What To Expect on SAT® Score Release Day

Student showing excitement after seeing their SAT scores on release day

Important SAT Update: Transition to Digital SAT
Effective December 3, 2023, the traditional paper-and-pencil format of the SAT has been discontinued. Starting in 2024, all students are required to take the Digital SAT, ushering in substantial changes in duration, format, material coverage, and question types. This shift to the Digital SAT represents a departure from traditional testing methods. It is crucial for students, educators, and test-takers to acquaint themselves with the new examination structure. Read more about the Digital SAT here.

If you just finished taking the SAT®, you must now be waiting for your scores to be released. In this blog, we will tell you what you can anticipate on the SAT score release day. We will also discuss the time of day SAT scores release, how you can check your scores, and more.

What Time Do SAT Scores Come Out?

On the first day of every SAT score release, one batch of scores is released early in the morning and another batch is released late in the afternoon. The College Board® states that the scores start releasing at 5:00 am (EST) and all the scores of the first batch are released by 8:00 am. The second batch of SAT scores releases in the 4:00-6:00 pm time frame (EST). You should know that many students do not receive their scores on the first day. If you are one of those students, don’t worry! You will probably receive your score within the next few days. However, if your score is not out after a week of the score release dates, you should contact the College Board.

Here are a couple of other things to keep in mind:

  • Unlike AP scores, SAT scores are not released by location. So using a VPN will not help you get them any faster.
  • There is a possibility that students in the same test center or even in the same room may have a different SAT score release time. So, do not get stressed if your friends get their results before you — it doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong.

How To See SAT Scores?

Checking your SAT scores is easy! All you need to do is visit College Board’s official website and follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to your College Board account
  2. From your account, either go to “My SAT” or just “SAT” from the drop-down menu
Dashboard of the College Board Student Account
Dropdown options for “My SAT” in the College Board Student Account
  1. You will be able to see your scores by just scrolling down your SAT page
“My Scores” dashboard showing SAT scores in the College Board Student Account

If you are unable to access your scores, it might be due to one of the following reasons:

  • You need to update your account information
  • You need to verify your account
  • You used another College Board account for your SAT registration

Now that you know how to see your scores, read our SAT scoring guide to understand how scores are calculated and how different section scores make up your final score.

What Causes Delays In SAT Scores Coming Out?

It takes a great deal of time for SAT scores to be released with hundreds of thousands of students taking the test. In addition, there are many steps involved in processing the scores of each student. This is what happens after you take the test:

  • Your test sheet is sent to College Board headquarters
  • Your answer sheet is scanned to check how many questions you answered correctly. This is how your raw scores are calculated
  • Your raw scores are converted to scaled scores
  • Finally, your composite score is calculated on a scale of 400-1600

This entire process takes several weeks to complete. If your friends who took the SAT on the same date as you received their scores but you haven’t, it may be due to the following reasons:

  • There was a delay in sending your answer sheet to the College Board
  • Some information was missing on your answer sheet
  • The information you provided on your answer sheet does not match your registration information
  • You rescheduled your test

How late can SAT scores come out?

According to the College Board, SAT scores are typically made available online around 13 days after your test date. For the tests taken on Saturdays, scores generally release on the second Friday. For the tests taken on weekdays, scores may take three weeks to come out. Note that the scores of June SAT are released later in July.

When Do Colleges Get Your SAT Score?

Score reports are sent on a rolling basis around 10 days after the SAT score release dates; however, if you took the SAT with Essay, it may take several additional days for colleges to receive your scores. Rush reports are generally delivered to colleges on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Non-rush reports are delivered once a week, generally on Wednesdays. The College Board may deliver scores on different days or less frequently due to conflicting schedules.

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