How Score Choice Works for the SAT and ACT
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Aug 04, 2026 • US College Admissions
Score Choice lets you pick which SAT test date goes to a college. The ACT works differently, and a few colleges want every score no matter what you'd rather send.
📩 SAT Score Choice sends scores by full test date, not by section.
The ACT lets you send one test date or your Superscore instead.
ACT Superscore combines your best section scores across test dates automatically.
A handful of colleges require all your scores regardless of Score Choice.
Extra ACT score reports cost $30 each after your first four free ones.
What Score Choice Means
Score Choice is a College Board policy for the SAT. It lets you decide which test date's scores go to a college when you request a score report, instead of sending your entire testing history by default.
The choice works by full test date, not by individual section.
If you took the SAT three times, you pick which of those sittings to send. Score Choice itself does not combine your best Reading and Writing score from one date with your best Math score from another, though many colleges superscore on their end once they receive the dates you submit.
How to Send Your SAT Scores
You select test dates inside your College Board account whenever you request a score report. Nothing goes to a college automatically. Each report reflects only the dates you choose for that specific report.
Check a college's testing policy before you send anything. A small number of schools ask for every SAT score you have earned, and that requirement overrides Score Choice. Sending only your best date to a school with a full-disclosure policy creates a mismatch reviewers will notice during your application.
How the ACT Handles Score Reporting
The ACT does not use the term Score Choice, but it gives you similar control over what colleges see. According to ACT.org , you send scores from one specific test date or send your Superscore, a composite built from your highest section scores across every test date since September 2016.
ACT builds your Superscore automatically once you have more than one test date on file. From there you choose whether a college receives that Superscore or the results from a single sitting. This differs from SAT Score Choice, where you pick whole test dates rather than a blended composite the testing company calculates for you.
What Extra Score Reports Cost
ACT registration includes four free score reports. Additional reports cost $30 each, and scores older than three years pull from an archive with an added $20 fee, according to ACT.org .
The SAT charges a separate per-report fee for reports beyond the free sends included with registration. Settle on your college list before you start sending scores so you don't pay for reports twice.
SAT vs ACT Score Reporting
| Test | What you control | Built-in feature |
|---|---|---|
| SAT | Which full test dates to send | None, you build each report yourself |
| ACT | One test date or your Superscore | Superscore calculates automatically after multiple test dates |
Why This Affects Your Retake Strategy
Score Choice changes how much risk a retake carries. Because you control which SAT date reaches a college, a disappointing retake doesn't automatically become part of your application, as long as the school doesn't require full disclosure. That freedom is one reason students retest more often on the SAT than they might otherwise.
The ACT works differently since your Superscore blends your best section results automatically. A weak section score on one attempt still contributes to your testing history, though it won't drag down your Superscore composite if a later attempt beats it in that section. Either way, retesting rarely hurts your reported result, it mostly costs time and a registration fee.
Common Mistakes with Score Choice
Assuming every college honors Score Choice the same way, when a portion require full score disclosure regardless of what you'd rather send.
Sending every test date out of caution, which costs extra report fees for no admissions benefit at schools that superscore anyway.
Forgetting to check a school's policy again for each application cycle, since testing policies change from year to year.
Waiting until an application deadline to request score reports, when processing and delivery need lead time.
Scholarships and Other Programs May Want Every Score
Score Choice governs what a college's admissions office sees, not what every other program tied to your application sees. Some scholarship committees, honors programs, and outside organizations ask for a full testing history as part of their own separate review, even when the college itself only wants your best date.
Read the instructions for every scholarship or program you apply to separately from your general college application. A requirement buried in a scholarship's own instructions won't show up on the college's main testing policy page, so check each program's own material directly.
Deciding What to Send
Send your strongest complete test date if a college superscores the SAT, or send your Superscore if it accepts ACT Superscoring. Retest a section only when the improvement changes your composite enough to matter for the programs you're targeting.
Read each college's admissions testing page directly, or check its Common Data Set, since Score Choice and superscoring acceptance vary between schools and change from year to year. Request your reports as soon as you finalize your college list, and send them well before the application deadline rather than on the deadline day.