How To Cancel SAT® Scores

If you're not happy with how you did on your SAT, don't worry because you have the options. But before you decide to cancel, it's crucial to think through whether it's truly necessary. Our guide will walk you through the how and when of canceling your score and explore alternatives to ensure you're fully prepared to make the best decision for your future.

Should You Cancel Your SAT Score? (Pros vs. Cons)

Canceling SAT score results is a big decision, and it's irreversible. Before you cancel your SAT score you should weigh the pros and cons of canceling and whether you even need to have them canceled in the first place. 

Pros of Canceling:

• Peace of Mind: If you were sick, had a major distraction or feel certain you performed far below your potential, canceling can remove the stress of that bad score.
• Application Control: It prevents a score you're not proud of from ever being seen by colleges, even by accident.

Cons of Canceling:

• You Can't Be Sure: You might have done better than you think. Once you cancel, the score is gone forever, and you'll never know.
• Not Always Necessary: Many colleges allow "Score Choice" or "super-scoring," which makes one bad score less of a problem (more on this below).
• Wasted Time and Money: You've already spent the time and money on the test. You may have to spend it again to retake the test.

Alternatives to Canceling: SAT Score Choice

Before you cancel SAT score reports, you should know that canceling isn't your only option. Your core fear might be a bad score, but "Score Choice" is a critical alternative.

Score Choice is a College Board policy that lets you choose which SAT scores you send to colleges. If a college you're applying to accepts Score Choice, you can simply choose not to send the scores from that specific test date. The college will never see it. This is often a much safer strategy than canceling, as it allows you to see your score first before deciding whether to send it.

Strategic Implications: Canceling SAT Scores vs. Super-scoring

For high-achieving students managing an application profile, the decision goes beyond one bad score. It's about strategy.

• Super-scoring: Many colleges "super-score" the SAT, meaning they take your highest section scores (e.g., your best Math score and your best Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score) from all the SATs you've taken and combine them into a new, higher composite score.
• The Strategy: If a school super-scores, it may be strategically better to keep a low score if one of its sections (e.g., Math) is still your personal best. If you cancel the entire test, you lose that high section score. You must weigh the risk of a college seeing a low composite score against the benefit of them using a high section score for your super-score.

How to Cancel SAT Scores - Step by Step Guide

You have until 11:59 pm ET, one week after your testing date, to request a score cancellation. Once you request to cancel your SAT score, your results cannot be recovered or sent to colleges.

If you run into any technical issues during the test, make sure to tell your proctor immediately. If you decide to cancel your scores because of this, specify on the cancellation form which part of the test was impacted by the technical problem. If you don't, all the scores from that testing day will be canceled.

To cancel SAT scores, you need to know:

• ✔ Your test date
• ✔ Your registration number
• ✔ Your test center number
• ✔ The test center's name

This is how you can cancel your SAT scores:

1. Visit mysat.collegeboard.org to log in to your account.
2. Check your SAT administration date in the "My Scores" section.
3. Select the option “Unsure about scores?"
4. Consent to the Cancellation of SAT Scores Agreement and proceed with the provided instructions to finalize the cancellation process.

SAT Score Cancellation: Frequently Asked Questions