Obtaining Your Old SAT Scores: A Comprehensive Guide
Did you graduate from college a while ago and now a prospective employer wants to see your SAT scores? Or perhaps you took time off after high school and now need to send your SAT scores to colleges? This article explains how to retrieve and utilize your old SAT scores.
Why You Might Need Old SAT Scores
There are several reasons why you might need to access your old SAT scores:
- College Admissions: Be sure to check the admissions requirements for the schools you're applying to so you can know whether you'll need to have your old SAT scores when you apply.
- Employment Opportunities: Some employers request SAT scores. Companies such as Amazon, Cvent, Baines & Co., McKinsey & Co., and Goldman Sachs have been known to request SAT scores from prospective employees. Most employers who ask for SAT scores don't require official score reports. However, be prepared to provide one, if asked.
Accessing Archived SAT Scores
When an SAT score is archived, it's not as readily accessible. Once you've left high school and haven't tested for a year, College Board archives your SAT test scores and certain information you may have provided about yourself during testing. Scores older than 2005 are no longer accessible. Other old scores may have been stored in data sources that are now decommissioned and no longer accessible. However, SAT scores can still be retrieved for reporting to you as well as any colleges, universities, and/or scholarship programs you designate.
Fees Associated with Archived Scores
There is an additional $35 fee to get an archived score from the College Board. Regular SAT score reports cost $14 per report. Therefore, sending old SAT scores incurs both the regular report fee and the archive retrieval fee.
The Retrieval Process
This is the method most people will use. Follow the instructions to send SAT scores through your College Board account. Log into your College Board account, then go to the "Send SAT Scores" page. You'll see a message about ordering older score reports, which you'll need to accept. Once you've done that, follow the prompts to select the schools to send your scores to. You'll indicate which scores to send to each school. Note: Check with your college before you order rush reports.
Read also: ACT Scores for Loyola
For students aged 13 or older, you can use your College Board student account and go to studentscores.collegeboard.org to access your scores online as well as your PDF score report. Once you're signed in, your most recent score should be shown at the top of the page. Use the Find Your Scores Tool to check your account information and update your address or school if needed. You can also find your score using your test details and SAT registration number. You, your parent, or your counselor could have created an account for you. If you have another account, sign out now. Accept the message about ordering older score reports. Follow through the prompts to select the institutions to send your scores and information to, indicating which scores to send for each recipient.
Expedited Reporting (Rush Reporting)
If you need to send old SAT scores quickly, rush reporting is usually available. There is an additional rush fee plus the score reporting fee for each report and the retrieval fee for processing the archived scores. This option costs an extra $31 (in addition to the $14 and $35 archived fee per score report). With rush reporting, SAT scores are typically sent to colleges within two to four business days.
Understanding Score Validity and Comparability
Official score reports sent to colleges five or more years after a test date may be less valid predictors of college academic performance than more recent scores. This is because in extended periods of intervening time, student knowledge, skills, and abilities can grow and change.
Score Equivalence Across Years
In general, an SAT score will mean the same thing no matter when you take the SAT. The date when you took the test shouldn't matter much to employers for making comparisons. In other words, a 1250 on an SAT from 2016 should equal a 1250 on an SAT from 2018, 2019, 2020, and so on. A 2000/2400 from 2015 should be equivalent to a 2000/2400 from 2007. Both SAT scores should indicate the same skill level and percentile score.
The 2016 SAT Redesign
The only major problem when comparing scores from different years is the scoring scales used. The SAT changed dramatically in 2016, when it shifted from a 600-2400 scale to a 400-1600 scale. As a result, the scores for these years will look quite different.
Read also: When Will My ACT Scores Be Released?
Read also: College Admissions: Do SATs Make a Difference?
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