Registering for Official Exams: What You Need to Know

Jamie Perez

6 days ago

6 min read

A woman's hands typing on a black laptop with a bright screen.

Signing up for an SAT or ACT exam should be a relatively simple process. Create an account on Collegeboard.org or ACT.org - depending on which exam you are signing up for – select the exam date you want and follow their prompts to choose a location and decide other specifics.

However, those “specifics” can be tricky if you are not sure what to expect or what information you will need to know ahead of time.

And not knowing certain CollegeBoard and ACT policies before registration deadlines may even mean not being able to participate in the date you planned for.

So if you are planning on taking an SAT or ACT exam in the current or next semester, read on to make sure the details don’t take you by surprise.

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Always Go to the Source

There is only one place where you can sign up for an, “official” SAT exam, that is Collegeboard.org. And there is only one place to register for an, “official” ACT exam, that is ACT.org.

If you are filling out a registration for an exam on any other site, it is likely you are signing up for a separate diagnostic or practice exam that is not affiliated with ACT or CollegeBoard at all.

In order to register for an exam you have to have an account set up on Collegeboard.org and/or ACT.org. Once your account is set up you can choose to sign up for the SAT or ACT exam date you want.

If your school is hosting an SAT or ACT on campus they may sign their students up automatically for the date of the exam they are hosting. This exam will typically be on a different date than any of the ones on the national exam schedule.

You will need to double-check with your school’s administration if you are unsure whether your student has been signed up already or has to do it on their own.

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Register as Early as Possible

Every SAT and ACT exam has a registration deadline and a late registration deadline. These deadlines are the last day to register. However, you can sign up as early as the exam date is announced.

New dates are announced throughout the year and are published on Collegeboard.org and ACT.org respectively. Each exam date has a limited number of spots and they tend to fill up very quickly.

They fill up even faster for locations that provide extended timing accommodations, which have a more limited number of testing sites.

Signing up early is also a good idea if you will need to request a device to take the exam with, as you need to request a device a minimum of 30 days before your selected test date on the CollegeBoard website.

The ACT does not provide, “lender” devices for exams like the SAT does. Instead, if you don’t have your own device to take the test on you will have to select a testing location that has on-site devices available for use.

Another crucial reason to register early is if you intend to get a fee waiver. You will need to request a fee waiver code from your college counselor at school for the SAT or ACT.

You may also request a fee waiver code for the SAT directly from CollegeBoard. Either options takes some time to be approved so it is best to start early and avoid missing deadlines.

Once given a fee waiver code you will no longer be eligible for another. You can only receive a fee waiver code for the SAT and ACT once in your life and each code is good for 2 attempts of the exam you got it for.

Any further exam attempts for the SAT or ACT will have to be paid at the normal rate.

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SAT Specifics

If you are going to take the SAT you will need to download the Bluebook app in addition to having a CollegeBoard account with them. The exam itself is hosted on the Bluebook platform, so it is essential for test day.

When making a CollegeBoard account you may be given the option to opt into something called the Student Search Service.

This makes your basic information available to colleges and universities for admissions purposes. Whether you opt in or not has no real effect on your admissions since it does not send your actual SAT scores to any schools.

Typically opting in will get you a higher volume of emails and other promotional materials from various colleges which can be helpful if you are exploring options, but some would prefer to opt out and simply reach out to the specific schools they are interested in already.

A close up of a bubble test answer sheet with a broken pencil in view. The letters in three of the bubbles say A C T.

ACT Specifics

When registering for an ACT exam you will have to decide whether to take the science section of the exam. This is the most common question we get when helping our students through the sign-up process.

We typically recommend taking the science section because it is included in our test prep curriculum for the ACT and it won’t affect your composite score for admissions purposes.

However, if it is a good score it will help your composite score when qualifying for Bright Futures.

If the science section score is historically not an asset for you and drags down your composite score then you may consider testing without it, since Bright Futures will accept an ACT exam without the science section as well.

Before deciding whether to take the science section on the ACT you should check to see if any of your top schools or programs put weight on its score.

We have seen students that chose to do multiple ACT exams and test prep without the science section at all and end up having to retake it with science later because one of their top programs was very interested in the results.

Since the ACT still offers a paper exam option you will have to decide whether to take the exam digitally or on paper as well. We always strongly recommend taking it digitally.

The digital version of the ACT gives you access to Desmos. Desmos is the calculator software built into the platform of the digital exam.

This recommendation comes especially if you are tutoring for the ACT with On Point. All of our diagnostics and practice exams will be online in the same digital format, so you can get accustomed to it.

We also teach our students how to navigate and use Desmos to their advantage on the exam as an integral part of our ACT curriculum.

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The Optional Writing Section

Both the SAT and the ACT offer an optional writing section for the exam. We almost never recommend that our students do this portion.

Most admissions offices don't heavily consider the optional writing portions. Likewise, Bright Futures does not consider this score either when determining if you qualify.

Of course, every situation is different and we would encourage every student to know what their preferred universities and programs are looking for ahead of time.

There may be a particular program that places a lot of weight on the SAT and ACT optional writing portions when considering candidates for admission.

However, unless you have a particular, “dream school/program” in mind that says on their website they want to see your writing score, you can generally opt out.

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Which Dates Should I Sign Up For

The SAT and ACT offer testing dates all year round and there is generally no limit on how many you can take.

We usually don’t worry about the number of attempts a student has until they get up to 5, or if they are aiming for a top Ivy League school which can sometimes see all exam attempts even if they are not submitted.

This leaves Juniors with a lot of options. Seniors in particular should know if they will receive their exam scores in time to submit for university application deadlines.

Which test dates are the best for you depends on your schedule, - academic and extracurricular - if you will be traveling, and if you will have enough time to prep.

Taking our free diagnostic exams is a good place to start if you want to establish a timeline for yourself, as we provide a recommended curriculum that includes exam dates with your results.

With all this in mind you should be ready to start planning your SAT and/or ACT exam schedule and get registered.

If there is something we missed, or a question specific to your or your student’s situation let us know.

While our team of Test Prep Experts can’t sign up on behalf of someone, we are always more than happy and able to help guide families through the process!