SAT Score Choice and Sending Scores: A Guide for Retakers

College Board sends scores by test date. You cannot send your Math score from one date and your Reading and Writing score from another. Each report contains the total score, on a 400 to 1600 scale, and both section scores, each on a 200 to 800 scale. When a college combines your best sections from different dates, that is superscoring, and the college does it after receiving complete reports.

Colleges generally require scores to arrive directly from College Board. A printout, a screenshot, or a transcript that lists your scores is usually not accepted as the official record, so plan on ordering reports rather than forwarding copies.

Each time you register for an SAT Weekend test, you can send that test's scores to up to four colleges, universities, or scholarship programs at no charge. You can name recipients when you register, any time before the test, or within nine days after it, and you can add, change, or remove them during that window. After nine days, the free sends are locked and any new recipient requires a paid order.

There is an important limit. Free sends carry only the scores from the test date on that registration, or its makeup, unless you specifically ask to include other existing scores. Score Choice does not apply to free sends.

If you take the SAT on a school day instead, the window is shorter: you pick free sends during exam setup or within three days after testing, as your school directs. And if you have a fee waiver, you can send as many reports as you want at no cost, even when the waiver arrives after you tested.

Score Choice is the optional feature that lets you pick which test dates go to a school when you order additional reports online. It applies only to scores that have already been released. If you place an order and do not use Score Choice, College Board sends all your SAT scores from your most recent six administrations.

For a retaker, the practical result is that you can send only your best date to schools that permit it. You can also send several dates to the same school for one fee, since the additional report fee is charged per institution. That matters when a school superscores and you want it to see both the date with your best Math and the date with your best Reading and Writing.

Some colleges and scholarship programs ask to see every SAT score you have. Score Choice does not override that; following each school's policy is your responsibility. When you select recipients on the Send SAT Scores page, the site displays the policy requirements for the schools you picked so you can send what they ask for. College Board also states that it is not responsible for the accuracy of that information, so check each school's admissions page too.

A small table for your college list helps: school name, score policy (all scores, highest sitting, or superscore), whether the school is test-optional, and the application deadline. Filling it in once keeps you from sending the wrong set of dates later.

Free sends save money, but you choose them before seeing your score. For schools that require all scores, using free sends costs you nothing, because they will see every date anyway. For schools where you would prefer to share only your best date, waiting until scores are released and ordering with Score Choice gives you control in exchange for a fee.

Watch delivery times. Standard sends typically go out within 5 to 10 business days of the order, or a couple of weeks after test day when recipients were chosen during registration. Rush delivery is available only for released scores and sends within 1 to 4 business days, excluding weekends and holidays. Once a paid order is placed it cannot be canceled, so review the list before you check out.

Before you pay for any report, run through a short routine. It takes a few minutes and catches most of the mistakes retakers make with score sends.

Even when you use Score Choice with colleges, every score you earn is added to your College Board record and reported to your high school. The student guide also describes scores going to your district and state and to certain scholarship and direct admissions programs. In some university systems, sending to one campus gives other campuses in that system access, but College Board still recommends sending to each school you apply to.

Canceling is a separate and permanent option. For SAT Weekend, you can cancel scores until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time one week after the test date. A canceled score cannot be reinstated, and no reports for that date will be sent. Since Score Choice already lets you hold back a weak date from most schools, many retakers find that keeping the score is the more flexible choice.