SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

If you’re applying to colleges, you need to know the upcoming SAT test dates for 2019 - 2020! Knowing these dates in advance, even if you’re not quite ready to take it yet, gives you all the more time to prepare and prep for your test, and in the SATs, prep is everything.

This article covers the SAT dates for 2019 and 2020, throughout the 2019 to 2020 school year. You can find the previous year’s test dates here, or dates for the future here!

SAT Test Dates for the 2019 - 2020 School Year

These test dates come right from the College Board. Note that these dates are for the basic SAT test; students looking for subject tests should consult the College Board’s subject test calendar as well, as not all subject tests are available on all dates. 

Are These 2019 - 2020 SAT Dates Accurate?

These dates are the ones given by the College Board for the upcoming school year—they are the official test dates. However, test dates may change for a variety of reasons, including inclement weather, power failure, or other issues. If a test date is changed for any reason, the SAT test center contacts local media outlets to warn students of the change. You can also stay up-to-date on any changes to the schedule with the test center closure page of the College Board.

If your test date changes for any reason, a makeup test may be scheduled. Your SAT Program will contact you with details for the makeup date. Any makeup tests will have different score release dates, so be sure to check with your test center to stay on top of when score release will be if you need them right away for college admissions.

How to Choose the Best SAT Date

Now that you know what SAT dates are coming up for 2019 - 2020, it’s time to start planning the date that’s right for you. No matter how far out you are from applying to college, having an idea of your future schedule will make it easier for you to excel on your SAT!

Find Your Deadlines

The idea SAT date for you is one that’s based around your schedule. Consider where you are in your high school career—junior year? Senior year? How much time do you have before you apply to college? If you take a test on a particular date, will your scores be ready to send to your college of choice in time for their cutoff dates? 

Also consider scholarship deadlines. If a scholarship you’d like to apply for is based on SAT scores, keep that in mind as you’re choosing a date. Give yourself plenty of time to study, take the test, and get your scores sent off so you’re not having to worry about rushing as well as performing well!

How Many Times Do You Want to Take it?

Many students take the SAT more than once, which can also impact when you should schedule your test date. If you plan on taking the test multiple times (and you should!), give yourself plenty of time to study and improve between dates.

We recommend beginning to take the SAT in the summer before junior year, because that gives you time to get a baseline understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and leaves plenty of time to improve, whether you’re superscoring or not. 

You can take the SAT as many times as you want, but we recommend no more than six so it doesn’t start to look to colleges as though you’re not taking it seriously. Spacing those six tests across two years leaves you with many months to study and improve rather than trying to cram lots of practice into your senior year, when you’re already juggling applications, extracurriculars, and having a social life.

Make a plan for how many times you want to take the test and structure your date choices with that in mind.  

How Long Will You Study?

Factoring in study time is important in planning your SAT dates. Taking it over and over again without a plan won’t help you improve your skills—it’s studying that does that! 

So when you’re choosing the best SAT dates for you, keep in mind that you’ll need time to work on your score between each date. It’s better to plan to take it a handful of times with space between than to take it every month right before you graduate. If you start early, you can focus on boosting the parts of your score that aren’t as high

You don’t just want to take the SAT without studying. If a test date is cutting it close, you’re losing out on valuable study time. Pace yourself!

Do You Have Scheduling Conflicts?

The SAT is important, but so are your other commitments! Don’t sacrifice your piano recital or family trip to Paris to take the SAT—if you plan far enough ahead, you won’t need to worry about it!

There are SAT tests throughout the year, but you do need to look at them in advance. There are no dates from January to May of 2020, so if you were counting on taking the test during that time, you’ll need to change your schedule. But if you know when you can take it in advance, you won’t have to worry about preparing for something that might not happen.

Take some time to outline your major time commitments throughout the year, whether that’s big tests in school, family trips, or extracurricular activities. Space your SAT dates between those important events so you can balance your commitments and your testing needs without getting overwhelmed.

What’s Next?

Remember, these are just the core SAT dates—if you want to take subject tests, you'll need to look at a schedule for those, too!

Ready to start studying? Check out this list of free official SAT practice tests to get you started!

Studying is great, but you want to make sure you do it with the right materials. Our SAT study guide will help get you on the right track for SAT success!