What You Need to Know About Submitting ACT & SAT Scores to Colleges

A good ACT or Sat score is always considered as a remarkable record when the time comes to apply for colleges, but when you want your scores to be helpful on your applications, it first needs to be in the correct hands. 

The reports directly sent to the colleges you have chosen from the testing agencies will provide your test performances clearly to the institutions. 

When and how to send your test scores to colleges? What is superscoring? What are the other opportunities available if you do not meet the score required which may be due to any reason- these are the common questions which come up to your mind. 

In this article, we aim to provide details regarding everything you must know before submitting your ACT and SAT scores in order to effectively join a good college to pursue your education and future goals.

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How to submit the scores?

There are different ways to do so but here is an official and simple step by step process to submit your scores.

To submit SAT scores:

• Go to the College Board website and sign in to your account.

• Click on Send Scores, and then either Send Available Scores Now or Send Scores When Available, whichever applies to you.

• Add your preferred colleges to the recipients’ list. They are sorted by state and by name. Do this until your list is complete.

• Double-check to make sure that everything is correct.

• Pay the corresponding fees.

• Regularly check your account to monitor if the scores have been sent.

To submit ACT scores:

• Log into your account on the ACT website

• Click “Send Your Scores”

• Select the test date for the scores you wish to send

• Enter the college codes (Up to eight per report order request)

• Submit the information required for payment

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How does It Work?

Basically, your score reports are considered to be an official record of your standardized test scores which is used by the colleges you have applied for to verify your performance and ability to handle the education provided by the college. 

Here are a few points, you as a student, should know. 

• Score choice is something that every student must know. As a student, you will be given a choice to pick and choose which test sessions you include on the report which mainly depends on the test, colleges you have chosen and the options you have selected and this choice is known as Score choice.

• You will have many opportunities to manage scores both before and after test day. One of the main opportunities comes when you register for the test, the point at which you are given a chance to specify a limited number of colleges to receive those scores. It will assume that you have your plan sorted at the time you register for the test.

• If you are taking up SAT, you are given an opportunity to make use of your four free score reports to send scores up to nine days after your test dates. 

• But when it comes to the ACT, after the test date, any score reports you send will incur a fee and will take about a week to be processed. 

• If you want a rush delivery or the reporting of scores that are very old, then you will be incurred an additional fee. 

• You can order score reports online by logging into your College Board for the SAT and ACT account for the ACT once you are done with your test. You can also order by mail or by phone but there will be certain restrictions. 

• As score reports take some time to process and send, make sure you are aware of deadlines in the colleges you have applied for submitting scores.

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What About Superscoring?

 Many ambitious students take their standardized tests more than once hoping they will improve their scores one day for sure which is clearly a sign of a good attitude that is “never give up”. 

Each time you take the SAT or ACT, you will receive a total overall score and you will also be able to see the subscores of different sections of the test that was used to calculate the overall score which helps you know in which section you are lacking so that you can work more on that part of the test.

If a college super scores the SAT or ACT, it means when you apply, the college which looks out for all the test scores of yours and selects the highest score you have obtained on every subsection, it doesn’t matter if the subscores come from the same test administration. 

The institution will then calculate an overall SAT or ACT score for you based on these high scores again after all the changes, despite whether they all happened during the same test administration and use that overall test score for admissions purposes.

Technically speaking, Superscoring will allow you to maximize your test scores and represent your best performance on every section of the test, even if those performances didn’t happen on the same day which is clearly an advantage that can work for you to join a good college. But this method is not used by all the colleges which is a drawback.

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Colleges that are known for having superscore SAT and ACT

Here are a few colleges that are known to superscore the SAT and the ACT. 

Universities that have Superscore SAT are as follows:

Georgetown University	Columbia University
Brown University	New York University
Notre Dame University	Yale University
Stanford University	University of Chicago
Duke University	Johns Hopkins University

Universities that Superscore ACT are as follows:

California Institute of Technology	Claremont McKenna College
Pomona College	Tufts University
Johns Hopkins University	Washington University in St. Louis
University of Chicago	Duke University
Brandeis University	Amherst College

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What to do if you have a low test score?

Do not lose hope if you don’t score as per your expectations. You don’t really have to worry much. There are various things you can do if you get low marks. 

• It is very important to study and be prepared for all the topics and subtopics you will see on the SAT and ACT, as it is considered to be essential for the college admission process. Colleges that require standardized tests need official score reports in order to make their decisions and there is no other way around it.

• Some colleges will allow you to pick and choose which test the administration’s scores you are willing to send to a particular school. The program is officially named as Score Choice and it can be a great option if you initially got a low score on the SAT or ACT, but raised your score considerably in a subsequent administration.

• There are many colleges and other programs that don’t allow you to use Score Choice, and instead require you to submit all the scores you’ve received from all test sessions including some high-profile and popular schools as well as some scholarship programs. 

• In cases where you leave the test location due to a genuine reason, you may have an additional option of canceling your test scores. You can fill out a cancellation form in person at the testing location on your way out, or you can send it via fax or overnight mail within the next few days, whichever method you are doing, you will have to do it as early as possible. 

• Take a minute and think carefully if this is what you want to do- cancel your test because there is no way you can go back and take up that test. But if you take up that test even though you know it won’t go well, it is a good chance for you to analyze your weaknesses and you can work more on it if you are planning to take up the test again. However, you will have opportunities to retake the test before application deadlines.

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Conclusion 

It is important to have a good score in the ACT and SAT in order to get into a commendable college. Methods like Superscoring and score choice will make it easy to manage your test scores when it is a little more complicated, but will also help you to set your admission strategy. Even if your colleges of choice don’t participate in these programs, it’s best that you find this out and understand what it means for you before you take your SAT and/or ACT.

We hope the details provided about SAT and Act in this article are helpful and sufficient.