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SAT Retake: 3 Reasons You Should Retake the Test

Retaking the SAT is pretty common, but it can also be a real headache. An SAT retake means more time, more testing fees, and a risk that you still won’t get your ideal score the next time around. So if you’re going to retake the SAT, make sure you’re retaking it for the right reasons. Here are a few reasons to consider an SAT retake.

Reason # 1 for SAT retake: At the end of the testing session, you’re pretty sure you did poorly

Sometimes, as you walk away from the testing center, you can just feel it—you didn’t do as well as you’d hoped. But how poorly did you do? You won’t know for sure until you see your test scores… and that’ll take about three weeks.

Not knowing your exact score puts you in a tricky position, one where an SAT retake might be your best option. You’re probably already busy with your high school classes and your other responsibilities. Studying for a retake can be very time consuming. Do you wait for your scores to make sure that a retake is worth it? Or do you begin preparing for a retake right away, just in case?

This decision hinges on a few different factors. First, you should consider the timing of a retake in relation to college application deadlines. If the next available SAT test date is too late for the upcoming round of college application deadlines, you may as well wait and see what your scores actually are. If your SAT score is too low, you’ll need to delay applying by at least a semester anyway; this means that there will be plenty of time for a retake. And of course, maybe your SAT won’t be as bad as you thought and you’ll be able to get into school without any delays—fingers crossed!

Hopefully though, you’ve taken the SAT early enough to give yourself time for a retake if necessary. If you think you may have done badly on the SAT but you still have time for a retake or two, start studying for your next attempt right away. That way you’ll be fully prepared for a retake on the next test date, if need be. If you get your scores and realize you don’t actually need an SAT retake, you can simply stop studying.

To make sure you have time to retake the SAT and sufficiently prepare for a retake, keep an eye on upcoming SAT test dates and deadlines. Be aware of the application deadlines for the schools you’re applying to as well.

Reason # 2 for SAT retake: Your scores from your first SAT attempt aren’t competitive

If your SAT score is below a school’s clearly stated minimum, then obviously you’ll need to retake the exam. However, not all schools have a strict minimum cutoff. As a result, you’ll often need to make a retake decision based on the competitiveness of your SAT score, rather than a specific benchmark.

Schools that don’t have a precise minimum SAT requirement will usually post the average SAT scores of accepted students. To give one example, Penn State’s admission statistics show an SAT score range of 1060 to 1250 for the middle 50% of the students they accept.

If your SAT score is disappointing but still in the lower end of a school’s middle 50% range, you’ve probably still got a competitive score. On the other hand, if you’re below the middle 50% SAT score range for a school, you should definitely consider retaking the SAT.

Reason # 3 for SAT retake: You did poorly on the SAT Essay (and are applying to schools where that matters)

Suppose you get a good composite score on the general exam but a bad score on the optional SAT Essay. If you’re applying to one of the few schools that requires the SAT Essay, a bad essay score obviously means a retake.

However, most schools don’t actually require an SAT Essay score. Some schools that don’t require the essay will simply ignore a bad SAT score. Other schools (that treat the essay as optional) will still consider poor SAT Essay performance in their admissions decisions. If you’ve gotten really low marks on your SAT Essay, contact your target schools and ask them how they handle optional essay scores. If it turns out that your bad essay score can hurt your chances of admission, you should probably cancel your SAT scores and retake the SAT… perhaps without the optional essay the second time around.

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For nearly ten years, David Recine has been teaching students ranging from K-12 to university age. He is a test prep expert; writing articles for Magoosh that cover everything from tricky SAT vocab words to complex ACT math topics. You can read more of David’s testing-related blog posts on the Magoosh High School Blog.