Navigating College Admissions: Do Colleges Require All SAT Scores?

The SAT is a standardized test widely used by colleges and universities in the United States as part of their admissions process. The acronym SAT was once short for Scholastic Aptitude Test, and later, Scholastic Assessment Test. Many colleges consider the SAT an important indicator for the academic component of a student's application, alongside other factors, such as high school GPA, and the breadth and rigor of your secondary courses. The SAT provides a standardized metric that helps admissions officers compare students on an equal footing, regardless of the variations in high school curricula and grading scales. Given the importance of the SAT in the admissions process, it's natural to wonder whether colleges can see your SAT test history when you report scores, and whether they require you to submit all of them.

Understanding SAT Score Reporting Policies

The ways in which standardized tests are valued and evaluated is truly school-specific. Colleges have different policies when it comes to SAT score reporting. Some schools require students to submit all their SAT scores. Others allow students to choose which scores to send. The College Board, the organization that administers the SAT, offers score-reporting options to students.

Score Choice: With Score Choice, students can select which SAT scores they want to send to colleges.
All Scores: Some colleges require (or recommend) that students send all their SAT scores. This means that the colleges will have access to your entire test record, including scores from all the times you have taken the SAT.
Single Highest Sitting: A few colleges only consider your highest SAT scores from a single test sitting.

The answer to this question depends on the score reporting policy of the college you’re applying to. To clarify, the vast majority of colleges DO NOT REQUIRE STUDENTS TO SUBMIT ALL SCORES. They allow students to pick and choose which test scores to send. This process is, fittingly, called Score Choice.

Holistic Evaluation and Superscoring

Before you stress about your test-taking history, remember: colleges evaluate applications holistically. Though great SAT scores can boost your chances of getting into a top university, they are not the be-all-end-all of your application. This is why colleges align their college admissions services so that they support every aspect of a selective admissions process.

Colleges understand that students may take the SAT multiple times to improve their scores. Colleges use various methods to consider multiple SAT scores during the admissions process. Superscoring involves considering the highest section scores across multiple SAT test dates. For example, say you scored higher in the Math section on your second attempt but performed better in the Reading and Writing section on your first attempt. By using superscoring, colleges acknowledge that students have strengths in different areas. They aim to evaluate applicants based on their best performances.

Note that not all colleges practice superscoring. Some colleges consider your highest scores from a single test sitting. For one, seeing every score allows colleges and universities to get a better picture of their applicants. It is hard to define a student by a single test score. Also, requiring a full testing history gives colleges the chance to look at trends. If a student increases their scores, it means they know how to adapt to missteps and work toward success.

Factors to Consider Before Retaking the SAT

If students don’t reach their target score the first time you take the SAT or ACT, most of them opt to take the test again. Retaking the SAT can have both advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:

Improvement potential: Retaking the SAT gives you an opportunity to improve your scores.
Demonstrating growth: Retaking the SAT and achieving higher scores can showcase your dedication to self-improvement.

Disadvantages:

Diminishing returns: There may come a point where retaking the SAT does not yield significant score improvements.
Time and effort: Preparing for the SAT requires a significant investment of time and effort. Retaking the SAT means dedicating more hours to studying, taking practice tests, and test preparation courses.
Test anxiety: For some students, the pressure of retaking the SAT can lead to increased test anxiety.

Consider whether you think you can improve. If your first score was significantly higher than your practice tests, then you might want to sit that second SAT out. A big dip in scores from your first test to your second could lead to admissions officers questioning the validity of the higher score- was it just a fluke? If you are confident you can get a similar or higher score, then you shouldn’t have any qualms about sending in 2 test scores, but limit your retakes beyond that. Still, try to limit yourself- when you’ve taken the test 3 or 4 times, further retakes will yield diminishing returns.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

What are your most recent scores? Have you scored within the 75th percentile for your target school? If so, you might not need to retake the test. If not, you should probably consider taking the test again.
What are your score trends? Was your last score almost identical to the previous score? If you are not going to be able to show an upward trend, you might not want to take the test again. If your test scores have consistently improved at each administration, sending all of your scores will showcase your ability to study hard and learn from your mistakes. If you are consistently earning poor scores, it is a strong indicator that you are not well-equipped to handle the rigors of college.
How many times have you taken the test already? While this rule isn’t set in stone, there is a rule of thumb that you should not take the test more than 3-4 times. If you’ve only taken the test once or twice, feel free to take it again.

Colleges That Require All SAT Scores

As you’ll see in the list below, most colleges do not require students to report all test scores. If the schools you are looking at allow you to self report your scores and superscore across tests, then retakes won’t reflect poorly on a student.

One factor you might not have considered is which schools require you to send your entire SAT testing record. Unfortunately, you can't always hide your rotten SAT scores! If you're reading this and aren't sure which schools you're applying to yet, we recommend taking a careful look at the schools that require you to send all scores. In general, we only recommend taking (or retaking) the SAT after you've studied and are certain you'll get a decent score. Don't take the SAT for the first time as practice, or to get used to the test. We recommend taking the PSAT your sophomore and/or junior year to get the experience of taking the SAT and to receive a score without compromising your actual SAT score. If you have to retake the SAT, be sure to continue to study for both sections (Reading & Writing and Math), even if you're only trying to bring up one section's score.

Read also: Tar Heels' Championship History

Below is the complete list of four-year colleges and universities that require you to send all SAT scores, grouped by state. Look through this list carefully.

University of North Alabama
Southern Arkansas University
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Point Loma Nazarene University
Soka University of America
University of Colorado Denver
Holy Apostles College and Seminary
Georgetown University
Howard University
Delaware State University
Barry University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Southeastern University
Fort Valley State University
Dordt College
MacMurray College
Olivet Nazarene University
Saint Xavier University
Trinity Christian College
Grace College
Indiana Wesleyan University
Oakland City University
University of Saint Francis
Kansas Wesleyan University
University of Saint Mary
Kentucky Christian University
Grambling State University
Louisiana State University of Alexandria
Louisiana State University Shreveport
Nicholls State University
Andrews University
Cornerstone University
Sacred Heart Major Seminary
Oak Hills Christian College
Central Methodist University
Saint Louis University
Blue Mountain College
William Carey University
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of Jamestown
Mayville State University
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey
Barnard College
City College of New York
Colgate University
Cooper Union
Cornell University
Hunter College
Long Island University Brooklyn
New York School of Interior Design
Queens College (City University of New York)
United States Merchant Marine Academy
Art Academy of Cincinnati
Cameron University
East Central University
Rogers State University
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Western Oregon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
University of Puerto Rico at Cayey
University of Puerto Rico at Humacao
University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Columbia International University
The Citadel
Tennessee Technological University
Dallas Christian College
Howard Payne University
LeTourneau University
Midwestern State University
Rice University
**St. Mount St.

Important Considerations:

Georgetown University: "Georgetown University does not participate in the Score Choice option available through the College Board. Georgetown is unique among top universities in the US in that it requires you to send every single SAT, ACT, and SAT Subject test scores in with your application.
Cornell University: If you're applying to Cornell in the fall of 2026 or later, you will be required to submit standardized test scores - regardless of which school you are applying to. If you do choose to submit your scores, you must submit all of them. Cornell SC Johnson College of Business - Charles H. Cornell Jeb E.
University of Pennsylvania (UPenn): If you do choose to submit all your scores to UPenn, they use superscoring to evaluate them.
Carnegie Mellon University: If you do submit your scores, Carnegie Mellon allows superscoring of SAT results but not ACT results. If you do submit your scores, you are encouraged to report all scores.

Test-Optional Policies and COVID-19

As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, many schools broke with their normal testing policies and went test optional. That means schools with temporary test-optional policies will not require you to send your SAT scores as part of your admissions application, and not submitting SAT scores will not adversely impact your chances of getting in.

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