How to Score 1550+ on the SAT Reading as an International Student
- Tina Chulet
- Mar 4
- 10 min read
Overall
As an international student, your score on your SAT/ACT standardized test will largely determine which US colleges to can apply to. By looking at the 25%, 50%, and 75% scores of a particular college you will know whether your academic capabilities are above or below the average student at the college. In case your score is above average for a particular college, that is your target college and you can comfortably apply from an academic standpoint.
Remember, college is first and foremost an academic exercise and so if you don’t pass the academic bar, well then the rest of your application doesn’t really matter.
In this study abroad SAT guide for international students, we are going to discuss several strategies so you can significantly increase your score. Follow my advice, and you'll get a perfect score—or get very close.
What Score Do I Need for the Ivy League?
A1550+ on an SAT is as good as a perfect 1600. No top college is going to admit an international student only because they got a 1590 instead a 1550. You've already crossed their score threshold, and whether you get accepted now depends on the rest of your application.
But if you're scoring a 1540 or below and you want to go to a top 10 college, you must focus on pushing your score up to a 1550 or above. There's a big difference between a 1450 and a 1550, largely because it's easier to get a 1450 (and a lot more applicants do) and a lot harder to get a 1550.
Let’s talk about specifics. Reading scores at top colleges are high. Very high.
For Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and U Chicago, the 75th percentile SAT Reading score is a 770 or above. That means at least 25% of all students at these schools have a 770 in SAT Reading.
Math scores at top schools are high too. For Harvard, Princeton, MIT, and even less selective schools like Carnegie Mellon, the 75th percentile SAT Math score is an 800. That means at least 25% of all students at these schools have an 800 in SAT Math. Even more surprising: the 25th percentile score for SAT Math at MIT is 780. This means if you score a 750 on your SAT Math, you're well below average for MIT! And if you apply with a 700 on Math, a school like MIT is going to doubt your capability because SAT Math should be trivially easy for you if you want to fit in well with the rest of their class.
Continue along with if you want step-by-step advice on the SATs for Ivy League admissions for international students.
The Basics
The Digital SAT allows the College Board to adjust the difficulty of the second module based on the student’s performance in the first module. It is offered 7-9 times per year and one can register on the College Board if you are an international who wants to study abroad in the US.
The exam has two sections – Reading/Writing & Math and the overall exam is 2 hours and 14 minutes.
Section | Time | Questions | Modules | Question Types |
Reading & Writing (Total Pts 800) | 64 minutes | 54 | 2 | Short passages with one question per passage, vocabulary, grammar, logical reasoning. |
Math (Total Pts 800) | 70 minutes | 58 | 2 | Algebra, problem-solving, geometry, and some trigonometry. Calculator allowed. |
(Total Pts 1600) | 2h 14min |
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But What About Test Blind & Test-Optional Colleges?
Many colleges are doing away with the test optional/test-blind options as you can see in the chart below where many universities are reinstating the exam.
Test blind means they won’t review your score even if you submit it. Test optional means not submitting test scores won't hurt your application. However, strong SAT or ACT scores will absolutely still help your college applications. If you choose not to submit it, it means you lose out on a potential chance to make your application stronger. So, how to decide?
Remember, if your test scores are strong (at or near the 75th percentiles of admitted students to the school), then your score will absolutely help your application. And in case you don't have other strong test scores (AP tests, IB Tests, etc.) to send, then your SAT/ACT will certainly help you.
University | SAT/ACT Testing Requirements |
Harvard | To Be Reinstated Fall 2025 |
Brown | To Be Reinstated Fall 2025 |
Dartmouth | To Be Reinstated Fall 2025 |
Yale* | To Be Reinstated Fall 2025 |
Cornell** | To Be Reinstated Fall 2026 |
MIT | Required |
Georgetown | Required |
Stanford | To be reinstated Fall 2026 |
Scoring
Different versions of the test have different difficulty levels and therefore while on 1 test, missing a single question knocks you down 10 points, in another test, it may not affect your perfect score. However what is important to know is that generally every question matters.
Strategies & Tips
The first step is simply to do a ton of practice. The SAT is full of patterns so you must learn to recognize the types of questions that appear. And then you can learn strategies to solve these questions, using skills you already know
The second step is to deeply understand your mistakes. You need to find your greatest areas of improvement and work on those. You need to find the sub-skills that you're weakest in, and then drill those until you're no longer weak in them.
The SAT is not only about your core intelligence. There are numerous strategies that you must deploy in addition to practicing, practicing, practicing. Because the SAT is a national test, it needs a level playing field for all students around the country. 1.) Every question needs a single, unambiguously, 100% correct answer. 2.) It has to test concepts that all high school students will cover (not only the students who took AP Calculus).
But the College Board still has to make the test difficult to differentiate student skill levels, so the SAT needs to test these concepts in strange ways or they need to figure out a way to trick you. This trips up students who don't prepare, but it rewards students who understand the test well.
Tip 1: Understand Every Single Mistake You Make
Every mistake you make on a test happens for a reason. If you don't understand exactly why you missed that question, you will make that mistake again and again.
That’s why you need to follow this strategy. On every practice question you must mark every question that you're even 20% unsure about. Also mark any question that took you a long time to solve. At the end of the SAT exam, review every single question that you marked, and every incorrect question. This helps to ensure you even review the questions you guessed on.
Keep a log of the mistake you made (e.g. careless error, didn’t understand vocab, couldn’t eliminate enough choices, incorrect interpretation of text etc) and which type of question you made it on (see question types). This is very tedious and cumbersome – I get it. But if you really want those extra 200 points, you have to do it.
The more time you spend understanding the WHY you made an error, WHERE you made an error, on WHICH type of questions you made errors, the more time you can spend improving those weaknesses.
Tip 2: Understand Your High-Level Weakness (Time Management or Passage Strategy)
Before drilling into the detailed reasons for incorrectly answering questions, first think about the high-level. Do you just need to increase your speed or do you not understand the subject matter. Remember while we often assume that not finishing the SAT exam is an indicator of time management problems, it could also be that since you don’t understand passage strategy, you are not able to solve it fast enough. Where do you struggle? Here are some questions to guide you.
Time Management: Did you run out of time on the math module?
Time Management: Look at the questions you spent the most time on. Did you answer them correctly or not. Why did they take you so long?
Passage Strategy. Was there a faster way to solve a problem?
Passage Strategy: For questions that confused you (even if you ended up getting the right answer), was the issue that you didn't know the subject matter or that you could not to make sense of the question?
Passage Strategy: Did you miss any questions that you are confident you know how to solve?
Time Management: Did you miss it because you were rushing through the question?
Tip 3: Understand Your Low-Level Weakness (Question Types)
When you are analysing which questions you a.) spend too much time on b.) had even a 20% doubt on c.) answered incorrectly – try to bucket it into one of these Question Types. Then you will be able to look for a pattern of which questions are more difficult for you and you can work on finding additional resources to improve that particular weakness.
Section | Question Type | Approx. # of Questions | Example |
Reading & Writing (54 Questions) | Main Idea (Big Picture) | 5-8 | "Which choice best describes the main idea of the passage?" |
Detail (Literal Comprehension) | 5-8 | "According to the passage, why does the author mention [specific event]?" | |
Inference | 5-8 | "Based on the passage, it can reasonably be inferred that the author believes which of the following?" | |
Vocabulary in Context | 7-10 | "As used in line 14, ‘intriguing’ most nearly means…" | |
Function (Why the Author Included Something) | 4-6 | "The author mentions [specific phrase] primarily to…" | |
Evidence-Based Support | 5-8 | "Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?" | |
Rhetorical Synthesis (Combining Ideas) | 3-5 | "Which choice best completes the text in a way that is consistent with its central argument?" | |
Data & Graph Interpretation | 2-4 | "Based on the figure, what conclusion can be drawn about the trend in global temperatures from 1900 to 2000?" | |
Grammar and Sentence Structure | 8-12 | "Which choice best maintains the sentence’s grammatical correctness?" | |
Conciseness & Word Choice | 6-8 | "Which choice best expresses the idea in the most concise way?" |
Tip 4: Learn to Eliminate 3 Wrong Answers (rather than selecting the right answer)
Find a reason to eliminate three answer choices. Out of the four answer choices, three of them have something that is totally wrong about them. Only one answer is 100% correct, which means the other three are 100% wrong.
Remember, the College Board needs a level playing field and so they cannot just ask absurdly difficult topics. Instead, it tries to trip up some students with little tricks so they can have a variation in scores. One way the College Board does this is by putting really similar answer choices next to each other. Even a single word can make an answer choice wrong. Every single word in each answer choice is put there by the SAT for a reason. If a single word in the answer choice isn't supported by the passage text, you need to eliminate it, even if the rest of the answer sounds good. You may find an answer incorrect because it is too broad, too narrow, reversed relationship, ambiguous answer, unrelated concept etc.
TIP 5: Don’t Just Look Up the Right Answer
Once you know you answered a question incorrectly, the first thing we have a tendency to do is to read the solution. Try to resolve the question before reading the answer explanation – a.) now there is no time pressure b.) now that you know you are wrong maybe you can get it right c.) you have one more answer eliminated out of 4.
This ensures you are doing the hard work of trying to figure out why the answer was right and hard work always sticks with you longer.
Tip 6: Experiment With Passage Reading Strategies and Find the Best for You
Some students read the questions before reading the passage. Others read the passage in detail first. In my opinion, the skimming method works because the questions will ask about far fewer lines than the passage has. By reading the passage closely, you absorb a lot of details that aren't useful for answering questions. For example, lines 5-18 of a reading passage might not be relevant to any question that follows. Therefore, if you spend time trying to deeply understand lines 5-18, you'll be wasting time.
Often if you choose to take notes, they may also be wasted because your notes aren’t directed toward helping you answer the questions.
If you skim you save a lot of time. Only when you read the questions will you know which portion of the text to focus on. If the question refers to a line number, then go back to that line number and understand the text around it. If you can't answer a question within 30 seconds, skip it. Once you are done with all the other questions, you may have understood something more.
Tip 7: Read the Italicized Passage Introduction
This is a freebie. The italicized paragraph before the text gives you context for the entire passage. By knowing that the passage is about "the situation of women in English society," you hit the ground running when you read the very first sentence. This helps a lot. Sometimes, the introduction alone can give you the answer for the "Big Picture" question about what the main point of the passage is.
Tip 8: Don't Spend Time on Vocab
Fortunately, vocab doesn't play a big role in your SAT Reading score anymore. This is especially true in the current SAT. the words that you have to analyze in context are usually pretty common. Only take notes from official SAT tests. It's hard to predict what words the SAT will use, and the SAT doesn't often repeat words from previous tests. This doesn't mean that vocab is totally useless. Sometimes knowing the definition of the words in context is helpful.
Other Tips
· Don't Spend Time Reading Books or Magazines
· Finish With Extra Time and Double Check
· Be Ready for Turbulence in Scores
· Simulate Test Conditions: Take practice tests in a quiet environment, adhering to official time limits to build stamina and get accustomed to the test's pacing.
· Regular Practice: Consistent practice over time is more effective than cramming. Set a study schedule that allows for regular review and practice.
Takeaway: How to Score 1550+ as an International Student
1. Focus on understanding your mistakes—track them and fix recurring patterns.
2. Identify your weak areas—whether it’s time management or passage strategy.
3. Practice under real test conditions—mimic the actual SAT environment.
4. Eliminate wrong answers aggressively—instead of just selecting the right one.
5. Skim passages strategically—don’t waste time on unnecessary details.
6. If your goal is Ivy League admission, aim for 1550+—especially in Math.
By following these strategies, you can significantly boost your SAT score and increase your chances of getting into a top U.S. university as an international student.
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