What did Ben Affleck get on the SAT?

Beyond the Red Carpet: How Ben Affleck and Other Stars Scored on the SAT

Before standardizing test preparation became a massive industry, celebrities were quietly taking the SATs just like millions of high school students across the country. While we usually judge Hollywood stars by their box office performances or red carpet style, their academic test results can be surprisingly impressive.

Take Ben Affleck, for example. Long before winning Academy Awards for co-writing Good Will Hunting or directing Argo, the star achieved an almost perfect SAT score. Although he was known as a somewhat unfocused student with spotty attendance during high school, his raw test-taking abilities helped open doors to Occidental College and later the University of Vermont before he moved full-time into film.

Affleck is in good company among high achievers. Tech pioneers like Bill Gates famously scored a 1590 out of 1600 before entering Harvard, while Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen achieved a flawless 1600. On the entertainment side, megastar Will Smith has long been rumored to have earned a perfect score, though he chose to skip college entirely to pursue his entertainment career.

Ultimately, high standardized test scores are by no means a prerequisite for creative success. However, for stars like Ben Affleck, those impressive numbers show that Hollywood charisma and sharp academic capability can easily go hand in hand.