SAT Prep – Cancelling Scores

Voluntary Cancellation of Scores

While the College Board allows test-takers to voluntarily cancel their SAT scores, this step should only be taken after serious consideration. Students may cancel their scores if they lack confidence in their SAT performance or if they experienced a sudden illness during the testing period. Students may cancel their scores no later than 11:59pm Eastern Time one week after their test date. Students who wish to cancel their SAT School Day scores must request a cancellation by asking a school staff member to submit a student-requested cancellation form. Cancellation requests must be submitted within five days of the test date, although those students with disabilities who received approved accommodations have until the Monday one week after their test date to cancel scores.

It is important to note that fees paid to the College Board for individual test administrations, including registration, extra score reports, and any additional services purchased, are not refundable if a student cancels his or her scores.

Involuntary Cancellation of Scores

Scores will be cancelled involuntarily for instances of academic dishonesty, such as sharing information with another student, removing testing materials from the test room, or using prohibited materials such as cell phones, textbooks, or notes of any type. Involuntary cancellation of scores can also occur as a result of fraud, such as taking the test on behalf of someone else. Involuntary score cancellation includes forfeiture of all applicable fees.

Procedure for Voluntary Cancellation of Scores

Scores may be voluntarily canceled at the testing center or after a student leaves the testing center. If a student is canceling his or her scores at the testing center, he or she will need to log into their College Board account, select “My Scores,” and search for their specific SAT administration date. There will be a link next to that test date that says, “Unsure about scores.” After clicking on the link, students will see language asking them to “agree to the cancellation of SAT scores.” After following the provided instructions and clicking “agree,” SAT score cancellation will be complete, meaning the exam will not be graded and the student will not receive his or her scores.

Cancellation of scores is permanent and cannot be reconsidered at a later date. Cancelled scores are not calculated by the College Board, and neither students nor institutions will receive score reports for those administrations of the test. There is no separate fee for cancelling scores, but no test registration refunds are given.

Cancellation or Change of Registration

Students who decide not to take the SAT before the test date may cancel their registration outright, or they may request a different test date and/or test location. Requesting to change testing centers costs $34 and only changes the location at which the student will take the test; to change the testing date, a student must cancel their current registration and register for a new test. When a student cancels their test registration before 11:59pm Eastern Time on the Thursday before test day, they will receive a full refund of their registration fee, although they are also charged a cancellation fee of $34. If the student cancels their exam after the given deadline, they are charged a $44 cancellation fee. If the student received a fee waiver as part of taking the SAT, the unused fee waiver benefits will be returned to the student for future use. 

When to Consider Cancelling Scores

First and foremost, students should approach the issue of score cancellation cautiously. Test-related anxiety can lead to impulsive action, and anxiety alone is not a legitimate reason to throw away hours of concentrated effort (not to mention the costs associated with each test attempt, which include test and registration fees, transportation expenses, and other financial obligations, in addition to any fees spent on preparatory courses or private tutoring). Students should consider how a given test administration fits into their larger plans. Since taking the SAT twice is common, a first test attempt may not carry the importance of a third or a fourth, and college application deadlines are not as imminent for high school juniors as they are for high school seniors. 

Score cancellation may be warranted for reasons of health, which can adversely affect performance, or if a student is quite certain that he or she did not do his or her best. Even in these cases, however, it is best to postpone the decision on score cancellation until a day or two has passed. There is absolutely no advantage to on-site cancellation on the day of the test, and as long as the deadline is met, the result of a later cancellation is exactly the same. Time spent reflecting on one's performance may produce different feelings than those experienced immediately after completing the exam. This is also why it is a good idea for students to plan on taking the SAT during the spring of their junior year in high school, giving themselves more than one chance to achieve their desired score and reducing some of the pressure associated with applying to college.

Do Score Cancellations Affect College Admissions?

Years ago, students had no say in which SAT scores were sent to their designated colleges; all scores from all test administrations were sent, meaning colleges could see exactly how many times the student had taken the SAT. But after changes made by the College Board, students can choose to send all of their SAT scores or only scores from a single administration. Colleges now have no idea how many times a student has taken the SAT if that student does not choose to share all of their scores. The only thing a student cannot do is send section scores from two different test administrations. For example, a student cannot send Math section scores from a test they took in August and Reading and Writing section scores from a test they took in December. 

It should be noted, however, that some colleges and universities require a student to submit all of their SAT scores. While this may be less than ideal, according to the College Board, many colleges and universities use “superscoring,” meaning they consider a student’s highest section scores across multiple test dates. In this instance, a student is not directly penalized for having taken the SAT numerous times, although it does mean those undergraduate programs know exactly how many times the SAT was taken by an individual student.

Although score cancellations are not visible by colleges and do not negatively affect a student’s chance of admission, cancelling scores should still be performed only after careful consideration and speaking with parents, school guidance counselors, and test prep professionals.