Augustana (IL) SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

Roughly 63 of every 100 applicants get into Augustana College, an admission rate of 62.7% in the 2024-2025 cycle, so the odds favor prepared students. That still leaves 37 out of 100 turned away, and Augustana (IL) SAT scores are one of the clearest ways to land on the right side of that line. The middle 50 percent of admitted students scored between 1030 and 1270, with an average of 1165. Hit 1165 and you sit right at the center of last year's class. Clear 1270 and you outscore 3 out of 4 admitted students.

Augustana is a private nonprofit school in Rock Island, IL, on the Mississippi River near the Iowa border. Enrollment is about 2,490, small enough that a strong application file actually gets read rather than filtered. The section numbers tell you where the class leans: Reading and Writing runs 520 to 630 in the middle 50, while Math runs 510 to 640. Math has both the lower floor and the higher ceiling, which means the admitted pool is wider on that section. Testing is optional here in the most recent federal data, but a score in range does real work in a pool where nearly 4 out of 10 applicants are denied.

Below 1030 means you scored lower than 3 out of 4 students Augustana admitted, and with testing optional in the most recent federal data, that is usually a score to hold back rather than send. Inside the 1030 to 1270 range puts you in the same band as half the admitted class; the closer you sit to the 1165 average, the more the score simply confirms you belong. Above 1270 puts you past 75% of admitted students, which at a 62.7% admit rate turns the SAT from a checkbox into an argument for merit consideration.

The section splits matter too. Reading and Writing runs 520 to 630, Math runs 510 to 640. A 620 in Reading and Writing is near the top of its range, while the same 620 in Math is solid but not exceptional, since Math stretches 10 points higher at the 75th percentile. If your two sections are lopsided, check each against its own range instead of judging the composite alone.

Admitted students at Augustana College typically show up with an unweighted GPA somewhere around 3.3 to 3.7. That is the practical band for a school admitting 62.7% of applicants: mostly A and B grades, with room for a rough semester if the overall record trends upward. You do not need a perfect transcript to be competitive here.

What matters as much as the number is where the grades came from. A 3.4 built on honors and AP coursework reads stronger than a 3.6 built on the lightest schedule your school offers, because admissions readers weigh rigor alongside the average. If your GPA sits near the bottom of that band, or below it, the fastest fix is not your transcript, which is mostly locked by senior fall. It is your SAT. A score above the 1165 average, or better yet near the 1270 mark, gives the file a second data point that says you can handle college work, and it is the one input you can still move in a few months.

Set two targets. First, 1030: staying at or above the 25th percentile keeps your score worth sending at a test optional school. Second, 1270: at or above the 75th percentile puts you in the top quarter of Augustana's admitted class, which is where a score starts pulling weight for admission and aid. If you are between them, aim past the 1165 average rather than settling inside the range. Section by section, that means pushing Reading and Writing toward 630 and Math toward 640.

Do not guess where you stand. Take a timed diagnostic first, then compare your composite and both section scores against the ranges above. From there, one of our score plans maps the point gap into a week by week schedule, whether you need 40 points or 240. Concrete next step: sit for the diagnostic this week, mark your distance from 1030 and 1270, and build your plan around the section that lags.