Take the December SAT or ACT if you still need a score

The last useful test dates

The dates

• SAT: Saturday December 5, 2026 — registration closed November 20
• ACT: Saturday December 12, 2026

Scores return in roughly two to four weeks, arriving early January — in time for Regular Decision and ED2 deadlines, and too late for anything due December 1.

After these dates

The next SAT is March 6, 2027 and the next ACT is February 27, 2027. Both are too late for Regular Decision at nearly every school. March scores can still matter for scholarship applications, honors college consideration, NCAA eligibility and course placement — so a March sitting is not pointless, it is simply not an admissions date.

Should you sit it at all?

Take it if:

• A school on your list requires a score and you do not yet have one
• Your current score sits below the middle 50 percent range at schools you care about, and a modest gain would move you into it
• A merit scholarship you are pursuing has a score threshold you are close to

Skip it if:

• Every school is test-blind or you have already decided not to submit
• Your score is comfortably in range
• You would be trading essay and application time for a likely small gain. In December the applications matter more.

If you sit it

• Confirm the test centre and admission ticket the week before
• Bring approved photo ID, an approved calculator, and a charged device for the digital SAT
• Send scores directly to any school with a January deadline rather than waiting to see the result — the delivery time will not be there later

Registration closed?

Late registration windows exist for both tests for roughly eleven to twelve days after the regular deadline, for an added fee. Check availability today rather than assuming it is gone.