Clark SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

The Reading and Writing section carries the higher bar in Clark SAT scores: admitted students land between 658 and 740 on that section, while Math runs 630 to 720. Put together, the Clark SAT middle 50 percent spans 1288 to 1460, with an average composite of 1370 in the 2024-2025 federal data. On the ACT side, the middle 50 percent runs 30 to 33. Clark University admits 39.5% of applicants, so roughly 2 out of 5 students who apply get an offer. That puts it in selective territory, but not the kind where a strong file gets tossed on a coin flip.

Clark is a private nonprofit university in Worcester, MA, and it is small: about 2,214 undergraduates. At that scale, each admitted class is tiny compared with a state flagship, and the admissions office reads files closely rather than sorting by cutoff. Testing is optional in the most recent federal data, which means the scores above come from applicants who chose to submit. That skews the reported range upward, and it also means a submitted score near or above 1370 does real work for you. A score below the 25th percentile of 1288 is usually better left out of the application.

Read your own score against the 1288 to 1460 band. Below 1288 means you scored lower than 3 out of 4 admitted Clark students who submitted. Since testing is optional in the most recent federal data, a score down there is usually one to withhold while the rest of your file carries the application. Inside the band means you are in the same range as half the admitted class: competitive, but the score alone will not decide anything. Above 1460 puts you ahead of 3 out of 4 admits, and that is a score worth sending without hesitation.

The section splits matter here. Reading and Writing runs 658 to 740, a noticeably higher floor than Math's 630 to 720. A 680 is comfortable on the Math side but sits near the bottom quarter on Reading and Writing. If your two sections are lopsided, check each one against its own range rather than judging by the composite alone. At Clark, the verbal section is where the tougher comparison happens.

Admitted students at Clark typically present an unweighted GPA around 3.6 to 3.9. That band tracks with a 39.5% acceptance rate: the school turns away more applicants than it takes, so mostly A and B plus transcripts are the norm in the admitted pool. A 3.7 with a schedule full of standard classes and a 3.7 built on honors and AP courses are not the same file. The rigor of the courses behind the number counts as much as the number itself.

If your GPA sits at the lower edge of that band, or just under it, the fastest offset is a strong SAT. Grades take semesters to move. A test score can move in weeks. Landing at or above Clark's 1370 average, and especially near the 1460 mark, gives the admissions reader hard evidence that you can handle the academic load, whatever the transcript says. Pair the score push with an upward grade trend in senior year and the GPA question mostly answers itself.

Set 2 concrete targets. First, 1288: at or above the 25th percentile keeps you inside Clark's admitted range and makes your score safe to submit. Second, 1460: at or above the 75th percentile puts you in the top quarter of admits, where the score becomes an argument for you rather than a neutral fact. Between those 2 numbers, every 10 points helps, and the average of 1370 is a sensible midpoint goal. Given the section splits, budget extra prep time for Reading and Writing, since 658 is a higher floor to clear than Math's 630.

Work backward from your test date. Our score plans break a target like 1370 or 1460 into weekly practice blocks so the goal stops being abstract. Before any of that, you need a real baseline, not a guess: take the diagnostic to see your current composite and both section scores. Do that this week, compare each section against Clark's ranges above, and you will know exactly which number to attack first.