Free College Admissions Chances Calculator
Enter your SAT or ACT score, then add the schools you're considering, to get a Reach / Target / Likely read on your real odds -- built on each school's own published U.S. Department of Education data, not a guess. No account needed. Don't have any schools in mind yet? Try the good-fit finder instead.
Enter your SAT or ACT score above to see your chances and add schools you're considering.
Not sure what to study yet? Take the major-fit quiz -- 30 quick questions, no account needed.
How this college chances calculator works
Every college reports the SAT and ACT scores of the students it admitted, usually as a middle-50% range (the 25th to 75th percentile). This calculator compares your score to that range at each school you add, using the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data:
- Reach: your score is below the school's 25th percentile.
- Target: your score is inside the middle-50% range.
- Likely: your score is above the 75th percentile. At schools that admit under 10% of applicants, a score above the range stays a Target, because a strong score alone doesn't make admission likely there.
For how to balance a list across those three bands, see reach, target and safety schools explained.
What your chances of getting into college depend on
Test scores are one factor, and at many schools not the most important one. Most selective colleges use holistic review, weighing grades, course rigor, essays and activities alongside scores. Each school's Common Data Set shows how much weight it gives each factor, and every school page on College Intel lists them. If you have both an SAT and an ACT score, the SAT–ACT concordance table shows how they compare.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is a college chances calculator?
Any calculator that only sees your test score can tell you where you stand academically, not whether you'll be admitted. That's why this one gives a Reach / Target / Likely band instead of a made-up percentage: it compares your SAT or ACT to the school's own published middle-50% range for admitted students, and says so plainly when that range covers only a minority of the class.
Does this calculator use my GPA?
No. The federal College Scorecard data it's built on has no comparable per-school GPA figure, so there's no honest benchmark to compare a GPA against. Your score band is based on SAT or ACT alone; GPA, course rigor, essays and activities still matter a great deal at most schools.
What if a school is test-optional?
Test-optional schools still publish score ranges for the admits who did submit. When fewer than half of a school's admits submitted the test you're using, the result says so, because that range then describes only part of the class.
Is it free, and do I need to sign up?
It's free and needs no account. Enter a score, add schools, and your results appear right away.