When Can You Take the SAT, ACT, and AP Tests?

Standardized tests are a perpetual part of the high school experience, looming large on the calendar, compelling students to engage in long drawn out study sessions. When you take these tests matters, as they are not offered continuously throughout the year, but instead at set dates and times.

In this article, we’re going to explore when these tests are offered, and the strategy behind when you should take them. Taking the tests at the right times can help you maximize your scores, and even impact your college applications timeline. We’ll examine each test in turn, and how you should schedule studying around your testing dates. Let’s get started!

When are the AP Tests?

We’re going to begin with the AP exams, since these occur at approximately the same time each year, though with variations as to which exam occurs when. AP exams are administered over the course of two weeks in May, usually but not always the first two full weeks in the month. 

This is to ensure they arrive at the end of the school year, after you have had a chance to experience the entirety of the curriculum proscribed by the AP course. Since each school district has its own schedule, they want to make sure that these are always near the end of the year, without ever impinging into summer vacation. Thus the dates are almost always the same, with minor variations depending on the calendar. 

Makeup testing and late testing generally happen a week after the standard exam period, and is only available under specific circumstances. The AP’s policies on late testing can be found on their website here. Note that the late exams are a different version of the test to prevent cheating, and sometimes require an additional fee of $40, depending on your reason for needing a late test. 

Dates for specific exams can be found on the AP’s website here. Or, for your convenience, here are the dates for the exams in spring 2025: 

Art portfolios are due on Friday May 9th. Note that morning and afternoon are determined by the time zone where the test is administered. 

Studying for the AP Test

Your main preparation for the AP test is, of course, the AP course you take which is connected to it. You should be studying and reviewing topics throughout the year to prepare; the tests your teacher gives you are designed specifically to prepare you for the kinds of questions you will see on the AP test, and are the best form of preparation you will receive. 

When is the SAT Offered?

Unlike AP tests, the SAT is offered more regularly over the course of a year, with seven different sittings available. The dates for these can be found on their website, along with the chance to sign up for them. Note that you must register in advance for the SAT; they list a minimum time, but there are limited seats for each sitting of the exam, so we do recommend doing so well in advance. Otherwise it may come time to take the test, only to realize you have none available in your immediate area. 

Note also that the SAT is not offered at regular intervals through the year. In part because seven does not divide evenly into twelve, but beyond that the exam dates tend to cluster into two groups; the spring and the fall. 

When specifically you sign up for the SAT depends on your goals, but we recommend taking the test for the first time in your junior year, ideally in the fall. This gives you time to receive your score, and decide whether or not taking the test again is necessary. This can repeat itself, up until when scores are due to colleges.

Your last potential date for taking the SAT depends on when you are applying to college, assuming you want the scores to be available. It generally takes two weeks after you finish the test for the scores to be reported, they may be sent to colleges after this. Thus if you are applying to a school with a deadline on October 15, testing on October 5 will not give you enough time to receive your scores and send them to the school in question. 

This does not mean you can’t take the test on October 5, but you should not do so with the assumption it will impact your application due by October 15. The score will become available in time for schools with later application dates. This is especially important if you are only sitting for the test once, in which case you need to be sure your scores will be available by the time you apply.

For your convenience, pending SAT test dates (as seen on their website at the time of writing) are: 

• August 24, 2024
• October 5, 2024
• November 2, 2024
• December 7, 2024
• March 8, 2025
• May 3, 2025
• June 7, 2025

Studying for the SAT

We have a separate article for advice on studying for the SAT in terms of practice; the goal of this section is to cover when you should start the studying process. In general, we recommend students begin studying in the summer before their junior year. This is because a sustained and long-term studying effort produces significantly better effects than last-minute cramming. 

Further, you should refocus your studying after each time you take the test; gaining a better understanding of what you already know, and what you need to focus more on. This is also why we recommend beginning testing early; to give more time for this trial and error process. 

Finally, if you score exceptionally well on the test the first time, it may not be worth retesting. This can free up time from studying to focus on other important things, like working on your college applications. Again, this is a major benefit to testing early, rather than waiting until the last possible moment. 

When is the ACT Offered?

Much like the SAT, the ACT is offered multiple times each year, generally seven per calendar year. While these are not consistently spaced, they are more so than the SAT. Each test date has both a normal and a late registration deadline. As there are a limited number of seats at each testing center for a given date however, we recommend scheduling your tests well in advance; waiting until the last minute can leave you scrambling to find a seat as the deadline looms. 

The scattered scheduling does offer you a degree of flexibility in when you take the test, but here too, there are some natural limits. First, you don’t want to take your first test until you are confident you know all of the material that will be tested; for most students this is after their sophomore year in high school. Next, you want to make sure your scores will be delivered before you need them for your college applications. Unlike the SAT, the ACT does not give a set date for when scores will be available by, but processes them continuously, making them available when possible. 

This means you will want more of a gap between when you take the test and when the scores are needed, in case yours end up near the bottom of their pile, and come back near the end of the window they provide. This makes last-minute ACT testing a more dicey proposition than doing so for the SAT, though at most you will be waiting two months for your scores. 

For example, if you are applying to a school with a deadline of October 15, we recommend taking the ACT no later than the July date; this is scheduled for the 12 in 2025 and promises to return scores no later than September 5. Now it is entirely possible, and indeed probable that you will get scores back before this very final deadline, but we always espouse caution in these circumstances. You don’t want your college application plans to get derailed by something outside of your control if you can plan around it. 

For your convenience, pending dates for the ACT (as found on their website at the time of writing) are: 

• September 14, 2024
• October 26, 2024
• December 14, 2024
• February 8, 2025
• April 5, 2025
• June 14, 2025
• July 12, 2025

Studying for the ACT

Studying for the ACT is much like preparing for the SAT; sustained practice over time produces much better results than short term cramming. This means that planning out your test dates well in advance is beneficial, since it lets you know when and how much you should study.

In addition, we recommend staggering your test dates by at least a few months. Due to the uncertainty in when scores for the ACT are released, you want to be sure of having your previous scores well before your next test date. This will let you know where you need to focus your efforts while studying, and which sections you already have well in hand. 

Final Thoughts

Standardized testing is a key part of the college admissions process, and so dominates significant mental energy and time for high school students. Figuring out when and where to take these tests is no small task, and should be done well in advance. As with all else, it is sometimes possible to succeed in spite of leaving a task until the last possible minute, but that doesn’t make doing so a good idea. 

We hope this article has given you a good idea of when these tests are offered, and the sort of timeline you should set for yourself when preparing to take them. Of course, preparing for these tests on your own can be a challenge, especially with all of the other demands high school places on your time. If you want help, check out our test prep service. Our mentors are skilled at helping students prepare for all standardized tests, and are able to meet you where you are. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you.