[Podcast] Is October the Last Chance to Improve SAT or ACT Scores Before Deadlines?

Sheila Akbar 0:00
And I always tell people if you’re going to take it a third time, you’ve got to do something significantly different from how you prepared for the first and the second. We can’t do the same thing and expect a different result. So if you’re not practicing between those tests, do not expect that score to move. Hey folks, welcome back to the podcast. McKenzie’s got another great question for me this week about the last chance to improve SAT or ACT scores before college application deadlines. Take a listen.

McKenzie Carver 0:41
A lot of people are talking about standardized testing this time of year. So our burning question of the week continues with that trend. People are asking: is October the last chance to improve my SAT or ACT score?

Sheila Akbar 1:00
Quick answer is no. But of course, there’s a longer answer. If you are a senior applying early to any of your colleges — whether early decision or early action — October would be the last chance to get a new score that you can submit with your applications, because those applications are due November 1st or November 15th. There is an SAT in the first weekend of November that some schools will accept, but you would have to send those scores without seeing them first. And some people don’t like doing that, which I totally understand. That is also the case for the October ACT. I wish those acronyms were more distant from one another — it’s very easy to get them twisted. The October ACT is usually the last Saturday of October, and scores come back about 10 days later. That might be in time for the November 15th deadline that some schools have, but not in time for the November 1st deadline. You would also have to send those scores without seeing them first.

But if you’re applying regular decision — where deadlines are usually the first week of January, sometimes later — you could take the November SAT or the December SAT or ACT and have those scores count for your college applications.

That’s the very practical set of answers. It depends on your deadlines and which is the last test the college will see. But I like to back up and dig into where this question is even coming from. I just imagine a 17-year-old thinking, “Oh no, this is not the score I want — is this really my last chance to improve it?” and kind of freaking out.

Seniors just got the answer: if you don’t get the score you want in October, or you’re worried you won’t, you do have a chance with regular decision if you need to take it again.

My general guideline — and there are always exceptions — is that students should not take it more than three times. There’s usually a significant bump between the first and second, simply because you now have the experience of the test under your belt. You know what the check-in process feels like, you’ve attested to various things, you’ve been through the motions. So the next time, that won’t stress you out as much. And hopefully you also studied or practiced something differently between those two tests. So your second score will be better.

Research shows that the difference between the second and third attempts is also smaller than the difference between the first and second — but there is still a difference. And I always tell people: if you’re going to take it a third time, you’ve got to do something significantly different from how you prepared for the first and the second. We can’t do the same thing and expect a different result.

If you’re not practicing deliberately between tests — practicing the specific things you in particular need to work on, and practicing the right way — don’t expect a different score. Don’t keep making the same mistake over and over again. Correct your understanding of the concept, correct your approach to the question, and then practice it. That’s what we call deliberate practice. You’re building the right habits.

If you only practiced the week before the test, don’t do that again. Learn from your mistakes. Otherwise, what’s the point of taking it again if you’re not going to do anything differently? I want to see a behavior change between retakings.

I really don’t like to see a student take it four, five, or six times. There are bigger fish to fry in the admissions process than retaking a standardized test. And one thing that happens psychologically is students start to believe that the score they’re stuck at is the best they can do — because they keep getting it, especially if they’re not changing anything about their preparation. That limiting belief becomes yet another hurdle to overcome for the next test.

So seniors: if that describes you, take a step back and think about what’s really important right now. Your grades, your extracurricular commitments, writing killer essays. Maybe doing more volunteer work if that’s something that’s missing from your profile. Think about the story you’re telling in your application — is one or two points on the test going to change that story in a meaningful way? Probably not, especially if this is your second, third, or fourth attempt.

So just because October might be the last chance to improve your test score before early decision or early action deadlines, it is not your only chance to improve your application before those deadlines. There’s a trade-off — an opportunity cost. Should you spend that time worrying about the SAT, or should you spend it doing something that will actually show up in your applications in a meaningful way?

McKenzie Carver 7:50
Right.

Sheila Akbar 7:51
And that’s going to be different for every student — but it is something to consider.

I’ll also say this for people who are not yet seniors hearing this episode: don’t let yourself end up in a situation where you’re using your last opportunity to try to get the score you want. This is why I like to start the testing conversation with students right as 10th grade ends. Not because they have to test immediately, but so we can take practice tests, think about how testing will play into their admissions candidacy, figure out when they can test, what prep looks like for them — a course, self-study, or a tutor — and make a clear, intentional plan that works for that particular student well ahead of time. Ideally, testing is done by the end of junior year so they can focus on essays and other parts of the application going into senior year.

McKenzie Carver 9:05
So you really have to look at the bigger picture and start early.

Sheila Akbar 9:09
Yes. I do want to qualify that though — 9th graders should not be doing this. 10th graders should not be doing this either. Don’t start too early. That doesn’t help you. Start at the right time, which is as 10th grade ends and you’re moving into 11th.

McKenzie Carver 9:26
Do you ever run into situations where students are already at, say, a 34 on the ACT or a 1520 on the SAT, and they keep wanting to retake it — wanting to close that last gap even though they’re so close?

Sheila Akbar 9:43
So many students say “I just need a 1530” — and I’m like, nobody cares about a 10-point difference. Maybe you care, but admissions officers do not. Stop.

Or students who have a 1570 and say “I have to get a 1600.” It doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s a point of pride — and I’ll only allow my students to chase that point of pride if literally everything else is done. Essays are amazing, extracurricular activities are solid, teachers know and love you, recommendations are handled. If everything is truly done, then sure — go for the 1600. But for the vast majority of students, that small margin makes no impact on their application.

You need to look at what the colleges you’re applying to are actually looking for. You can find that on the Common Data Set for each school or on any of the major college search engines — Big Future, Niche, CollegeResults.org, there are many. They’ll tell you the average score range for the SAT or ACT. And you want to be in that middle range. If you’re already above that range, additional points are not going to help you — focus on something else.

If you’re not yet within range but close, then maybe it’s worth it. But the meaningful thresholds are usually things like the difference between a 25 and a 29 on the ACT, or between a 1300 and a 1400 on the SAT — not the difference between the 95th and 99th percentile. There are students with perfect scores who are still denied at top schools. The perfectness of a score doesn’t determine admissibility. So move on. Nobody cares about the SAT after a certain point.

McKenzie Carver 12:54
Yeah, just decide to call it a day. Are there things students can realistically do in the last three weeks before a test — perhaps their final chance — to make a meaningful difference?

Sheila Akbar 13:08
Absolutely. Full practice tests are really the way to go. And in every practice test sitting, I want students thinking: what did I get wrong, and why did I get it wrong?

I do a lot of detailed analysis work with my students — was it content I didn’t know well enough, or was it a careless error? And if it was careless, what kind? Where were you careless in the process — in reading the question, reading the answer choices, reading the source material, in the calculation, in the setup? There are so many varieties of careless error, and I get really granular because where you’re careless in the process determines a different kind of solution, a different behavior change.

There are also strategies like process of elimination, back-solving, and annotating reading passages that can make an immediate difference if you learn them and know when to apply them. Those are the kinds of things I’d focus on at the very tail end of prep when time is short — get crystal clear on what the student needs to work on, and then work on it full speed.

McKenzie Carver 14:37
That makes a lot of sense. Essentially, students really have to change something in their prep or behavior if they’re going for this last October chance.

Sheila Akbar 14:51
Exactly. I have so many students where I’m just like — what are we doing? I have one student right now who I’m working with on admissions. He’s worked with one of our tutors on test prep, but he’s essentially saying “I’m just going to focus on verbal this time and math next time.” And I’m like — why are we stretching this out over 12 months? Just get it done.

I can’t force him. But I’m telling him this is a waste of his time and his parents’ money. Do it or don’t do it, but don’t drag it out.

He’s going to take the test one more time, and honestly I don’t expect the score to change. So we are going to plan our college list and strategy around his current score, because that’s likely what we’re working with. Part of my approach is always holding up a mirror: this is what I see you doing — is this really who you want to be in this moment? Do you really think it’s going to change anything? We can be honest about it and focus on what actually matters. But sometimes students want to keep pretending, and I’ll let them.

McKenzie Carver 16:16
That actually brings up an interesting question, because I’m sure there are students out there who think targeting one section at a time to maximize that section score — so the composite ends up as high as possible — is a good strategy. Have you seen that?

Sheila Akbar 16:34
I have. And if that’s going to be your strategy, you need to plan ahead — because on the SAT that’s two sections, and on the ACT that’s four sections. So you’d need four test sittings to do this properly.

It also depends on your college list, because not every college superscores. Most do, but some superscore the SAT and not the ACT. Some programs will superscore, some won’t. Some care about the science section, some don’t. Make sure that strategy will actually help you at the schools you’re applying to — check their testing policy pages carefully.

The other question is whether it’s the right strategy for you. If you’re genuinely overscheduled — and I’ll say many students think they’re overscheduled when really they’re just not great at managing their time, but if you truly are — or if you have some kind of neurodiversity that makes it very hard to manage multiple things at once, then maybe focusing on one section at a time makes sense.

But I’ve never really seen it be the most effective move in most situations. Occasionally I’ll have a student who’s been prepping for the full test, takes it once, and one section comes in lower than expected. If we know their colleges will superscore, then I’ll say — okay, let’s just focus on that section for the next test. But it’s never our initial strategy.

McKenzie Carver 18:31
I can imagine it takes so much time, especially for the ACT if you’re sitting for the exam four separate times.

Sheila Akbar 18:38
What are you doing?

McKenzie Carver 18:39
So many Saturday mornings you’re giving up.

Sheila Akbar 18:42
Right, right.

McKenzie Carver 18:43
That’s really interesting.

Sheila Akbar 18:45
You know, it’s kind of funny — funny in a sad and systemic way — that students are left to figure this out for themselves. And that’s why they come up with schemes like preparing for one section at a time, because there’s no real clear guidance. High school counselors are not studying the SAT or learning all the policies of every college. They can tell you where to look, but that’s not their expertise — and it’s not meant to be. The SAT and ACT exist largely outside the high school ecosystem. It’s rare that a high school integrates test preparation into its curriculum. Usually they contract with a company like mine to bring in prep, but it’s not part of the curriculum or the college counseling office. So they’ll give you general information, but how much a student is actually absorbing is another question.

And then there are rumors — “I heard this kid did that” — and the telephone game with the rumor mill. Advertising from testing agencies and test prep companies muddies the message further. Then on top of that, colleges have test optional policies and are essentially saying, “Do whatever you want — we’re not really going to tell you what to do either.” Nobody wants to own this hot potato. So there’s a vacuum of reliable information, and all these other messages creep in and confuse people. Teenagers are going to do what teenagers do — it may not seem logical to others, but this is what their brain has come up with in the absence of clear guidance. And part of what we’re doing here is trying to just be clear.

McKenzie Carver 21:02
No one’s telling them what to do, where to look, who to listen to. Yeah. It’s hard.

Sheila Akbar 21:09
And part of it is just a product of how we’ve set up higher education in this country. There’s no governing body that regulates college admissions or communicates on behalf of all colleges. Law schools have this. Med schools have this. But colleges do not have a shared process they all agree on. And even when colleges are test optional, they use different language to describe that optionality. So it’s very confusing.

McKenzie Carver 21:47
I’ve seen “test free” and “test blind” used interchangeably too. Knowing the differences matters.

Sheila Akbar 21:57
There’s actually a fourth category now — “test recommended.” It’s technically test optional, but they’re recommending you submit a score. At which point I’d say: just require it. If you really want to see it, require it.

McKenzie Carver 22:16
Would you say there’s a bottom line for students who are panicking right now — second or third week of September, October test looming — a question they can ask themselves to figure out whether or not they should retake?

Sheila Akbar 22:39
Great question. I think the first item in the flow chart is: is my score in range for the colleges I really want to go to? If yes — do not test. You are good.

If the answer is no, we move to the next level: am I likely to score in range if I take the October test? Have you been preparing? What’s your confidence level? I’m not looking for a specific percentage — just your honest sense of whether you’re going to score what you need to score. If two or three weeks before the test you’re saying no, are you willing to do something to turn that into a yes? If you’re not willing or not capable — you don’t have the time, the bandwidth — call it. Don’t take the test.

But if you are — if you can say “I can practice, I can hire a tutor, I can get a prep book, my older sibling can help me” — then do it.

The other piece of this is: where are your college essays right now? I don’t want you spending time preparing for a test that might move your score by one point on the ACT or 10 points on the SAT if it means you’re not making progress on your essays. It all comes back to the same question: what should my priority be right now?

McKenzie Carver 24:36
What’s going to serve you the most. I think that’ll be really helpful for students to hear.

Sheila Akbar 24:43
I hope they hear it.

McKenzie Carver 24:44
I hope they do too.