Retaking the SAT

If you’ve ever opened up your College Board account to retrieve your scores and not liked what you found… well, you’re not alone. About half of all SAT takers retake the exam, and there are a lot of benefits to doing so. In fact, taking the exam multiple times correlates with improved admission rates and higher test scores.  But, just like taking the test itself, you should approach taking and retaking the SAT strategically.  

When You Should Retake the SAT

There are lots of scenarios where retaking the SAT can provide a significant advantage. One of the best cases for retaking the SAT is when your score falls meaningfully below the middle 50% range for your target schools– even if they’re not strongly selective. If your score is in that middle 50% range or well above it, you have less to worry about. But if you’re below that range, you should retake. Even a slight increase can change how competitive your application appears. 

Another good reason to retake the test is if you have one section that drags down an otherwise strong score. Your SAT is scored by section, and if you have one weak area, it is worth it to work on those skills and then retake the test. For example, a student with a strong Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score but a much lower Math score may want to retake the exam after focused math preparation. Colleges will see your section scores, and improving a single weak area can strengthen your academic profile without needing a dramatic overall jump.

Some students think that taking the SAT early can give them an advantage– after all, it’s good to see where your weak areas are early, right? The problem with this is that if you take the SAT in your sophomore year, there’s a good chance that you haven’t had Algebra II yet. Taking the test before completing the key coursework where you develop the skills being tested can lead to low scores– and you may see natural improvement after additional instruction and academic maturity. A retake later in junior year or early senior year is often warranted in these cases.

Your test-day circumstances can also impact your performance, sometimes in ways that you cannot predict. This is especially true for students who have never taken this sort of test before and might not know they experience test anxiety in this situation. Anxiety, technology problems, illness, major distractions, or myriad other unpredictable variables may lead to a score that just doesn’t reflect your true potential. This is one reason that practice tests are so important; they help you become familiar with the test format, and they give you an idea about what to expect. If your official test score is significantly different from your typical practice test score, something has gone wrong and a retake may be warranted.

When You Should Not Retake the SAT

While most students who retake the SAT benefit from a second attempt, not everyone will. Partially, it depends on your target schools. Unless you’re applying to a highly selective school, if your score falls within or above the middle 50% of the accepted range, a retake offers little return. 

For example, let’s look at two students who want to attend Indiana University, where the middle 50% of their accepted SAT range is 1250–1450. Student A earned a 1220 on their SAT, and Student B earned a 1380. The average increase on the SAT between retakes is 40 points. Obviously, Student A should retake. But should Student B? If they have a strong GPA and four years of an extracurricular activity, they probably don’t need to retake the test unless they want to invest serious prep time and effort. A 40 point increase at that level is unlikely to be statistically meaningful to the admissions reader, and the time spent studying and preparing to retest could be better invested elsewhere. This is not true for selective schools like Harvard, where those 40 points really matter– but for state schools and even many smaller schools, that median range is a much safer admissions zone.

You also need to consider admissions deadlines, because retaking the SAT without enough time to prepare rarely leads to better results. If you’re registering for a test date just weeks before a college deadline, the odds of improvement are low unless you have a clear plan to address weaknesses. Timing can also play a role in retesting when your time might be better spent elsewhere. If retesting would pull time away from advanced coursework, leadership roles, AP exam prep, or maintaining grades, the trade-off may not be worth it. Talk to your guidance counselor about your options if you have a lot of academic work going on and worry that a retest may affect other outcomes. 

Finally, we need to talk about the test-optional elephant in the room. Even if your college list is mostly test-optional institutions, a high score can only add value. But what about a low score? 

In this case, retesting only makes sense if there is a strong likelihood of a meaningful improvement. If your score doesn’t add clear value, a retake may be unnecessary. If you have strong grades, rigorous coursework, and compelling extracurriculars, but your test score doesn’t reflect your abilities, you may choose not to submit it at all. 

But if you think you can improve your score significantly to reach a number that can add clear value, it can be worth it to do some strategic preparation and then retake the exam. Submitting a higher score can help reinforce academic readiness and provide additional context alongside grades and coursework. This is a challenging balancing act, and you should talk to your guidance counselor or an admissions expert about what the best course of action is. 

How Many Times Can You Retake the SAT?

There is no limit to how many times you can retake the SAT, but after too many retakes, you will likely see diminishing returns in your improvements– especially if you’re just taking the test and not doing smart preparation between your exams. If you have a fee waiver, you can take the test twice for free with a fee waiver. Any retakes after the first will cost money. However, the fee waiver will apply to your unlimited free score reports, even after the second test. 

Preparing to Retake the SAT

A retake is most productive when it is paired with a specific preparation strategy. But taking the test again without a plan rarely produces meaningful gains. It just doesn’t make sense to do the same thing again and expect a different result, right? 

First, you need to identify why your score was lower than expected. Some things will be obvious as you take the test. For example, if you didn’t finish the test, then there’s clearly a pacing issue. Other issues might be less obvious, and you’ll need to take a closer look at your score breakdown. These issues don’t feel dramatic on test day, but they still suppress scores in predictable ways. Maybe you think there’s a content gap you just can’t identify, but you’re actually performing a pattern of careless errors. Or maybe you think that you’re losing points on the most advanced questions– but score breakdowns often reveal that the majority of lost points come from medium-difficulty questions the test expects most students to answer correctly. 

One of the best reasons to work with an SAT tutor is that these patterns, which can be very difficult to spot and even harder to correct, are much easier to deal with when you have professional help. At Prep Expert®, all of our SAT instructors are top 1% scorers, so they know exactly how to overcome the patterns and pitfalls you may face. If you’ve already taken the SAT and want to retake it for a higher score, we can help you identify and target your weak areas and lead you through test prep that guarantees at least a 200 point increase. Ready for retake prep that actually works? Browse our SAT course catalog to see what options are available for your next test date!