IvyWise College Admissions Blog

Here’s When SAT and ACT Scores Come Out

For students applying to college, learning ACT or SAT scores is a big milestone in the admissions journey, and can heavily impact their college prep strategy going forward. If you’re taking the SAT or ACT this academic year, make sure you know when SAT and ACT scores are available and how that factors into your college prep timeline.

Here are the remaining score release dates for the 2016-17 SAT and ACT.

What to Do After You Receive Your SAT and ACT Scores

Your test scores are in. Now what? It’s important for students and parents to understand what the scores mean and how to move forward.

Understand your scores. When students receive their SAT and ACT scores they’re not just getting the big total score – they’re also getting a suite of section and subscores that can offer insight into how move forward. Learn how to read your SAT and ACT score reports, and use that information to adjust your test-prep in the future, should you opt to retake the exam. For example, if math is bringing down your ACT composite score, focus on improving your performance on the math section before taking the exam again.

Evaluate how these scores impact your balanced college list. There are a number of factors that go into building a balanced college list, including how you stack up to the college’s admission standards. If your test scores, among other factors, put you outside the range of admitted students, consider classifying that college as a “reach.” Conversely, if your test scores and other factors put you well above the range of admitted students, consider changing that school to a “likely” institution. Score improvements and other factors like grades and overall strength of your application can open up a number of opportunities at additional colleges, so be sure to talk with your college counselor about your options after your test scores come in.

If you didn’t reach your goal score, explore options to retake. So you didn’t reach your goal score. If you’ve only taken the exam once or twice, consider a plan to continue test prep and retake the test at another date, should your application timeline allow. High school seniors applying to college should plan to have all their testing completed by the fall. At IvyWise, we don’t advise students to take the SAT or ACT more than three times, as scores tend to plateau after the third attempt.

Consider test-optional colleges if needed. If you’ve taken the SAT or ACT a number of times and haven’t performed as well as you hoped, it might be beneficial to consider some test-optional or test-flexible colleges. There are a number of colleges that deemphasize or don’t even consider SAT or ACT scores in the admissions process. This is a good option for students who have strong academic profiles, but have struggled with performance on the SAT or ACT.

Want to know how your SAT scores compare to the old SAT and the ACT? Check out the SAT score conversion chart here.

Learn more about the SAT and ACT and how college entrance exam scores affect admission chances by downloading our free College Admissions Guide.