SAT Registration, Important Dates, and Logistics

Article Type: Tasty Bits

If you're interested in taking the SAT, follow the College Board's instructions to snag an SAT golden ticket. We've also got the breakdown below of all the steps you'll need to follow, in case you get lost on the College Board's website.

Most students take the SAT at school, but if yours doesn't offer it or you're home-schooled, use the College Board's School Search tool to find local schools that can hook you up.

The test itself is a throwback, so instead of completing the exam on computer machines, students are asked to fill out a Scantron with a trusty No. 2 pencil. When it's over, skip on down to the soda fountain and order a strawberry malt to celebrate.

We're back in the 21st century once the tests have been scored, though. The College Board sends students a personalized code to an online portal, which sadly does not catapult them into a fantasy world à la Alice's rabbit hole.

However, the portal does provide access to a veritable wonderland of data, including a score report, an assessment of individual strengths and weaknesses on the test, and a personality profiler that suggests possible majors and careers. We doubt "mob boss" is an option, but it's still nice for the College Board to provide some official advice about what SAT scores might have to do with the rest of your life.

When should I register for the SAT?

Most students take the SAT in March or May or their junior year. That leaves plenty of time to take the SAT again in the early fall of your senior year. For each exam, you should aim to register as soon as possible—you can register as early as six or seven months before an exam. If you wait until the registration deadline to sign up, your preferred test center may be full. That means you might lose a good fifteen minutes of precious sleep because you're driving across town to get to the exam on test day.
Here's a list of the upcoming registration deadlines for each exam so you can plan ahead:

If you do end up snoozing on registration, you can still sign up past the initial registration deadline. You'll pay an extra fee to do so. Here's a chart for all you procrastinators out there of the late registration deadlines.

How much does it cost to take the SAT?

Say you make $9.50 an hour as a lifeguard at your local pool: each hour will get you one-fifth of the way to paying your SAT Registration fee. Five hours is definitely enough to get some serious sunburn, so wear sunscreen.

Yes, we just smuggled some SAT-Math-like thinking into this explanation. It's never too late to practice. Here are the prices for the SAT:

SAT Registration $47.50
SAT with Essay $64.50

Here are some extra fees you may end up paying, depending on your situation:

Late Registration (If Registering before the Late Registration Deadline) $29
Waitlist Fee $51
To Register by Phone (available if you've registered before) $15
Changing your Test Center or Date, or Changing from SAT to SAT Subject Test $29

How do I register for the SAT?

Taking the exam should be the hard part, not registering for it. Right? It might seem like it'll be a cinch to register for the SAT, but the College Board website can be downright labyrinthine. Don't snooze on this very important step. Before you start the registration process, make sure you've checked the fee waiver requirements to see if you might be able to take the SAT for free.

Now allow us to serve as your Ariadne as we breakdown all the steps you'll need to take to snag a seat on test day.

1. Create an account with College Board if you don't already have one. You'll tell them stuff about yourself, like your full legal name, your mailing address, school, birthdate, graduation date, and so on. 
2. After you've logged into your account, you can access a registration page for the SAT. The College Board wants to make sure you're really the same person who was at the computer 5 minutes ago, so you'll have to enter your password again. Yeah, we know, it makes no sense. But hey, at least no one can impersonate you and take the test for you, right?
3. Buckle in, because about 30 to 40 minutes of your life will be spent on this tedious registration process. The College Board will ask you to fill out a student profile. You'll tell them stuff like your race or ethnicity, what AP courses you've taken, what extracurriculars you're involved in, and whether you speak more than one language. You'll also rate your own abilities in math, science, and writing. If you're pressed for time, you should note that this part is optional. And you can come back to it after you've already registered.
4. Who doesn't like to have a few options? The SAT Essay is optional, and you have to pay extra ($17.00) if you decide to take it. Find out if your dream college requires or recommends the SAT Essay here. Not sure which schools you're applying to? Here's a guide to making the decision anyway
5. A photo of yourself. The requirements are pretty particular. Basically it's got to be a picture of the front of your face that has good lighting. If you upload a picture of your cat as a joke, you'll only have yourself to blame on test day. The SAT even provides some hilarious pictures illustrating a list of DON'Ts. 
6. Get ready to shell out some dough. (Or to borrow your parents' credit card.) You can pay with PayPal or a major credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Diners Club, or JCB). 
7. Print your admission ticket and save it as a PDF to your computer. You'll need this on test day, so don't lose it.

I'm retro…can I register by mail instead of online?

You may have to get ready to snail-mail like it's 1989 if you meet one of these special circumstances:

• You want to take the test on a Sunday rather than a Saturday (for religious reasons).
• You want to pay for the SAT using a check or money order.
• You are registering through an SAT International Representative.
• The closest test center to you is located 75 miles or more from your home, and you would like to request that a new test center be opened in closer proximity to you. (Well, well, aren't you special?)

Should I create a student profile when I'm registering for the SAT? 

If you want the SAT to send you information tailored specifically to your profile, yes. But if you are just fine finding colleges on your own, it's probably not worth your time. Don't expect any brownie points; it makes no difference for your score. You can generally skip providing information on your activities, your college plans, college board programs, your GPA/rank, and your course work.

Can I pay for the SAT by check?

Yes, you can use a check or money order to pay for the SAT in lieu of a credit card or Paypal, but that means you'll have to register by mail. Your check must be from a U.S. bank and it must be made payable to "The College Board." 

What is a fee waiver and how do I get one?

The SAT is pretty pricey. You might be eligible for a fee waiver, in which case you won't have to pay the usual price for the test. If you think you qualify, you should contact your school counselor or an agency official to apply for a waiver. If you get a fee waiver, you'll get the following:

• Two SAT registrations and two SAT Subject Test registrations
• Two Question-and-Answer Service (QAS) or Student-Answer-Service (SAS) reports
• Unlimited score reports to send to the colleges of your choice
• College application fee waivers
• Late registration fee is covered (but you shouldn't procrastinate because testing centers might book up)

What is a Question-and-Answer Service report?

For an extra $18.00 (or for free if you qualify for a fee waiver), you can get a detailed report which breaks down your performance on test day. You'll see the test questions, the answer you chose, and the correct answer. Each question will also include a difficulty level, so you can see how hard the questions are that you're missing. The College Board also will provide you with a copy of your own essay, chicken scratch and all.

Otherwise, you'll only get a free online score report after you're done taking a test.

What is the Student Answer Service (SAS)?

The SAT likes to keep some of their tests secret, so sometimes they don't offer the QAS (where you can see all the test questions that you saw on test day). When the QAS isn't offered, the SAS will be the report that you can request. It will give you a list of question types, level of difficulty, and a list of whether you answered a question correctly. You won't see the questions themselves, and you won't see what the correct answer was for each question. You'll just see if you got a question right or wrong. But hey, who really wants to relive taking the SAT twice, anyway?

Where will I take the SAT?

Not sure where to show up on test day? Most students take the SAT at their school, but if yours doesn't offer it or you're home-schooled, use the College Board's School Search tool to find local schools that can hook you up. You can also check out this PDF of test centers in the U.S. When you register, you'll have to declare where you'd like to take the test. You can search for your nearest test center location during the registration process by typing in your zip code. Sometimes test centers book up, so there are advantages to registering really early for the exam.

Can I change my test center after I've already registered?

Yes, you can change it, for a fee of $29 if you do it online, or $28 if you call College Board's customer service center. Don't forget to print a new admission ticket. There's a deadline though for test center changes, so check your admission ticket to see if you still have time.

Can I take the SAT if I don't live in the United States?

Yes, but you will only be able to take the SAT in October, December, March or May. The College Board used to offer the international SAT in June, but they've canceled that one for the time being. Check out this list of test centers outside of the U.S. to see where the closest test center is. If none are available close to you, you should call the College Board's Customer Service line for international students at 212-713-7789.

I changed my mind on taking the SAT with essay. Can I still change this after I've registered?

Yes, you can do this online through your College Board account. However, don't forget about that extra $17 that you'll have to pay to take the SAT with essay. You can also try switching on test day, but we don't advise it. Your test center coordinator is allowed to just say no, and they might not have enough tests with essay to go around.

How do I cancel my SAT test?

The ACT and the SAT are rivals; perhaps the ACT has stolen your heart…or just given you more points on your practice tests…such that you've got to send the SAT for a hike. But if you've already registered for the SAT, the easiest way to cancel is to simply not show up to the testing center. You won't get your money back, but you won't be penalized in terms of your score or your record. No score reports will be sent to colleges.

You can cancel your SAT registration by calling College Board's Customer Service line. If you do this at least five days before the test date, you'll get a small refund—at most, you'll get $10 back. Hey, that's enough to buy two flat whites at Starbucks. If you're also cancelling the Question and Answer Service, you may be able to get a full refund of that particular service ($18.00).

If you would simply like to take the SAT at a later date, you can do this through your College Board account. You'll have to pay a penalty ($29), but it's better than forking over that $47.50 registration fee again.

How do I apply for special accommodations for the SAT?

With advance notice, it's amazing how accommodating the College Board can be. Of course, there are limits—you probably won't be approved to bring your pet hamster, Lucky, into the testing room—but here are some of the most common accommodations for the SAT: 

• Extended time
• Extra and extended breaks
• Braille, large-print, and audio test formats for students with seeing or reading difficulties
• Talk to your guidance counselor or Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) coordinator at least eight weeks before the test, and they can help you request any accommodations you might need.

If you need more information, the College Board has a whole section on its website for students with disabilities. There are deadlines though for requesting accommodations, so you may need to get started in the process earlier: 

What is the SAT waitlist?

The waitlist is a risky business, since you might be primed and ready to take the test, but be unable to take it come the big day. Think of it as being like an Olympic alternate: you get to hang out near the Olympic village, but entrance will depend on a lot of factors beyond your control. After the test coordinators have seated all registered test-takers, they may be able to find a spot for you to take the exam.

You need to request waitlist status at least five days before game day, and you must do it online. None of the tree-killing paper business here, thank you.

To show up to wait in line, you'll need to bring a printed copy of your Waitlist Ticket, an acceptable photo ID, and any documentation you have about special accommodations for testing (if applicable). Hey, it's not as exciting as queuing up for Cronuts, but if you snoozed on the registration deadline, it may be your only option.

Is this seriously a paper-and-pencil test?

Yup! Scantron and No. 2 pencil all the way. No fancy-pants computerized testing here, so make sure you bring plenty of pencils, and maybe a pocket sharpener. Look at it this way: One day your grandkids will marvel at the fact that when you were young, you had to use bits of rock wrapped in wood chips to fill in bubbles printed on a tree carcass.

Will I need a calculator?

Yes, because it's much easier to use than an abacus. Make sure your calculator is on the College Board's list of approved calculators, and put in fresh batteries before the test.

How long is it?

The SAT lasts for an exciting 3 hours and an extra 50 minutes if you opt for writing the essay. That's like sitting through an Avengers movie with previews. You've probably already had enough sitting experience to make it through the SAT, but feel free to practice if needed.

Are there breaks during the test?

Absolutely! The College Board may be a powerful organization with the ability to influence students' futures, but its members aren't heartless. There will probably be one 10-minute break and one 5-minute break between sections, and likely some time to crack your knuckles between the exam and the optional essay.

To make the most of your breaks, get out of your seat, even if you don't need to use the bathroom. Shake out your limbs, walk around, and get your blood flowing. There probably won't be room to breakdance—though technically we suppose any dance performed in those five minutes could be considered a "break dance."

How many times can I take the SAT?

Wow, we tip our hats to you simply for asking that question, and. we. wear. a. lot. of. hats. Your dedication is inspiring and a little terrifying. Hypothetically, you could take the test as many times as you want. Keep in mind that each test takes over 4 hours to complete (if you include all of the breaks and administrative time) and the tests cost money every time you take them. It's good to plan your SAT schedule ahead of time, and hopefully you won't be visiting those testing centers more than two or three times.

What if I'm abducted by aliens on Test Day?

Unfortunately, if you are sick/have a family emergency/pull a Freaky Friday situation with your mom on Test Day, there's no easy way to make up the test. Some nearby schools may be administering the test at a later date than your school, so contact their guidance counselors if you'd like to register to take the test with their students.

Because you'll have worked so hard to prepare for the SAT, missing the test would be a major bummer, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. You can always find another testing date to take the test.

Where can I find more sample questions?

Shmoop's SAT Test Prep is full of tasty samples, and check out our diagnostics, full-length practice exams, and drills to give you the full SAT experience.

SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.

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