Should I submit my SAT score or retake?
Enter your SAT score and add the colleges on your list. For each one, see where your score sits in its middle 50%, what it reported about testing, and whether to submit, retake or apply test-optional.
By Kim Strauch · Last updated · Free, no signup required
400 to 1600. Use your superscore if your colleges accept it.
Four-year colleges in the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
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How to read your results
Each college reports the 25th and 75th percentile SAT scores of the first-year students who enrolled. The span between them is the middle 50%. The bar for each college shows that range, its median, and where your score lands.
What each suggestion means
- Submit: your score is at or above the median, or the college requires scores and yours is already in range.
- Your call: the college is test-optional and your score is in the lower half of its range. Send it if the rest of your application is strong.
- Consider test-optional: the college is test-optional and your score is below its range.
- Consider a retake: the college expects scores and yours is below its range.
The College Scorecard reports Reading and Writing and Math separately, so the total range adds the two section ranges. That runs a little wider than the true total range. Add your section scores in the tool to compare each one directly.
Submitting scores to test-optional colleges
At a test-optional college, a score you send becomes part of your application, and one you leave off isn't held against you. The question is whether your score helps. A common rule of thumb is to submit at or above the college's median, since that score supports the rest of your file instead of raising a question.
Policies change. The policy shown here is what each college reported for its fall 2024 class, and several selective colleges have since gone back to requiring scores. Our guide to what test-optional really means explains the different policies, and how colleges use SAT scores covers what happens to your score once you send it.
When a retake is worth it
A retake makes the most sense when a modest gain moves you into a college's range, or past its median at a test-optional college. The tool shows the score to aim for at each college. If that's within reach with a few weeks of focused practice, a retake can turn a "maybe" into a clear "submit."
Many colleges superscore, so a retake only has to raise one section. Read our SAT superscore guide and when a retake makes sense, or estimate a practice test with the SAT score calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Should I submit my SAT score to a test-optional college?
Usually, if it's at or above the college's median. Inside the middle 50% but below the median, it's a judgment call that depends on how strong the rest of your application is. Below the 25th percentile, most students are better off applying without it.
What does a college's middle 50% SAT range mean?
It's the span from the 25th to the 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the low end and a quarter scored above the high end, so a score inside the range is typical for that college.
Is a score below the 25th percentile too low?
Not on its own. A quarter of enrolled students scored there or lower. But at a college that requires scores, a retake that lifts you into the range strengthens your application, and at a test-optional college you can leave the score off.
Should I enter my superscore?
If your colleges superscore, yes. Most colleges that consider the SAT combine your best Reading and Writing and best Math from different test dates. If a college doesn't, use your best single-sitting score for it.
How current is this data?
The SAT ranges and testing policies are what colleges reported for students who enrolled in fall 2024, published in the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Several colleges have changed their testing policies since, so confirm each one on its admissions site.
Why doesn't a college show an SAT range?
Colleges only report score ranges when enough enrolled students submitted scores. Test-blind colleges, and some test-optional colleges where few students sent scores, report no range.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education: College Scorecard
- National Center for Education Statistics: IPEDS admissions survey
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