How to Register for SAT Test Dates in 2022
The SAT is a standardized test administered nationally to evaluate students preparing for college. The College Board offers 7 different SAT test dates throughout the year, so you can register for the SAT exam based on your schedule.
Picking the right SAT subject test date for you, however, will depend on your skills, readiness, and availability.
In order to properly prepare for the SAT test, it’s important to understand the 2021-2022 SAT test dates, registration deadlines, and testing fees, so you can get the highest score possible.
Let’s explain the SAT testing schedule and deadlines, so you can decide when you should take the SAT test.
What are SAT Test Dates and Locations?
The College Board administers SATs on Saturdays, with a few exceptions for those that cannot take the test on Saturday because of religious reasons and will occur a day after the Saturday test date.
The exam will be on the first Saturday of May, June, and December, but other test dates throughout the year tend to vary. Most importantly, there is a date in late January, March/April, late August, and early October.
Besides the SAT test days, you should also note the registration deadlines. The registration deadline is usually a month before the test date, but for students who are late, they can do late registration two weeks to the test date but with an additional fee.
If you want to make registration changes, you have to do so ten days before the test date.
Here are the SAT testing dates 2021 for each subject:
| SAT Test Date | Normal Registration Deadline | Late Registration Deadline | Score Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 13, 2021 | February 12, 2021 | March 2, 2021 | March 26, 2021 |
| May 8, 2021 | April 8, 2021 | April 27, 2021 | May 21, 2021 |
| June 5, 2021 | May 6, 2021 | May 26, 2021 | June 18, 2021 |
| August 28, 2021 | July 30, 2021 | August 17, 2021 | September 10, 2021 |
| October 2, 2021 | September 3, 2021 | September 21, 2021 | October 15, 2021 |
| November 6, 2021 | October 7, 2021 | October 26, 2021 | November 19, 2021 |
| December 4, 2021 | November 5, 2021 | November 23, 2021 | December 17, 2021 |
If you missed one of the deadlines, you can just sign up for the next SAT test date on the list.
It is important to note that most of the test dates are around late summer and in fall. This is so because most college application deadlines are in early winter and late fall. It means that the College Board is giving seniors several shots to hit their SAT targets scores before their college application deadlines are due.
In spring, the test dates are spread except for May and June, due to few college application deadlines during the period. Most importantly, the test windows have been designed for juniors and other test takers that might consider taking the test early.
The number of test dates in the fall is high, making it challenging to take two consecutive SATs. This is because by the time your score will be out, the late registration deadline for the next test will have passed.
Sometimes you may want to get ahead and register for SAT before your results are out, but this might be a waste of money because your scores might be higher than anticipated. It is not advisable to take back-to-back SATs because that doesn’t give you adequate time to make most of the retake, and you might end up with little improvement.
SAT Test Date & Registration Deadlines
It is crucial to know the date you want to take the test and the center before thinking about the SAT registration process. To sign up for SAT, you need to go to the College Board website and create an account, and you can ask your counselor or parent to help you register if you can’t. You will have to provide your official name and other identifying information. Always ensure this information matches your ID photo.
You can decide if you want to answer other questions about personal information. Although this takes time, it is important because it is the information that will be sent to colleges and even scholarship agencies.
Decide if you will take the SAT without essay or SAT with essay and then explore available locations and test dates available. Upload your photo as per the provided requirement. Lastly, make the payment and print your admission ticket.
SAT Testing Date Deadlines
The SAT test date deadlines are:
- August 28, 2021
- October 2, 2021
- November 6, 2021
- December 4, 2021
- March 12, 2022
- May 7, 2022
- June 4, 2022
When to Take the SAT Test?
Every student’s schedule is unique, but generally the College Board recommends that first time students take the SAT test in the Spring of their Junior year. Spring testing dates (offered in March, May, and June) give students the ability to take advantage of super scoring by taking the exam twice.
Many colleges use super scoring in their admission process by combining individual subject scores from multiple test dates to compute a better overall composite score. This means that if you took the test twice and got the same composite score each time, you could combine your highest Math score with your highest EBRW score to possibly get a higher composite score.
That’s why taking the test early is always better than waiting and taking it twice is always better than taking it once.
When to Register for the SAT?
SAT registration dates and deadlines are typically one month before the actual testing date. So, if you wanted to take the test on October 5, you’ll need to register on September 5. Late SAT registration dates are typically available 18 days before the test date. If you miss this final registration day, you’ll have to wait until the next available testing day.
Before you worry about registering for the SAT, you have to set a testing date. Look at the testing schedule above and pick the date that you want to take the test. Keep in mind, that it’s most advantageous to sit for the test as soon as you can. That way it will give you the opportunity to take it a second time if you need to.
After you have a testing date picked out, follow test schedule table above to see when you need to sign up for the test. This way you won’t miss your registration deadline and you’ll be able to sit for the test when you want to.
Where Can You Take the SAT?
The College Board administers SAT nationally in several centers, often in high schools and colleges. Interestingly, not all test centers will be open on a given testing date, and the number of seats is not the same.
Therefore, you can take the SAT anywhere depends on your preference, test date, and availability of seats. You can check with the counselor of your school as a test center, and if not, you can find one closest to you and offering the SAT on your preferred date. You can either search the SAT test center locations online on the College Board’s site or use Zip Codes.
How long it takes to get your SAT results?
The length of time it takes to get your SAT results varies depending on the time of year you take the test.
Usually, SAT scores will be available online after 13 days since the test date, and if you took the essay section, it would be 15 days. Since students sit SATs on Saturdays, the scores will be out on the second Friday after the test date.
However, for the summer SAT testing date in June, you should be ready to wait up to five weeks.
Can I Retake the SAT & Change My Test Date?
Most students will take the test for the first time in the spring of junior years, and at this time, one has almost three years of coursework. However, there are still chances of retaking the exam if your scores are unsatisfactory the first time.
You can retake the exam up to three times, but you should consider if it will improve your score first. If you have taken the test three times, it is unlikely that you will get meaningful improvement beyond. Retaking can also give you an advantage because some colleges use super-scoring for admission, where your highest scores in both sections are considered.
Although you can retake the SATs any time, it is advisable to retake during the August, October, and November test dates before college application deadlines. You can pick any test date and register to take the test to boost your score.
