Retake in December if your score is below the range at the colleges you want. If you’re already in range, your essays will do more for you. And a retake usually goes up: 83% of students who answered 300 or more questions on Aniko scored higher on their October retake, and more than 9 in 10 under 1200. Here’s how many days you have:
Your days to December 5
Nov 7 scores and the regular deadline both land on Nov 20.
- Nov 8 to 19Head startWrite down what felt hard. Retry your misses while you wait.
- Fri, Nov 20Score dayCheck your score, decide, and register by 11:59 p.m. ET.
- Nov 21 to 27Retry your missesYour two or three weakest skills, one at a time. Thanksgiving is a light day.
- Sat, Nov 28 or Sun, Nov 29One full practice testYour only one. Review every miss the next day.
- Nov 30 to Dec 4The last five daysShort sets and your Error Log. No new topics, no full tests.
- Sat, Dec 5Test dayBluebook ready the night before, your usual bedtime, a few easy warm-ups.
- Scores Fri, Dec 18After December 5Superscore, and which scores to send.
Should You Retake in December?
Set your score and pick a college to see your next move.
Your retake, from your score
How the October SAT went for students who started at 1300 to 1390 and practiced on Aniko.
- Typical change
- +50
- Students up / down
- 89% / 9%
- Superscore vs first SAT
- +70
Nearly 9 in 10 went up. Their superscore did even better: 70 points above the first test.
Students who answered 300 or more Aniko questions before their October SAT. Typical change is the median: half the students went up more, half less. Superscore: your best section scores from both tests.
Your next move
Pick a school to get your verdicts.
At 1400 and up, aim at one section. Put your days into the one with more misses you can fix, and let the superscore keep the other.
If you’re a senior, December scores come out December 18. That’s in time for most Regular Decision and Early Decision II deadlines. Check the last test date each of your colleges accepts. See When do SAT scores come out?
If you’re a junior, you have time. March 6 gives you about four months to study. December can be the first half of a superscore: one section now, the other in March. See When should I take the SAT?
For what your score means at hundreds of colleges, see What Is a Good SAT Score?
Before November 20: A Head Start
Four things to do while you wait for your scores:
- Write down what felt hard on November 7 while you still remember: the questions you guessed on, where time ran short, the module that felt off.
- Skip a new full test. The SAT you just took is your starting point, and its score is on the way.
- Start on the skills that cost the most points. In Reading and Writing, that’s Words in Context, at every score. In Math, it’s right-triangle trig and probability, the skills that separate 700+ scorers.
- Set December 5 as your test date in Study Plan Settings, so Aniko builds your study plan around the days you have left.
November 20: Score Day and the Deadline
Your November 7 scores come out on November 20, from about 6 a.m. Registration for December 5 closes that same night at 11:59 p.m. ET. So check your score first, then decide. Register for December 5 that evening, since test center seats fill up.
Missed it? You can still register until November 24, with a $38 late fee.
Took the SAT before November 7? Your score is already out: register for December 5 today, then start the 15 days.
The 15 Days, Built From Your Misses
Practice is what moves a retake. Students under 1300 who practiced on Aniko between SATs typically went up 100 points.
How much retakes went up, with and without practice
First SAT under 1300
- 300+ Aniko questions between SATs+100 points
- No Aniko questions between SATs+30 points
First SAT 1300 or more
- 300+ Aniko questions between SATs+40 points
- No Aniko questions between SATs+20 points
Typical change is the median, from the first SAT to the October retake: half went up more, half less.
They answered 300 or more questions. Over your two weeks, that’s about 20 a day. Here’s how to make each one count:
- Pick two or three skills. Your College Board report shows broad areas. Analytics on Aniko breaks your score down skill by skill, like the example below, so you see which skills to fix first.
- Retry each miss until you get it right without the explanation. Reading the explanation feels like fixing it. Getting it right from a blank page is fixing it.
- Then do a few similar questions on the same skill, so the fix holds on a question you haven’t seen.
A day can look like this: one session of about 20 questions on one skill, 30 to 45 minutes, then Retry its misses. Rotate your skills across the days. Thanksgiving can be a short set or a day off: see Feeling burned out? Take a rest day or lighten your plan.
Your SAT, skill by skill
Reading & Writing
Math
An example breakdown. Highlighted: your weakest areas. Start with Geometry and Trigonometry, the lowest; open it to see its weakest skill, right triangles and trigonometry.
Aniko’s Error Log keeps every question you’ve missed until you fix it. Press Retry to answer one again, plus up to 10 like it on the same skill.
Sort your misses by why you missed them, like “misread” or “formula”, into Collections. Each collection becomes a practice set you rerun with Start Practice, which a notebook of mistakes can’t do. See Use the Error Log, bookmarks and collections.
Miu did the same between her two SATs: after a 1540, she knew inference questions were where she lost points. She practiced them until they stopped catching her, and her next SAT was a 1580.
One Full Practice Test, November 28 or 29
Take one full practice test on Aniko that weekend, timed, at the time your SAT starts. It rehearses your timing, and its skill-by-skill breakdown shows what to put into your last five days. Retry every miss the next day.
One test is one day, so don’t let it shake you. Three weeks before his SAT, Yaroslav had a rough Reading and Writing module: 74%, which pulled his score estimate down to 1490. On the SAT, he scored 1530.
The Last Five Days: What to Practice, What to Skip
You won’t learn a new skill this week. You can stop giving points away.
Practice:
- Your Error Log misses, starting with the practice test’s.
- Short timed sets in your two or three skills: 10 to 15 questions, not 40.
- Desmos keystrokes and answer entry: graph both sides and click the intersection instead of solving by hand. From Desmos to Bluebook: answer entry and final checks.
- Your Math Module 2 pace: reach question 16 with 18 to 20 minutes left.
Skip:
- New topics.
- The hardest sets. This late, they cost time and confidence.
- Any other full test.
Justin learned that last one the hard way. He ended a five-week study challenge with five full practice tests in five days. His score estimate slid from 1490 to 1410: “Ultimately, I think fatigue got to me.” He still won the challenge. Read Justin’s story.
For Math, see If Your Test Is This Week in our SAT Math tips. Many Math misses take one Desmos move, and the free Desmos course shows each one.
The Night Before and the Morning
- Bluebook ready: device charged, exam setup done, admission ticket and a physical photo ID in your bag. The full list is in What to bring to the SAT on test day.
- Your usual bedtime. Sleep does more for you tonight than one more set.
- A few easy questions in the morning to warm up, or a look over your own misses. Nothing new.
After December 5: Superscore and Score Choice
December scores come out on Friday, December 18. A college that superscores takes your best Reading and Writing score and your best Math score, even from different test dates.
That’s how Parsa finished. After a 1550 with an 800 in Math, he stopped studying Math and did “only reading questions.” His next SAT brought a 770 in Reading and Writing, and a 1570 superscore. Read Parsa’s story.
If December went worse, leave it out. With Score Choice, you choose which test dates each college gets, unless a college asks for all your scores. The free score sends you picked when you registered still get your December scores. See How many times can you take the SAT? Want another try? The next SAT is March 6, 2027. Register by February 19.