St Catherine SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

St Catherine University sits in Saint Paul, Minnesota, a private nonprofit school with about 2,473 students on the roster. If you are checking St Catherine SAT scores before you apply, the middle 50 percent of admitted students land between 850 and 1140 on the 1600 scale. That is the band where half of enrolled students fall, so a score inside it puts you right in the normal range for this campus.

The admit rate is 91.9%, which means roughly 9 out of 10 applicants get in. A school that open is not built to screen people out on one number. It reads the whole file. Still, the SAT gives the reading a shape, and knowing the band tells you where you stand. One quirk worth naming: the reported average sits near 1147, a touch above the top of the middle 50, so the stronger applicants pull that figure up. St Catherine reports its testing policy as optional in the most recent federal data, so you decide whether a score helps your case. For a small campus in the Twin Cities, the numbers here are steady and reachable, and a solid test day only widens your margin.

Here is how to read your score against the St Catherine band. Below 850 puts you under the 25th percentile, so you would be applying from the lower slice of admitted students and leaning harder on GPA and the rest of your file. From 850 to 1140 places you inside the middle 50, right where most enrolled students sit. Above 1140 puts you in the top quarter and past the reported average of 1147.

The section splits show where the bar is higher. Reading and Writing runs 480 to 560, while Math runs 370 to 580. At the 25th percentile, Reading and Writing asks for more: 480 versus 370 in Math. So the reading side sets the tougher floor here, and points there move your total the fastest. Math has the higher ceiling at 580, which means strong math scorers can stretch the top end. Balance both, but if you are short on time, defend the Reading and Writing floor first.

Admitted students at St Catherine University typically present an unweighted GPA in the 3.0 to 3.5 band. That is a workable target for most applicants, and it lines up with an admit rate near 91.9%. You do not need a perfect transcript to be in range here.

What matters as much as the number is where it came from. A 3.3 earned in honors or AP classes reads stronger than the same 3.3 in an easy schedule, because rigor shows the reader you can carry a college load. Grades earned in demanding courses count as much as the raw average. If your GPA sits at the lower edge of that 3.0 to 3.5 band, a strong SAT is the fastest way to offset it. A score at or above 1140, the top of the middle 50, gives an admissions reader a clear reason to look past a softer transcript and read the rest of your application with more confidence.

Set your targets against the actual band. Scoring at or above 850, the 25th percentile, keeps you inside the range of admitted students. Clearing 1140, the 75th percentile, puts you in the top quarter and above the 1147 average, which strengthens every other part of your file. Aim for the higher mark if you can, since the testing policy is optional and a strong score only helps.

By section, push Reading and Writing toward 560 and Math toward 580 to sit at the top of each range. Start by mapping your current level with a diagnostic so you know your real starting point, then build the gap into weekly score plans that target the section holding you back. For most students here that is Reading and Writing, where the 480 floor runs above the Math floor. Your next step: take a full timed practice test this week, score each section, and compare it to the 850 to 1140 band.