Scranton SAT Scores, GPA, and ACT (2026)

The Scranton SAT scores that matter most sit between 1160 and 1318, the middle 50 percent band for admitted students. Land anywhere inside that range and your score reads as normal for the class, not a flag either way. A 1237, the school's average, puts you right in the meat of that group. Because the University of Scranton reports SAT scores as optional in the most recent federal data, the students who do submit tend to be the ones whose numbers help them, so treat the band as a picture of confident applicants rather than a hard cutoff.

Scranton admits about 81.2% of applicants, so the odds are friendly for anyone who applies with a reasonable file. This is a private nonprofit university, not a giant state campus, and its size shows: roughly 3,554 students study here in Scranton, Pennsylvania. That scale means a test score is one signal among several, and admissions officers read grades and course load alongside it. If your SAT sits below 1160 you are not out of the running at a school this open, but a number closer to the middle of the range makes the rest of your application easier to accept at a glance.

Here is how the band breaks down at Scranton. Below 1160 means you scored under the 25th percentile of admitted students, so your test number is working against you and the rest of the file has to carry more. Inside 1160 to 1318 places you with the typical admit, which at a school taking 81.2% of applicants is a comfortable spot. Above 1318 puts you in the top 25 percent of the pool, and at that point your score is an asset that can pull a thinner GPA along with it.

The two sections do not ask the same thing. Reading and Writing runs 590 to 660, while Math runs 570 to 658. The Reading and Writing band starts twenty points higher at the bottom edge, so verbal is where the higher floor sits. If you are splitting study time, protecting a Reading and Writing score in the low 600s keeps you inside the range, and pushing Math from the 570 area toward 660 is where the fastest total gains usually come from.

Admitted students at the University of Scranton typically present an unweighted GPA in the 3.0 to 3.5 band. That is the range that lines up with an acceptance rate of 81.2%, and it fits the profile of a school that admits most of the students who apply. You do not need a perfect transcript to belong in that group.

The number on its own is only part of the read. Grades earned in rigorous courses count as much as the GPA itself, so a 3.4 built from honors and AP classes tends to carry more weight than a higher average from an easier schedule. If your GPA sits near the bottom of that band, a strong SAT is the fastest way to offset it. A score inside the 1160 to 1318 range, or above it, gives an admissions reader a clear reason to look past a grade or two, and it does more for a borderline transcript than almost anything else you can add late in the process.

Set your targets against the real numbers. A 1160, the 25th percentile, keeps you inside the admitted range and is a sensible floor to aim for first. A 1318, the 75th percentile, puts you in the top quarter of admits and starts working as leverage for a lower GPA. The average of 1237 is a clean middle goal if you want one number to chase. By section, that means holding Reading and Writing near 620 and 660 and moving Math up from 570 toward 658.

Start by taking a full length practice test so you know which of the two sections is costing you points. Our diagnostic does exactly that and shows your Reading and Writing and Math splits side by side. From there, build backward from your target with our score plans, which map how many points each section needs and set a weekly pace. Your concrete next step: sit one timed practice test this week, then set your goal at 1160 or higher and adjust from what the split tells you.