Written by Chris Hernandez
The College Board offers the SAT seven times per year in the United States. For the 2025-2026 school year, test dates include August 2025, October 2025, November 2025, December 2025, March 2026, May 2026, and June 2026. Each date has specific SAT registration deadlines, typically 4 to 5 weeks before the test.
The digital SAT is now the standard format for all test dates, so make sure your preparation is aligned with the digital test structure and timing.
Registration typically closes about one month before each test date, with a late registration option (plus additional fee) available for about two weeks after the regular deadline. The base fee for the SAT is $60, with fee waivers available for eligible students through their school counselor.
You can register online through the College Board website. If you are unsure about which test dates to target, plan backward from your college application deadlines — you want your scores available before your earliest application is due.
The best test date depends on your prep timeline and college application schedule. Most students benefit from taking the SAT first in the spring of junior year (March or May), which gives you a baseline score and time to improve before a fall senior year retake if needed. For details on how many times can you take the SAT, see our retake strategy guide.
If you are a junior right now, May or June 2026 is ideal for your first attempt. This gives you summer to prep for an October or November retake. Determine how long should you study for the SAT based on your starting score to pick the right date.
Once you have your test date set, build a countdown study plan. If you have 8+ weeks, follow a full SAT study plan. If you have 4 weeks, use our one month study plan. If you are really pressed for time, our 2 week study plan maximizes your final days.
Familiarize yourself with all SAT sections and their timing, take an initial practice test for a baseline score, and identify your weakest areas. At Amikka Learning, we start every student with a diagnostic assessment so we can build a prep plan perfectly calibrated to your test date and target score.
Christopher Hernandez, the founder of Amikka Learning, couldn't afford expensive SAT tutoring so he spent hundreds of hours studying on his own.
After
improving over 400 points and attending an Ivy League school he realized how unfair
the playing field was with tutoring: no matter how smart you were, if you couldn't
afford tutoring you were stuck.
His dream was to change this.
He began
tutoring for the SAT and quickly realized that he was a gifted tutor. His students
were loving his program and improving very fast.
Fast forward 8 years, Amikka
is a leader in the education industry and has helped thousands of students get into
their dream schools.
If you'd like a free consultation for 1-on-1 tutoring
schedule a call with our team here.
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SAT and ACT prep.
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Our programs give students access to something that 99% of high schooler's will never
have ...
A team of lvy League coaches who specialize in getting students into
their dream schools. Why? So they can ultimately achieve their highest potential--no
matter who they are or where they come from.
We offer a spectrum of SAT and
ACT learning experiences with different layers of personalization and accountability
in order to find the best fit for our students and their learning styles.
