Fisk SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

The middle 50 percent of Fisk SAT scores runs from 1140 to 1510, with an average around 1200 in the 2024-2025 federal data. Land anywhere inside that 370 point band and your score sits with the core of admitted students, which is exactly where you want to be when 37.4% of applicants get in. That range is unusually wide for a school this selective, so a 1150 and a 1480 can both belong to admitted Fisk students, but they tell very different stories to the admissions office. The closer you get to the top of the band, the less the rest of your file has to carry.

Fisk University is a private nonprofit university in Nashville, TN, and it is small: about 1,035 students enrolled. At that scale, each admitted class is tiny, and individual applications get real attention. The section splits are worth a look too. Reading and Writing runs 570 to 720 among the middle 50 percent, while Math stretches from 570 to 790. Testing is optional per the most recent federal data, but a score inside or above the middle band gives the committee a concrete number to anchor your file, which matters when roughly 3 out of 8 applicants are admitted.

Below 1140, you are under the 25th percentile of admitted Fisk students. With a 37.4% admission rate, that does not end your chances, but it means your transcript, essays, and activities have to argue for you, since your score will not. Inside the 1140 to 1510 band, you are a standard admit by the numbers, and your position within the band matters: 1200 puts you at the average, while 1400 puts you well into the upper half. Above 1510, you outscore at least 3 out of 4 admitted students, and your score becomes a genuine asset, potentially the strongest line in your application.

The section splits show where the ceiling sits. Math tops out at 790 for the 75th percentile against 720 for Reading and Writing, a 70 point gap. Strong math students have more room to separate themselves at Fisk than strong readers do. Both sections share the same 570 floor, so neither one lets you coast.

Admitted students at Fisk typically present an unweighted GPA around 3.6 to 3.9. That is the band to aim for, but treat it as a description of who gets in, not a cutoff. A 3.7 earned in a schedule of honors and AP courses reads stronger than a 3.9 built on the easiest available classes. Rigor counts as much as the number itself, and admissions readers at a school with about 1,035 students have time to look at your transcript line by line.

If your GPA sits at the lower edge of that band, or below it, the fastest offset is a strong SAT. Grades take years to move. A score can move in months. Pushing from the 1140 floor of the middle 50 percent toward the 1200 average, or past it, gives Fisk a current data point that outweighs a rough semester from sophomore year. A high score plus an upward grade trend is a persuasive combination.

Set two concrete targets. First, get to 1140 or above: that keeps you inside the middle 50 percent and out of the group that has to explain its score. Second, if you want your SAT to actively help, push toward 1510, which puts you in the top quarter of admitted students. Between those poles, 1200 matches the Fisk average and is a reasonable milestone on the way up. On sections, aim for at least 570 in each, then decide where your points come from: Math rewards a high scorer more here, since its 75th percentile sits at 790.

Work backward from your test date using one of our score plans, which map weekly practice to a target score. But before you plan anything, find out where you actually stand. Take the 20 question diagnostic today, get your projected score, and measure the real distance between you and 1140.