Belhaven SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

The section splits tell the story behind Belhaven SAT scores: the middle 50 percent of admitted students land between 490 and 668 on Reading and Writing and between 520 and 630 on Math. Anyone researching Belhaven SAT scores should notice that Math starts higher at the 25th percentile while Reading and Writing stretches higher at the 75th, so the two sections reward different kinds of students. Put together, the composite middle 50 runs from 1010 to 1298, and the average sits at 1124. On the ACT side, the middle half of the class scored between 19 and 24.

Belhaven University admits 49.8% of applicants, which means roughly 1 out of 2 students who apply gets in. That is selective enough that your numbers matter, but not so selective that a strong application gets lost in a lottery. The school itself is a private nonprofit university in Jackson, MS, with 1,471 students enrolled. At that size, a 100 point swing in your SAT score changes where you sit relative to a fairly small incoming class. In the most recent federal data, testing is optional for the 2024-2025 cycle, so a score in or above the 1010 to 1298 band is a choice you make to strengthen your file, not a box you must check.

Read your score against the 1010 to 1298 band. Below 1010, you are behind 3 out of 4 admitted students, and since Belhaven is test optional, submitting that score may hurt more than withholding it. Inside the band, you look like the typical admit, and the closer you sit to the 1124 average, the more ordinary your score reads, in a good way. Above 1298, you outscore the top quarter of the class, which strengthens both your admission case and any argument for merit aid.

The sections set different bars. Math has the tighter range, 520 to 630, so a 640 Math already clears the 75th percentile. Reading and Writing runs wider, 490 to 668, meaning the school admits students across a broad verbal spread and a 600 there is comfortably above the median stretch. If your practice tests show a lopsided profile, check each section against its own range rather than judging only the composite. A 1150 built as 620 Math and 530 verbal reads differently than the reverse.

Admitted students at Belhaven typically present an unweighted GPA somewhere around 3.6 to 3.9. That band fits a school that admits 49.8% of its applicants: the admissions office says no to about half the pool, and grades are the first thing that separates the two halves. A transcript full of A minus and B plus grades in solid courses puts you inside the band. A string of B minus grades needs something else in the file doing extra work.

The number alone is not the whole review. Grades earned in rigorous courses count as much as the GPA itself, so a 3.6 built on honors and advanced classes reads stronger than a 3.8 built on the lightest schedule available. If your GPA sits at the lower edge of the band, the fastest offset is a strong SAT. Junior year grades are mostly locked by application season, but a score above Belhaven's 1124 average is still on the table and gives the committee a second data point in your favor.

Set 2 targets. First, 1010: at or above the 25th percentile keeps you in range and makes your score worth submitting under Belhaven's test optional policy. Second, 1298: at or above the 75th percentile puts you in the top quarter of admitted students, and at a university of 1,471 students that standing is visible. If you are between the two, aim past the 1124 average so your score adds to the file instead of just matching it.

Work backward from the section ranges. If Math is your weaker side, getting from 520 toward 630 is worth more than squeezing a few extra points out of an already strong verbal score. Our score plans break targets like these into week by week practice built around your test date. Before picking a plan, take the diagnostic to find out where you stand against the 1010 to 1298 band right now. Your next step: block out 25 minutes this week, take the diagnostic, and set your target at 1300 or higher.