What to Do After Receiving SAT Subject Test Scores

If you’ve taken an SAT Subject Test in June or earlier, you are going to be receiving your score very soon, if you haven’t already. You’ll be able to access your score by logging into your College Board student account and viewing your full score report.

While you wait for your scores you come in, you may have been thinking of a certain goal score that you’re hoping to achieve. Once you receive your score, you’ll either hit that goal or fall below it. Based on how your score report turns out, you’ll have a few options for how to proceed. To learn what to do after receiving your SAT Subject Test Scores, read on.

If You Obtained Your Goal Score

Congratulations! You clearly studied hard, and all of those weeks of hard work paid off! To top it all off, you don’t have to take that SAT Subject Test ever again if you don’t want to! Once you’re done celebrating, however, there are some action items you ought to take care of.

If you’re applying to college this year…

Send your SAT Subject Test Scores to the colleges that you are applying to. Keep in mind that not all colleges require you to take SAT Subject Tests, so you should make sure that you are sending your scores to the colleges that do require them before you think about spending extra money on sending your scores to the colleges that don’t require them.

If you’re not applying to college this year…

If you’re not applying to college this year or if you still have to take more SAT Subject Tests before you fulfill the requirements set by the colleges you’re applying to, go back to the College Board website and register for another SAT Subject Test. This one should be in a different subject than the one you just completed, but it should be in a subject area that you feel confident you would score well in.

Also, make sure that you check the requirements of the colleges you are applying to and see if there are specific SAT Subject Tests that they require. You should also be sure to select an SAT Subject Test date that fits your schedule and gives you ample time to study.

If You Didn’t Obtain Your Goal Score

We’re sorry to hear that. Rest assured, however, that this isn’t the end of the world. There are plenty of options for you to retake the test and improve your score if you’re willing to try. On the other hand, maybe that specific subject wasn’t the best one for you, and it’s time to give another subject test a try. Here are some things you should consider doing if you did not reach your goal score:

Retesting

SAT Subject Tests are offered as often as SAT test dates are, so you have plenty of time, at this point, to keep studying for the test and take it again. Here’s a list of the available SAT Subject Test Dates for the next year:

Hold On…Is Retesting the Best Option For You?

While retesting is the only surefire way for you to have a shot at improving your score, it may end up doing more damage than good. If you want to retake the same SAT Subject Test, you need to make sure that you have a few weeks to study for at least a few hours per day.

Also, if you’re a senior who is trying to get all of their application materials submitted before the deadline, you also need to make sure that you’ll be taking the test in time to send your score to colleges.

As a general rule, if you think that you’re going to be busy with schoolwork and extracurriculars in the coming weeks/months, don’t sign up to retake the test just yet. Wait until a long school holiday or even a time in the school year when you’re not as busy before you consider adding an SAT Subject Test to your workload. Otherwise, you may not be able to study enough to actually increase your score. At that point, the money you spend to take the test is simply being wasted.

Do You Need To Choose a New SAT Subject Test?

Here’s something to consider: maybe the SAT Subject Test you signed up for wasn’t the best subject for you. Of course, we at CollegeVine understand if you need to take a certain subject test because a college requires it, but if you can choose which subject test to take, take the one that you’re going to score the highest in.

If you’re unsure which SAT Subject Test you’d be best at, try answering a few SAT Subject Test practice exam questions for the specific test that you are considering. You can easily find practice questions for SAT Subject Tests online, especially via College Board. Use these practice questions to gauge the difficulty level of each exam and see whether you would be good at answering the type of questions in each exam.  

For More Information

Want to learn more about SAT Subject Tests and what they entail? Here are some blog posts that might interest you:

Why Should You Take SAT Subject Tests?

5 Strategies for Tackling SAT Subject Tests

Choosing The Right SAT II’s For You

Complete List of SAT Subject Tests