Trump's SAT score
Executive summary
Donald Trump’s SAT score is not publicly known and there is no verified public record of it; multiple journalists and outlets report that his grades and test scores have been kept private and that his former lawyer Michael Cohen testified Trump sought to prevent their disclosure [1] [2] [3]. Institutions such as Fordham and the College Board have cited privacy rules and declined to release scores, while commentators have speculated about motives ranging from simple privacy to damage control over a weak score [4] [3].
1. The core fact: no verified SAT score has been produced
Across mainstream reporting and later compilations, there is no documented, verifiable SAT or ACT score attributed to Donald Trump; Newsweek, Bipartisan Report and consumer compilations all state that no public details of his SAT or grades have been released [1] [2] [5]. Several pieces explicitly conclude that Trump’s standardized-test results are unknown to the public and that those attempting to compile presidential test-score lists list him as having “no knowledge” of any SAT score [5] [1].
2. Why details remain hidden: legal privacy and explicit warnings
Part of the explanation is institutional: the College Board says it shares test-taker information only for “educational purposes,” and universities are bound by federal student-privacy law—FERPA—making disclosure without consent illegal, a point emphasized by outlets reporting on the matter [4] [3]. Reporting also records that Michael Cohen produced letters he wrote at Trump’s direction threatening schools and the College Board with legal action if they released Trump’s records, and Fordham confirmed Cohen’s warning had been made [3] [4].
3. Testimony and implication: Cohen’s claim and its reading
Michael Cohen, in testimony to Congress, said he sent letters at Trump’s direction to “threaten” schools and the College Board to never release Trump’s grades or SAT scores, and he attached copies of those letters to his statement [3] [1]. That testimony has been reported as fact by multiple outlets and Fordham acknowledged being warned; the testimony furnishes the clearest documentary evidence that efforts were made to block disclosure, though it does not include any actual score [4] [1].
4. Motive and speculation: secrecy, projection, and family claims
Commentators have offered competing interpretations for the secrecy. Forbes and others suggest motives including embarrassment over low scores, political optics, or simple privacy, and frame Trump’s attacks on others’ records as projection [3]. Less mainstream sources report family allegations—such as a claim by Mary L. Trump that someone was paid to take the SAT for him—but those claims are reported as assertions without publicly verified test scores to corroborate them [6]. Reporting assembled here does not provide independent verification of those allegations.
5. What can (and cannot) be concluded from available reporting
Based on available reporting, the only firm conclusions are that no verified SAT score for Donald Trump has been publicly released and that there was documented effort—per Cohen’s testimony—to prevent disclosure [1] [4]. Anything beyond that—precise score, whether transfer credits or admission practices played a role, or whether alleged substitutions occurred—lies outside the documented record assembled in these sources and therefore cannot be stated as fact here [3] [6].
6. The practical takeaway: unknown score, documented secrecy attempts, and open questions
The practical bottom line is simple: Trump’s SAT score remains unknown to the public; institutions point to privacy rules and Cohen’s testimony documents directed efforts to block release, while commentators and relatives have offered explanations and accusations that remain uncorroborated in the public record assembled here [4] [3] [6]. The debate therefore centers less on a numeric score than on why it has been kept private and what that privacy implies—questions that existing reporting raises but does not fully answer [3] [1].