Coe SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

Coe College is a private nonprofit university in Cedar Rapids, IA, with about 1,164 students, small enough that Coe SAT scores get read alongside the rest of your file rather than sorted by a formula. For the 2024-2025 cycle, the middle 50 percent of enrolled students scored between 1070 and 1290 on the SAT, with an average of 1223. On the ACT side, the middle 50 percent ran from 23 to 29. In the most recent federal data, testing at Coe is optional, so a score in this range is a choice you make to strengthen your application, not a box you have to check.

The admit rate sits at 64.0%, which means roughly 2 out of 3 applicants get in. That changes what the numbers mean. A 1070 here is not a floor you must clear to survive a cut. It is the low edge of what enrolled students actually brought, and plenty of admitted students came in below it, especially since many applied without scores at all. The section splits tell you where the bar sits: Reading and Writing ran 540 to 640, while Math ran 530 to 650, so the two sections carry nearly equal weight in the enrolled class.

Below 1070 means you are under the 25th percentile of enrolled students. With a 64.0% admit rate, that is not disqualifying, but since testing is optional, a score down there usually helps you more in the drawer than on the application. Run the math on your sections first: if Reading and Writing is under 540 or Math is under 530, that section is dragging the composite.

Inside 1070 to 1290 puts you with the middle half of the class. The closer you sit to the 1223 average, the more your score reads as a plus rather than a neutral line. The section ranges are close, 540 to 640 for Reading and Writing against 530 to 650 for Math, but Math stretches 10 points higher at the top, so a strong Math score has slightly more room to stand out.

Above 1290 puts you in the top quarter of enrolled students. At that level your score is a genuine asset, and it can also matter for scholarship review at a private school of this size.

Admitted students at Coe typically present an unweighted GPA in the 3.3 to 3.7 range. That is a wide band, and where you land inside it matters less than what sits behind the number. A 3.4 built on honors and AP courses reads stronger than a 3.6 built on the lightest schedule your school offers. Admissions readers look at the transcript line by line, and rigor counts as much as the average printed at the top.

If your GPA sits near the lower edge of that band, a strong SAT is the fastest offset available to you. Grades take semesters to move. A score does not. Landing at or above the 1223 average, or pushing toward the 1290 mark at the 75th percentile, gives the committee a second data point that says you can handle college work even if a rough semester dented your transcript. At a school where testing is optional, submitting a strong score is a deliberate signal.

Set two targets and work backward from them. Hitting 1070 or better keeps you inside the enrolled range, which is the minimum bar for a score worth submitting to an optional testing school. Hitting 1290 or better puts you in the top quarter of the class, where the score actively argues for you. Between those sits the 1223 average, a sensible middle goal if you are starting around 1100.

Break the composite into sections. To match the 75th percentile in both, you need 640 in Reading and Writing and 650 in Math. If one section is already there, pour your prep hours into the other. Our score plans map out how many weekly hours a 100 or 200 point climb realistically takes, so you can set a test date that fits.

Before any of that, get a real baseline. Take the diagnostic, see where each section lands against Coe's 540 to 640 and 530 to 650 ranges, and start your prep with the weaker one this week.