How to Improve Your SAT Score: A Comprehensive Guide

Hoping to improve your SAT score to increase your chances of acceptance to your dream school? If you’ve already taken the SAT and aren’t 100% satisfied with your score, don’t worry. Most students end up taking the test more than once. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you improve your SAT score, covering everything from initial assessment to test-day strategies.

Analyze Your Previous Performance

Recall Test Details

In an ideal world, as soon as you’re done taking the SAT and your materials have been collected by the test proctor, you begin to write as much down as you remember from the test. Take notes on what confused you, questions that you found difficult, and concepts or sections that were harder than you anticipated. Set aside some time to think carefully about the test that you took, and see if you can recall any of the specifics from above. Do you remember a question that was so hard you didn’t even know where to start? Which sections of the test felt easy and which felt difficult? Were there sections that seemed completely foreign?

Review Your Score Report

There is a ton of valuable information in your score report. Once you’ve recovered from the initial excitement, take a few moments to review it. In particular, pay attention to your subscores. Try to identify areas in which your performance could be improved. Your goal is to get as specific as possible. While your score report will indicate which content areas are most in need of improvement, they will not reveal the specific kinds of error to which you’re most susceptible.

Identify Error Types

If your score on your practice test is dramatically higher than your score on the actual SAT, you probably fell victim to test anxiety. There are many ways to conquer this, but the good news is that test anxiety generally diminishes on its own with subsequent testing experiences. The more you take the SAT, the more familiar you’ll be with the format, and the less you will be affected by test anxiety. If your score is similar on the practice test, you will need to evaluate your mistakes. Careless mistakes are the ones that seem obvious as soon as you review the question. Content knowledge gaps occur when you are lacking some of the basic skills or knowledge to understand the questions at hand.

Setting Realistic Goals

Determine a Target Score

A good way to determine how much work is in front of you is to set a target score. First, you’ll need to consider where you’re starting from. The good news is, the lower your score, the more room there is for improvement. However, improvement won’t come without hard work. You will need to set a target that maximizes your potential while remaining realistic. Generally, if you have a score below 500, an improvement of 200 points is a feasible target.

Read also: High School GPA Guide

Consider College Score Ranges

The other factor to consider when setting a target score is the list of schools to which you intend to apply. You should take into account the middle 50% score ranges of admitted students at those schools when setting your goal score. The middle 50% indicates where 50% of accepted students scored. Take Princeton’s middle 50% range of 1460-1590: this means 25% of students scored below 1460, 50% scored between 1460 and 1590, and 25% of students scored above 1570. To be most competitive, you should aim to be in the upper end of the range, or even above it. Selective colleges use a metric called the Academic Index (AI) to represent the strength of applicants’ grades and test scores. If your AI is too low, a school may not even review the rest of your application. That’s why it’s so crucial to have a strong academic profile.

Utilize Admissions Chances Calculators

With our free Admissions Chances Calculator, you can clearly understand the impact of your SAT scores on your application. This calculator will let you know how your score stacks up against other applicants’ and let you know whether or not you should apply test-optional.

Effective Study Strategies

Collaborate with Study Groups

You aren’t the only one studying for the SAT, so why go at it alone? Having regular study dates with a consistent group of classmates can be a great way to set goals, share strategies, and hold one another accountable. Working with someone else might inspire you to work harder. If you're not a competitive person, there are still many benefits to working with a partner. You can check with your high school, local library, or even a local community college to find a study group. If you can’t locate an existing study group, it’s also possible to form your own.

Leverage Free High-Quality Study Materials

There are tons of free study materials available to help with SAT studying and preparation, but knowing where to look for high-quality materials is important. Many study guides have been self-published online by students with little more experience than you. No matter how much content knowledge you study, you need to know the format of the test and how it assesses this knowledge in order to be successful. The best place to start is Khan Academy. This is the official College Board SAT practice partner, and it’s totally free. You can find seven official SAT practice tests available at Khan Academy. There are also many free study guides available online.

Consider Tutoring Options

You might perceive SAT tutors as a privilege that not everyone can afford, but there are options out there to suit almost any budget. Sometimes, an SAT tutor can simply be a mentor, teacher, or guidance counselor who has helped to coach other students through the SAT in the past. You can also find paid tutoring services available locally, or online. If cost is a concern for you, you may be able to find pro bono tutoring services in your area, or apply for a scholarship with a larger tutoring company. Alternatively, some local tutoring companies also offer pro bono tutoring services to students who qualify. You can search for opportunities near you by conducting an online query with the terms “pro bono SAT tutor” and your city name. Yes, in an ideal world, you'd be able to prepare on your own and everything would be just fine. However, there are times when students need a bit of extra support, and that's okay, too.

Reinforce Content Knowledge

The SAT consists, in large part, of abstract skills that can be quite difficult to study in isolation. That being said, there is a pool of content knowledge necessary for success on the test, and if content knowledge was a weakness on your practice or diagnostic SAT, you should be certain that you’re reinforcing it before you take the test again.

Key Content Areas:

Heart of Algebra: Linear equations, systems of linear equations, and the relationships between them. Linear equations always involve two variables that change according to a consistent pattern.
Problem Solving and Data Analysis: Application of ratios, percentages, and proportional reasoning. For these questions, you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to create and use a model and to understand the distinction between the model predictions and data collected.
Passport to Advanced Math: Complex equations and functions typically needed in STEM-based careers.

Educated Guessing Techniques

No matter how difficult any question on the SAT is, you will have a 50% chance of getting it right if you can eliminate two of the answer choices. It’s likely that, all studying aside, you will encounter at least one or two questions where you will need to make an educated guess during the test. If you really have no clue about how to solve a problem, try working backwards from the answers. See if there are any answer choices that you can immediately rule out. Think of it this way: A completely random guess of the four answer choices has a 25% chance of being correct. If you can eliminate one more answer choice, you suddenly have a 33.3% chance of guessing correctly. And if you can eliminate yet another choice, you’ll be up to a 50% chance of guessing correctly. If you have absolutely no idea at all, use the “Answer of the Day” strategy: just pick a random letter, like “B,” and consistently put that down for questions where you can’t eliminate any answers. The SAT does not have a wrong answer penalty, which is a big deal! Since there is no penalty for getting a wrong answer, there’s absolutely no reason to be leaving questions blank. Remember that if you can eliminate even one answer choice on a question you’re not sure about, your chances of guessing correctly go way up.

Practice with Realistic Materials

Unfortunately, doing well on the SAT is not just about how much you know about Math, Reading, and Writing. Your final score will depend largely on how much you know about taking the SAT. This is an exam that follows some very specific sets of patterns. If you don’t know the question types, you’re going to have some trouble. Luckily, how to take the SAT is a skill you can totally learn - but to do this, you MUST study with realistic SAT materials. Taking realistic practice tests will not only familiarize you with the format of the SAT, but also increase your stamina so you can make it through the big day. Start by taking untimed practice tests, one section at a time. Identify your weaknesses and work to improve in those areas. Gradually, as your skills grow, begin to take each section of the test with time constraints. The SAT is one of those tests where the best preparation is the test itself.

Develop a Positive Mindset

To ward off fear and stress, work on developing a more positive attitude towards the SAT. It sounds corny, but learn to treat every mistake as a learning opportunity. Of course, you’re still allowed to stress, just not so much that it gets in the way. The SAT can be intimidating, but once you understand that you can do well on it if you study, it can start to look a bit more like an opportunity to show everyone what that you have what it takes to work hard.

Implement Effective Study Techniques

Not every student retains information the same way. We always recommend that students take the time to identify the ideal study approach or to speak with a tutoring expert to learn what works for them. It's also important to switch up how you study.

Read also: About the BOOST Scholarship

Pomodoro Technique: Studying in 25-30 minute intervals, followed by a short 5-10 minute break. This approach allows students to stay energized and break their studies into more manageable pieces.
Flashcards: Flash cards are a creative way to test your knowledge.
Explain to Someone Else: This approach is simple, but effective. In short, this approach encourages the individual who is learning a concept to explain the concept, in their own words, to someone else. Why is this effective? It allows you to take complex concepts, simplify them, and understand them in a way that makes the most sense to you. Many students struggle with their studies because they are focused on memorizing rather than comprehending.
PQ4R Method: PQ4R stands for: Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, and Review. This approach is great if you're looking to improve your reading comprehension skills. By taking breaks in between your studying sessions to question what you're learning and reflect on your findings, you'll walk away with a better understanding of what you're reading.

Time Management and Scheduling

Generally, the sweet spot to begin studying for a test is somewhere between 4-12 weeks in advance. Do you have time to practice every day? Depending on the answers to these questions, you may increase or reduce the amount of time you're dedicating to studying. If you're reviewing over the summer, you may be able to condense your prep into a matter of weeks, not months. No matter what timeline you're working with, take the time to establish a schedule. It’s basically impossible to effectively study for the SAT without a schedule. There are a lot of areas to cover, and you need to break things up into bite-sized chunks, so that the information isn’t just going in one ear and out the other. Luckily, there are a lot of free SAT study schedules available to keep you on track. The quality of your studying is more important than how long you study. Many students believe that if they sit at a desk for several hours that they're being productive. In reality, long, unfocused, and forced study sessions actually hurt your performance.

Responsible AI Utilization

Utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in a responsible way can be a tremendous help to students. Now, this doesn't mean that you should ask ChatGPT or Gemini AI for answers to questions without taking the time to work through it yourself, but there are many students who may not have an opportunity to work with other students, ask older siblings for help, or hire a tutor.

Enhance Reading Comprehension

Students who score poorly on the SAT Reading section typically aren’t comfortable with the types of reading passages that appear on the SAT. I would suggest reading The New Yorker magazine and Scientific American on a weekly basis.

Expand Vocabulary

Do you like the NY Times, Washington Post, or LA Times? Great, pick them up and start reading analytical articles from any section. More into the sciences? Read National Geographic magazine or a science blog online. See a word you don’t know? Even better! Look it up, use it in a sentence, and make a flashcard for it.

Test-Day Strategies

Pre-Test Preparation

You’ve prepared and studied, and now the test is upon you! Follow these steps to ensure the best possible test day.

The night before: Pack your test-taking supplies (#2 pencils, calculator, admission paperwork, photo ID) so you don’t have to think about it in the morning. Eat a nutritious dinner, and get plenty of sleep. You may want to try some stress-reduction techniques, such as meditating.
The morning of: Wake up with enough time to have breakfast and make it to the test site on time. Hydrate well, and avoid the temptation of too much coffee, which can increase anxiety.

During the Test

Make the most of your time: Skip difficult questions, and come back to them if you have enough time. Save time by filling in the bubbles in batches. Mark the right answers in the test booklet as you solve problems, and then go back and fill in the bubbles on the answer sheet for several questions at a time. Only use this strategy if you are confident you’ll have enough time to fill in the bubble sheet.
Stay positive: Use positive self-talk. Try to avoid getting frustrated or overwhelmed. You’ve worked hard for this moment - believe in yourself!
Pacing and Accuracy: In order to get served the harder module, you need to get around 2/3rds of the questions right in the first module, so as you are practicing, work on your pacing and accuracy to comfortably hit this mark.
Easy Questions First: Since easy questions are worth exactly the same number of points as hard questions, you don’t want to get bogged down with the hard stuff and end up running out of time before you get to some questions that you could have breezed right through.
Calculator Usage: Knowing how to use all functions of the calculator can save you time on test day, but don’t automatically assume using a calculator will save you time. On many questions, using skills like estimating, mental math, and paper-and-pencil calculations will serve you better, so get good at analyzing each question type and deciding if you should use a calculator or not.
Deep Breaths: If you start to feel anxious, take a few deep breaths and remember that the SAT is testing you on things you already know. You may need to brush up here and there, sure, but you’re being tested on high school content. You got this!
Skipping Does Not Equal Leaving Blank: The hardest questions will always be at the end of each module. But don’t forget, skipping does not equal leaving blank!

Understanding the SAT Format

Sections of the SAT

There are three sections on the SAT - reading, writing and language, and math (calculator and no-calculator portions). In total, there are 154 multiple-choice questions. There is also an optional essay.

Time Allotment

With the optional essay: If you complete the optional essay, the total time allotted for the SAT is 3 hours and 50 minutes (4 hours and 5 minutes including breaks). There are 65 minutes for the reading section, 35 minutes for the writing and language section, 55 minutes for the calculator-allowed math section, 25 minutes for the no-calculator math section, and 50 minutes for the optional essay.
Without the optional essay: If you don’t complete the optional essay, the SAT takes 3 hours. The total time will be 3 hours and 15 minutes, including breaks.

Frequently Asked Questions About the SAT

When should I begin preparing for the SAT?

Some students take the SAT in their junior year of high school, while others take the test as seniors. It’s fairly common to take the SAT more than once. Make sure to leave several months of preparation time before your test date so that you have plenty of time to study, take practice tests, and get a better understanding of the concepts that challenge you.

Do I need to take the PSAT?

The PSAT is an optional exam, and most colleges don’t take the PSAT into consideration when looking at applications. However, if your goal is to earn a National Merit Scholarship, you will need to take the PSAT as it’s the qualifying test for the scholarship. The PSAT is also a good way to practice for the SAT and the ACT, which are almost always taken into consideration when you apply to colleges.

What should I bring with me to the SAT?

There are several items that you need to bring to the test center, and some optional items to consider, as well. You will definitely need your printed admission ticket, a photo ID (a government ID or school ID will work), a calculator, and at least two #2 pencils. Just be aware that you cannot use mechanical pencils instead of #2 pencils. You cannot use your phone as a calculator, either. Depending on when and where you take your test, you might need a face mask. Bringing snacks and water is a very good idea, as you’ll most likely want them during your breaks. You can also bring a bag for storing all of your items.

Do I have to check in?

Yes, you will need to check in before you take the SAT. Make sure that you bring a printed copy of your admission ticket. It’s essential that the ticket has accurate information on it. You will also need your photo ID. You can use your driver’s license, passport, or a valid, unexpired school ID. Make sure your ID is not torn, damaged, or hard to read. If the test center cannot verify your identity from the ID that you present, you will not be allowed to take the test that day.

Can I use my phone to show my ID?

No, you cannot use your phone to show your admission ticket or your ID. You will need to print your admission ticket and have a physical form of identification.

Can I use my school-issued ID to check in to the SAT?

If you’re under 21 years of age, you can use a valid school ID. Pay attention to the expiration date on your ID card, though. School IDs from the previous school year are valid through the end of December of the current calendar year. For example, if your school ID is from 2021-22, you can use it until December 31, 2022. If you have a driver’s license or passport, you can use that instead.

If you are over 21 years of age, you cannot use a school ID. You will need to use a government-issued ID to check in. Usually, students will bring their driver’s license or a passport. First, sign into “My SAT.” Under “My Test Registrations,'' you will find the information for your upcoming test. Preview the information to make sure it’s all correct. Click “Print Your Admission (pdf)” and print your ticket. Make sure you print it before going to your SAT exam. You will need your admission ticket and official ID to check in.

Can I print my admission ticket in black and white?

A black and white printout of your admission ticket will be fine as long as the picture is clear. The picture on your admission ticket needs to be clear enough so that the test center supervisors can see that it’s a picture of you.

What if I forget or lose my admission ticket on test day?

If you lose your admission ticket, the test center supervisors will not let you in to take the SAT. You will have to register for the test on another day, unless you can find or reprint your admission ticket in time before the SAT starts. Once the test starts and the doors are closed, no one will be permitted to enter the test center.

How many times can I take the SAT?

You can take the SAT as many times as you would like, although be aware that it costs $55 each time you register for a test date. There are typically seven test dates throughout the year, and that is the only limitation on how many times you can take the test.

Does it look bad to take the SAT many times?

Most colleges and universities won’t have a problem with students taking the SAT more than once, or even more than twice. Most colleges will let students choose which scores they’d like to submit when applying, but some institutions do require students to send in all of their scores.

Can I leave during the SAT?

You cannot leave during the SAT. on your test day unless your admission ticket says otherwise. If you arrive after the doors close, you will not be able to take the test and you will need to reschedule to take it another day.

How do I send my SAT scores to colleges?

To send your scores to colleges, you need to sign in to your College Board account. This is the same account you used to register for the SAT. Once you log in, you will need to go to the “Send SAT Scores” page. On that page, you can easily select the colleges and universities that you want to receive your scores. You’ll be able to search for colleges by name or code. Add them to the score recipients list, then click continue. You can send all or only some of your scores.

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