Convert IQ ↔ SAT
How the conversion works
Both IQ and the SAT are normalised on bell-curve distributions. The conversion maps a person's standing in one distribution to the equivalent standing in the other.
- IQ: mean 100, standard deviation 15.
- Current SAT (post-2016): mean ≈ 1050, standard deviation ≈ 210, based on College Board score reports for the 1600-scale Reading + Math composite.
- Legacy SAT (2005-2015): mean ≈ 1500, standard deviation ≈ 300, based on College Board reports for the three-section composite.
IQ-equivalent = (SAT − meanSAT) / SDSAT × 15 + 100
SAT-equivalent = (IQ − 100) / 15 × SDSAT + meanSAT
Common IQ ↔ SAT (post-2016) reference table
| IQ | SAT (1600) | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| 85 | 840 | ~16th |
| 90 | 910 | ~25th |
| 100 | 1050 | ~50th |
| 110 | 1190 | ~75th |
| 120 | 1330 | ~91st |
| 130 | 1470 | ~98th |
| 140 | 1600 | ~99.6th |
Important caveats
- This is a conversion between two normalised distributions, not a guarantee that an individual will score at the predicted level. Real test performance has measurement error.
- The SAT measures developed academic skills; IQ measures general cognitive ability. They correlate around 0.7-0.8, not 1.0, so an individual can plausibly score higher on one than the other.
- The legacy SAT (pre-1995, 200-1600 scale) used different norms; this converter does not cover that older version.
- Extreme-tail conversions (SAT ≥ 1550 or IQ ≥ 145) are less reliable because both tests have fewer calibration cases there.
- No score entered here is stored, submitted, or connected to an account.
Related tools
IQ percentile calculator · IQ to ACT converter · IQ to GRE converter · IQ score chart · IQ percentile chart
Cite this converter
Editorial content and curation are released under CC BY-SA 4.0. This converter is part of the What's Your IQ educational resources.