How to Find Old SAT Scores

A standardized test and No. 2 pencil
DrGrounds / Getty Images

If you took the SAT a million years ago, you may have thought that by walking away from the testing site, you were done with that phase of your life forever. On the contrary, if you try to continue your education or nab an entry-level job, your SAT scores could be a big boost in your resume if your job history isn't substantial. 

What if you went right into a trade, bypassed college, and are now considering enrolling in an undergraduate program? Do you even remember which college admissions test you took? (The ACT is often confused for the SAT) Or what a good SAT score even is?

If any of this sounds like you, then you will need those SAT score reports, and here's how to go about getting them. 

Settling an Old Score

Finding your old SAT scores only takes a few steps.

  1. Remember which college admissions test you took: ACT or SAT. 
  2. ACT: Your ACT score will be a two digit number from 0 to 36.
  3. SAT: Your SAT score will be a three or four digit score between 600 and 2400. The current scale started in March 2016 for the Redesigned SAT, which uses a different scoring system, with a maximum of 1600. Since the SAT has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years, the score you may have received in the '80s or '90s would be scaled a bit differently now.
  4. Request a score report from the College Board. 
  5. By mail: Download the request form and mail it to SAT Program / P.O. Box 7503 / London, KY 40742-7503. You'll need to know your personal information at the time of testing, like your street address, and will also need to choose recipients to whom you'd like the SAT scores sent. 
  6. By phone: For an additional fee of $10, you can call to order archived SAT score reports at (866) 756-7346 (domestic), (212) 713-7789 (international), (888) 857-2477 (TTY in the U.S.), or (609) 882-4118 (TTY international).
  7. Pay the fee for your old SAT score report
  8. The archive retrieval fee for old SAT reports is currently $31. 
  9. Each report will cost you $12, so that amount needs to be multiplied by the number of recipients you're sending the report to.
  10. Additional fees ($31) apply for rush delivery.
  11. Wait for your score reports to arrive! Within five weeks of receiving your information, the College Board will mail your score reports to you and to the score recipients you've listed on the form. 

Tips to Speed Up the Process

  • Get some information together before you get on the phone or fill out the score request sheet. You'll need details like your name and address at the time of SAT testing, your approximate test date, college, and scholarship program codes for recipients of your scores, and your credit card number. 
  • Write legibly on all required forms, preferably in all caps. You'll delay the scores if you choose to write sloppily. 
  • Remember that since your scores are older, the tests may have changed and the score reporting services will send a letter stating that fact to the institution in which you're interested. So, even though you may have earned top ranks for the year you tested, your score back then may not mean the same thing as the scores of today. Contact the College Board to explain if you're confused about the scoring scale and differences.
  • Pay an additional (optional) $31 rush service fee.
Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Roell, Kelly. "How to Find Old SAT Scores." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/how-to-find-old-sat-scores-3211582. Roell, Kelly. (2023, April 5). How to Find Old SAT Scores. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-find-old-sat-scores-3211582 Roell, Kelly. "How to Find Old SAT Scores." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-find-old-sat-scores-3211582 (accessed March 28, 2024).