SAT

Overview

The SAT is a college admissions test owned and administered by the College Board, a US-based nonprofit. Since 2024, the SAT has been fully digital: students take it on a laptop or tablet through the College Board's Bluebook app rather than on paper. The test has two sections, Reading and Writing and Math, and runs about 2 hours and 14 minutes, not counting breaks. Colleges and universities, mainly in the United States, use SAT scores alongside grades and other factors in admissions decisions.

Who can apply

The College Board does not set a minimum age or grade for taking the SAT, and most students take it in 11th or 12th grade while applying to college. Students under 13 need a parent or guardian to complete an account-creation consent form before registering. Students register for themselves with their own College Board account; a parent, teacher or counselor cannot register on a student's behalf. The SAT is offered both as "SAT Weekend," which any student can register for individually at a test center, and as "SAT School Day," which schools and districts schedule and register students for during the school day.

Exam pattern

Reading and Writing questions are drawn from four domains: Craft and Structure, Information and Ideas, Standard English Conventions, and Expression of Ideas. A calculator (an embedded Desmos tool, with graphing or scientific modes) is available on-screen throughout the Math section; students may also bring their own approved calculator.

Modules

Both sections use a multistage adaptive design. Within each section, the first module gives every student the same mix of easier and harder questions. How a student performs on that first module decides which second module they get: a module that is, on the whole, somewhat harder, or one that is somewhat easier. Roughly half of test takers are routed to the harder second module and half to the easier one. This routing happens once per section (after Reading and Writing's first module, and again after Math's first module) and is not visible to the student during the test.

Syllabus

Reading and Writing passages and questions cover vocabulary in context, reading comprehension, rhetorical synthesis, grammar and usage, and how ideas and evidence are expressed and connected across short texts. Math covers algebra, advanced math (including functions and nonlinear equations), problem-solving and data analysis (including statistics and ratios), and geometry and trigonometry.

Marking and results

Students receive a Total Score from 400 to 1600, made up of two Section Scores from 200 to 800 each: one for Reading and Writing and one for Math. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so every question should be attempted. Scores from SAT Weekend test dates are typically released about 10 business days after the test, with scores for most students available throughout the release day; scores from SAT School Day are generally released about two weeks after the school's testing window ends.

Important dates

SAT Weekend test dates and their regular registration deadlines for the 2026-27 cycle, as published by the College Board:

All deadlines end at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. A later registration window stays open after the regular deadline for a late fee. For the 2026-27 cycle, SAT School Day, PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 8/9 run in a testing window of 1-30 October 2026 for fall and 1 March-30 April 2027 for spring; schools handle registration for these.

Fees

For the 2026-27 cycle, in US dollars:

Low-income 11th and 12th grade students in the US, US territories, or US citizens living abroad can qualify for a fee waiver through their school counselor or the College Board's online fee waiver process. A fee waiver covers two SAT Weekend tests at no cost, with no international fee and no late registration or cancellation fees, plus unlimited score reports to colleges and waived application fees at participating colleges.

How to apply

1. Create a free College Board account (or sign in to an existing one); the student completes this personally.

2. Choose a test date and a test center, checking seat availability, since not every center has open seats for every date.

3. Enter identifying details and upload a photo that matches how the student will look on test day.

4. Pay the registration fee (or apply the fee waiver code from a school counselor) and submit the registration; the process takes about 30 minutes and can be paused and resumed.

5. Before test day, install and set up the Bluebook app on an approved device (Windows or Mac computer, iPad, or school-managed Chromebook; personal Chromebooks and phones are not supported) and complete any required exam setup steps inside the app.

6. On test day, bring an acceptable photo ID if testing away from the student's own school, or a notarized College Board Student ID Form if no photo ID is available.

After the exam

Each SAT Weekend registration includes up to four free score reports to colleges or scholarship programs, selected at registration or shortly after scores are released; sending reports later, or to more than four recipients, costs a fee unless the student has a fee waiver. Through Score Choice, a student who has taken the SAT more than once can choose which test date's scores to send, though some colleges ask to see scores from every sitting; a single send always covers both section scores from one test date together, not a mix from different dates. Students can retake the SAT on any future test date.

Preparation tips

• Use Official Digital SAT Prep on Khan Academy, a free practice course built with the College Board that gives personalized practice questions, videos and lessons by skill area.

• Take full-length practice tests inside the Bluebook app itself, under the same timing as the real test, to get used to the adaptive module format and the on-screen tools (annotation, line reader, answer eliminator, and a flag for review).

• Practice both with and without the built-in calculator on Math questions, since some Math questions are faster to solve without one.

• Set up and test the approved device and the Bluebook app well before test day, rather than on the morning of the exam.

FAQs