Retaking the SAT/ACT – What you need to know

Level 1 - Baby Steps

Welcome! For many applying to college this fall, retaking the SAT/ACT is at the top of the list. 

Simply put, even in the SAT optional environment we are in now, many are trying to use the SAT to help differentiate themselves from the competition, either for college admissions or even for scholarship applications. 

But how important is retaking the SAT? 

There are a lot of things that should go into retaking the SAT, but here are a few specific examples of when it is a good idea to retake a standardized test. 

You are out of the competitive range for a school’s accepted student standardized test scores

Whether the SAT is optional or not is largely irrelevant – if you took the SAT, you know how competitive you are relative to previous years accepted student data. 

If previous accepted students scored between 1150-1250 and you scored a 1000, you know you are not that competitive.

In that situation, it makes sense to retake the SAT. 

Either you will make very little difference (in which case you would most likely choose not to submit your standardized test scores) or you will make a significant jump and that will improve your application. 

In either situation, you put yourself in a better position to stand out.

You have had adequate time to prepare

Taking the SAT/ACT again is irrelevant if you cannot take the time to prepare for it. It is possible that you could retake the exam if you had a bad day, but standardized testing is in large part about being able to take the test, not about having specific knowledge. 

When you accept that, then you understand how you make significant progress on the standardized test scores. 

It’s not about learning math or reading more books. It is about learning how to take the exam.

Therefore, the more time you spend actually preparing for the exam, the better you will perform in the future.

If you have not had time to actually prepare for the exam, then taking it again is not likely to make much of a difference. 

Give yourself 6-8 weeks to really study and prepare for the exam. Take practice ACTs. And in doing so, you position yourself to improve your score. 

You plan to compete for merit-based scholarships

Although many of the scholarships are beginning to be SAT/ACT optional, there are several that still rely on standardized test scores. Even if they do not explicitly have a minimum score, some scholarships will still ask for the information to help differentiate competitors in the application process.

If you are not concerned with competing for scholarships, then this may have little meaning for you. But in the likely event that you want to be considered for scholarships, either through financial aid or merit based scholarships, having a competitive SAT/ACT score will help you stand out.