% entered graduate school; 6% were still searching for their next step. The average starting salary is $67,852. Employers of 200+ alumni include Merck, JP Morgan Chase and Co., Bristol Myers Squibb, Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, Prudential, Citi, Amazon Web Services, Bank of America, and Microsoft.

  • Enrollment: 9,019
  • Cost of Attendance: $41,352 (In-State); $58,264 (Out-of-State)
  • Median SAT: 1320
  • Median ACT: 30
  • Acceptance Rate: 66%
  • Retention Rate: 89%
  • Graduation Rate: 74%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (16)

Pennsylvania State University — University Park

  • State College, PA

Academic Highlights: Penn State offers 275 majors and a number of top-ranked programs in a host of disciplines. The College of Engineering is rated exceptionally well on a national scale and is also the most popular field of study, accounting for 15% of the degrees conferred. The Smeal College of Business is equally well-regarded, earning high rankings in everything from supply chain management to accounting to marketing. It attracts 15% of total degree-seekers. 61% of classes have an enrollment below thirty students.

Professional Outcomes: By graduation, 70% of Nittany Lions have found their next employment or graduate school home. 98% of College of Business grads are successful within three months of exiting, flocking in large numbers to stellar finance, accounting, consulting, and technology firms. Hundreds of alumni work at Citi, Salesforce, and Meta, and more than 500 currently work at each of IBM, Deloitte, PwC, Amazon, EY, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle. 75% of 2022 grads employed full-time earned starting salaries greater than $50k.

  • Enrollment: 41,745 (undergraduate); 7,020 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $32,656 (in-state); $52,610 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1300
  • Median ACT: 29
  • Acceptance Rate: 55%
  • Retention Rate: 91%
  • Graduation Rate: 85%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (17)

Purdue University — West Lafayette

  • West Lafayette, IN

Academic Highlights: Purdue offers over 200 majors at ten discipline-specific colleges, and 38% of course sections have an enrollment of 19 or fewer. Engineering and engineering technologies majors earn 34% of the degrees conferred by the university; the College of Engineering cracks the top ten on almost every list of best engineering schools. The Krannert School of Management is also well-regarded by employers; 11% of degrees conferred are in business. Other popular majors include computer science (10%) and agriculture (5%)—both are incredibly strong.

Professional Outcomes: Shortly after receiving their diplomas, 70% of 2022 grads headed to the world of employment while 24% headed to graduate/professional school. The top industries entered by grads in recent years are (1) health care, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices; (2) finance, insurance, and consulting; (3) manufacturing and machinery; (4) airline, aviation, and aerospace. Companies employing the greatest number of recent alumni were Amazon, Deloitte, PepsiCo, Labcorp, Lockheed Martin, and Microsoft. The average starting salary was $68k across all degree programs.

  • Enrollment: 37,949 (undergraduate); 12,935 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $22,812 (in-state); $41,614 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1330
  • Median ACT: 31
  • Acceptance Rate: 53%
  • Retention Rate: 91%
  • Graduation Rate: 84%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (18)

Sewanee — The University of the South

  • Sewanee, TN

Academic Highlights: Offering 37 majors and 42 minors, Sewanee exposes undergrads to a wide scope of liberal arts study. Undergraduate teaching is the primary focus; the average class size is 17 students, and 66% of course sections have an enrollment under 20. The degrees most commonly conferred are in economics (12%), psychology (11%), political science (10%), biology (10%), and English (9%). All are strong, but the English Department has a leading national reputation; accomplished authors from around the globe come to teach at Sewanee.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 95% of 2022 grads had found some form of employment or begun their graduate studies. 68% entered the workforce, with the highest numbers in business/finance (97); health care (51); and government, politics, and law (36). The largest number of total alumni can be found at Wells Fargo, Deloitte, Regions Bank, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. For 2022 grads who pursued advanced degrees, the majority entered master’s programs, followed by medical, law, and PhD programs.

  • Enrollment: 1,613 (undergraduate); 91 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $74,698
  • Median SAT: 1280
  • Median ACT: 29
  • Acceptance Rate: 52%
  • Retention Rate: 89%
  • Graduation Rate: 82%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (19)

St. Lawrence University

  • Canton, NY

Academic Highlights: St. Lawrence offers 74 majors and 41 minors. The average class size is just 16 students, and an exceptional 82% of students participate in an undergraduate research experience. The most popular area of study is the social sciences (23%), with majors in economics, political science, and psychology drawing particularly high praise. Business (13%) and biology (9%) are also very strong.

Professional Outcomes: A solid 95% of the Class of 2022 found their way to the world of employment or a graduate/professional program within 7-10 months of leaving the university. The most common sector was business (27%), followed by health services (17%), K-12 education (15%), and finance (14%). More than 20 alumni can be found in the offices of Morgan Stanley, Fidelity Investments, UBS, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Northwestern Mutual. 17% of recent grads immediately entered graduate school, with most staying in the Northeast.

  • Enrollment: 2,060 (undergraduate); 29 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $80,350
  • Median SAT: 1330
  • Median ACT: 31
  • Acceptance Rate: 58%
  • Retention Rate: 86%
  • Graduation Rate: 80%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (20)

Temple University

  • Philadelphia, PA

Academic Highlights: Temple offers 100 undergraduate programs, including those at the well-regarded Fox School of Business. Other programs with strong national reputations include criminal justice, public health, and kinesiology. The most undergraduate degrees are conferred in business (22%) followed by communication/journalism and health professions (tied at 11%), the visual and performing arts (8%), biology (7%), psychology (6%), and computer science (5%). 42% of classes have an enrollment of 19 or fewer students, and 71% contain no more than 29 undergraduates.

Professional Outcomes: 51% of recent grads quickly secured employment and another 18% were enrolled in graduate school. Hundreds of Owl alumni can be found at big-time companies such as Merck, Comcast, Vanguard, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, and Bristol Myers Squib. Within six months of graduating, 91% of Fox School of Business 2021 graduates were employed or had started their own businesses. The median salary for all graduates of that school was $57,000.

  • Enrollment: 24,106 (undergraduate); 9,124 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $41,828-$46,866 (in-state); $56,092-$65,618 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1245
  • Median ACT: 27
  • Acceptance Rate: 80%
  • Retention Rate: 84%
  • Graduation Rate: 78%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (21)

Texas A&M University — College Station

  • College Station, TX

Academic Highlights: With nineteen schools and colleges and 130+ undergraduate degree programs, Texas A&M is a massive operation. As the name implies, there is a heavy emphasis on agriculture, engineering, and business, which all place well in national rankings and garner deep respect from major corporations and graduate/professional schools. Class sizes trend large, but 24% of courses enroll fewer than 20 students and personal connections with professors are entirely possible, particularly through the research-oriented LAUNCH program.

Professional Outcomes: On graduation day, 54% of students had already received at least one job offer and 22% were heading to graduate/professional school. Many Aggies go on to work at major oil, tech, and consulting firms; more than 500 are employed at each of ExxonMobil, Halliburton, Chevron, EY, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, Accenture, and PWC. Starting salaries were strong—on average, College of Engineering grads made $80k and College of Agriculture & Life Sciences grads netted $54k. A&M is also the eighth-largest producer of law students in the entire country.

  • Enrollment: 57,512 (undergraduate); 16,502 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $31,058 (in-state); $59,336 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1270
  • Median ACT: 28
  • Acceptance Rate: 63%
  • Retention Rate: 95%
  • Graduation Rate: 84%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (22)

Texas Christian University

  • Forth Worth, TX

Academic Highlights: TCU offers 116 undergraduate majors. The most popular are housed in the Neely School of Business, including the highly-rated BBA in Entrepreneurship. 27% of all degrees conferred in 2022 fell under the business umbrella. The engineering program is also well-regarded. Other commonly conferred degrees include communications/journalism (15%), health professions (11%), and the social sciences (9%). 39% of its class sections have 20 or fewer students, and only 5% of courses seat more than 50.

Professional Outcomes: Upon graduating, 48% of recent diploma-earners were employed and 18% had their graduate school placement lined up. American Airlines, Deloitte, IBM, Lockheed Martin, and Medical City Hospitals employ the greatest number of recent alumni. Other companies with a large TCU presence include Microsoft, CBRE, Goldman Sachs, and AT&T. The most recent median starting salary was $58,900. For those who enrolled in an advanced degree program, the most commonly pursued areas of study were medicine/health (27%), business (21%), and psychology (13%).

  • Enrollment: 10,523 (undergraduate); 1,750 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $85,051
  • Median SAT: 1260
  • Median ACT: 28
  • Acceptance Rate: 56%
  • Retention Rate: 92%
  • Graduation Rate: 83%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (23)

University of Alabama

  • Tuscaloosa, AL

Academic Highlights: Approximately half of all courses at the University of Alabama contain fewer than 20 students and 17% contain 50 or more; the student-to-faculty ratio is 19:1. The greatest number of undergraduates study business (29%), while other popular majors include engineering (11%), journalism (9%), and the social sciences (9%). The engineering, nursing, accounting, marketing, and economics programs have stellar reputations with prospective employers.

Professional Outcomes:Within six months of graduating, 92% of alumni have already achieved a positive result; 58% go into the working world and one-third enter graduate/professional school. Top employers include Epic. Lockheed Martin, AT&T, Northrop Grumman, EY, and Dell. The average salary for a Class of 2022 grad was $54,290. For grad school, the highest number of students stay at Alabama while many others enroll at Vanderbilt, FSU, and the University of South Carolina.

  • Enrollment: 32,458
  • Cost of Attendance: $26,740 (In-State); $48,040 (Out-of-State)
  • Median SAT: 1210
  • Median ACT: 26
  • Acceptance Rate: 80%
  • Retention Rate: 87%
  • Graduation Rate: 73%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (24)

University of Arizona

  • Tucson, AZ

Academic Highlights: UArizona undergrads can choose from over 150 majors, and business/marketing (15%) is the most popular choice with more degrees conferred than any other discipline. Other common pursuits include biology (9%), health professions (9%), and engineering (7%). Majors within business, engineering, and the geosciences all have excellent national reputations. A 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio leads to a mix of class sizes with 33% of classes having an enrollment of under 20 and only 15% possessing 50 or more students.

Professional Outcomes: In recent years, some of the top employers hiring Arizona grads have been Raytheon, Vanguard, PepsiCo, Amazon, KPMG, Goldman Sachs, Intel, Lockheed Martin, Nordstrom, and Texas Instruments, and an astonishing 92% of employers rate Wildcats as coming to their first job with the skills needed to succeed. Recent College of Management grads enjoy a starting salary in excess of $60k, while College of Engineering grads have an average starting salary of $74,000. Many who go on to pursue advanced degrees ultimately do so at UArizona itself.

  • Enrollment: 40,407 (undergraduate); 10,727 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $35,496 (in-state); $62,896 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1240
  • Median ACT: 25
  • Acceptance Rate: 87%
  • Retention Rate: 86%
  • Graduation Rate: 68%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (25)

University of Cincinnati

  • Cincinnati, OH

Academic Highlights:More than 90 majors await you at the University of Cincinnati and it all unfolds with an 18:1 student-to-faculty ratio. There is a mix of small and large class sections: 32% have 19 or fewer students and 20% have 50% or more. The most frequently conferred degrees in 2022 were business (20%), health professions (14%), engineering (12%), biology (7%), the visual arts (7%), and computer science (6%).

Professional Outcomes:Looking at all graduating seniors in 2022, 83% had obtained employment within six months of earning their degree and 13% were continuing their education. The average starting salary earned was $53,761. Hundreds of Bearcat alumni can be found in the offices of GE Aerospace, Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati Children’s. Fifth Third Bank, Medpace, Apple, JP Morgan Chase, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon Web Services.

  • Enrollment: 29,989
  • Cost of Attendance: $26,456 (In-State); $40,066 (Out-of-State)
  • Median SAT: 1260
  • Median ACT: 26
  • Acceptance Rate: 86%
  • Retention Rate: 86%
  • Graduation Rate: 72%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (26)

University of Colorado Boulder

  • Boulder, CO

Academic Highlights: CU Boulder offers 90 bachelor’s degree programs across seven different schools and colleges; the College of Engineering & Applied Science and the Leeds School of Business both possess excellent national reputations. Business/marketing is the discipline where the greatest number of degrees (15%) were conferred in 2022. Engineering (13%), biology (12%), social sciences (12%), and journalism (10%) are next in popularity. 41% of classes have fewer than 20 students, and only 19% of courses enroll 50 or more students.

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of leaving CU Boulder, 91% of recent grads were working or in graduate school. Those employed earned an estimated median salary of $54k, with the greatest number working at Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, Deloitte, Qualcomm, Northrop Grumman, KPMG, Charles Schwab, and Boeing. More than 100 alumni can also be found at Google, Oracle, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. 20% of new grads immediately jumped into an advanced degree program, and 80% were accepted into their first-choice school.

  • Enrollment: 31,103 (undergraduate); 7,110 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $31,744 (in-state); $60,118 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1280
  • Median ACT: 29
  • Acceptance Rate: 79%
  • Retention Rate: 88%
  • Graduation Rate: 75%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (27)

University of Connecticut

  • Storrs, CT

Academic Highlights: UConn is home to fourteen schools and colleges as well as 115+ undergraduate majors. The four most commonly conferred undergraduate degrees are in business (15%), engineering (12%), the social sciences (12%), and health professions/nursing (12%). In terms of prestige and national reputation, programs in business, pharmacy, and nursing carry a good deal of weight. The school also does a nice job of creating a balance of classroom experiences—53% of sections enroll fewer than 20 students and only 18% contain more than fifty.

Professional Outcomes: 90% of the Class of 2022 experienced a positive outcome (job, grad school, military, volunteer position) within six months of earning their degrees. Among the 59% who found employment, the largest numbers landed at Aetna, Cigna, PwC, The Hartford, Travelers, and Raytheon Technologies; the median starting salary was $62,400. Massive numbers of alumni are employed by Pratt & Whitney, Pfizer, IBM, and Deloitte. 30% of 2022 graduates immediately entered a graduate or professional program, with many choosing to stay at UConn.

  • Enrollment: 18,983 (undergraduate); 8,020 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $41,606 (in-state); $64,478 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1340
  • Median ACT: 30
  • Acceptance Rate: 55%
  • Retention Rate: 91%
  • Graduation Rate: 83%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (28)

University of Denver

  • Denver, CO

Academic Highlights: There are 200 total degree programs at the University of Denver, with small class sizes being the norm as 55% of sections contain no more than 19 students, and 80% enroll a maximum of 29 individuals. The Daniels College of Business is highly respected by employers and attracts the greatest number of undergraduates. 32% of the degrees conferred in 2022 were in business/marketing, 16% were in the social sciences, 9% in biology, 9% in psychology, 8% in communication/journalism, and 7% in the visual and performing arts.

Professional Outcomes: 90% of 2022 Pioneer grads successfully entered the world of employment or graduate school within six months of earning their bachelor’s degree. 59% were employed full-time with a mean starting salary of $62k. Top employers included KPMG, Brown Brothers Harriman, Lockheed Martin, Epic, and Oracle. Other corporations employing 70 or more DU alums include CenturyLink, Charles Schwab, Comcast, Deloitte, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. 27% of 2022 graduates elected to continue their education in a graduate program.

  • Enrollment: 6,160 (undergraduate); 7,583 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $80,614
  • Median SAT: 1310
  • Median ACT: 30
  • Acceptance Rate: 78%
  • Retention Rate: 88%
  • Graduation Rate: 77%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (29)

University of Iowa

  • Iowa City, IA

Academic Highlights: 200+ undergraduate majors, minors, and certificate programs are available across eight colleges, including the Tippie College of Business, which has a very strong reputation. The most commonly conferred degree is business (24%), with parks and recreation (10%), social sciences (8%), health professions (8%), engineering (7%), and communication & journalism (5%) next in popularity. Over half of its undergraduate sections enroll 19 or fewer students, and 30% of undergrads conduct or assist research.

Professional Outcomes: 96% of Class of 2022 grads found their first job or advanced degree program within six months of receiving their diploma. The most commonly entered industries were healthcare (23%), entertainment/the arts (14%), finance and insurance (11%), and marketing/PR (10%). Companies that employ hundreds of alumni include Wells Fargo, Collins Aerospace, Principal Financial Group, Amazon, Accenture, and Microsoft. The median salary for 2022 grads was $50,000. 28% of recent graduates went directly into graduate school; 76% remained at the University of Iowa.

  • Enrollment: 22,130 (undergraduate); 7,912 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $28,846-$32,259 (in-state); $50,809-$54,822 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1240
  • Median ACT: 25
  • Acceptance Rate: 85%
  • Retention Rate: 89%
  • Graduation Rate: 73%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (30)

University of Texas at Dallas

  • Dallas, TX

Academic Highlights: There are 140+ degree plans at UT Dallas which sports a 25:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Only 7% of classes are taught by graduate assistants, but classes are on the large side – 27% of course sections contain 50 or more students. The two most popular areas of study at this university are business (20%) and computer science (20%). Biology (14%), engineering (13%), and health professions (8%) also enjoy solid popularity. Even better, UT Dallas has a strong national reputation in all of these academic areas.

Professional Outcomes: The most commonly entered industries are internet and software, healthcare, accounting, IT, and higher education. Those graduating with a degree in information technology and systems had an average starting salary of $76,900 while those earning an accounting degree brought home a mean figure of $59,700. UT Dallas graduates have less undergraduate debt than the national average and receive the third-best ROI of any public university in Texas.

  • Enrollment: 21,617
  • Cost of Attendance: $35,960 (In-State); $51,126
  • Median SAT: 1290
  • Median ACT: 28
  • Acceptance Rate: 85%
  • Retention Rate: 87%
  • Graduation Rate: 74%

Best Colleges for 1300 SAT

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (31)

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

  • Blacksburg, VA

Academic Highlights: Eight undergraduate colleges that offer 110+ distinct bachelor’s degrees are housed within Virginia Tech. 33% of sections contain fewer than 20 students, and 21% of recent graduates report participating in some type of undergraduate research experience. Engineering is the area where the greatest number of degrees are conferred (23%), but business (20%) is a close second. Both disciplines are among the most respected at Tech, along with computer science. Other popular majors include the family and consumer sciences (8%), social sciences (8%), biology (8%), and agriculture (4%).

Professional Outcomes: Within six months of graduating, 56% of the Class of 2022 were employed and 18% were in graduate school. One recent class sent large numbers to major corporations that included Deloitte (67), KPMG (44), Lockheed Martin (39), Capital One (30), EY (28), Booz Allen Hamilton (18), and Northrop Grumman (12). The median salary for 2022 graduates was $67,000. Among recent grads who decided to pursue an advanced degree, the greatest number stayed at VT, while others enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University, George Mason University, William & Mary, Columbia, Duke, and Georgia Tech.

  • Enrollment: 30,434 (undergraduate); 7,736 (graduate)
  • Cost of Attendance: $37,252 (in-state); $58,750 (out-of-state)
  • Median SAT: 1330
  • Median ACT: 29
  • Acceptance Rate: 57%
  • Retention Rate: 91%
  • Graduation Rate: 87%

We hope you have found our list of the Best Colleges for Students with a 1300 SAT score to be useful and informative as you continue your college search process. We also invite you to check out some of our other resources and tools including:

    • AP Score Calculators
    • SAT Score Calculator
    • ACT Score Calculator
    • Best Summer Programs
    • 10 Best Digital SAT Prep Books
    • Most Important SAT Math Formulas
    • Hardest SAT Math Questions
    • 250 SAT Vocabulary Words You Must Know

bookmark

  • Testing

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (32)

Dave Bergman

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).

bookmark Filter by Category

  • 2-Year Colleges
  • Application Strategies
  • Athletics
  • Best Colleges by Major
  • Best Colleges by State
  • Big Picture
  • Careers
  • College Essay
  • College Search/Knowledge
  • College Success
  • Data Visualizations
  • Dental School Admissions
  • ESL
  • Extracurricular Activities
  • Featured
  • Gap Year
  • Graduate School Admissions
  • High School Success
  • High Schools
  • Homeschool Resources
  • Law School Admissions
  • Medical School Admissions
  • Navigating the Admissions Process
  • News
  • Online Learning
  • Outdoor Adventure
  • Private High School Spotlight
  • Research Programs
  • Reviews
  • Summer Program Spotlight
  • Summer Programs
  • Teacher Tools
  • Test Prep Provider Spotlight
  • Testing
  • Transfer

format_quote

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (33)

“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”

— Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Nationally Recognized College Expert

Buy Now

Is 1300 a Good SAT Score? – 30 Best Colleges for a 1300 SAT (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Delena Feil

Last Updated:

Views: 5759

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (45 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Delena Feil

Birthday: 1998-08-29

Address: 747 Lubowitz Run, Sidmouth, HI 90646-5543

Phone: +99513241752844

Job: Design Supervisor

Hobby: Digital arts, Lacemaking, Air sports, Running, Scouting, Shooting, Puzzles

Introduction: My name is Delena Feil, I am a clean, splendid, calm, fancy, jolly, bright, faithful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.