How to Cancel Your SAT Registration

Have you reconsidered your decision to take the SAT? If that’s the case, then you should know what to do to cancel your SAT test properly.

If you’re planning to get into college, it’s very common for your preferred college to want to know how well you’ve done in the SAT. It’s for this very reason that you should really think things over very carefully before you decide to cancel your SAT test. This is especially true if you’ve already spent a lot of time and effort studying for the test in the first place.

But there are plenty of good reasons why you might decide to not take the SAT test. Maybe you’ve checked the requirements of your preferred college and just found out that they don’t need your SAT scores at all. Or perhaps they actually want your ACT scores only. You may have even taken the SAT before, and now you’ve decided that you don’t want to take the SAT a second time.

If you decide not to take the SAT instead of just rescheduling the test date, you may want to know how you can cancel the SAT the right way.

#1.Be Absent

This is perhaps the most obvious way of canceling the test. Of course, it does seem rude to just fail to appear. It doesn’t seem right. It’s like failing to appear at a serious business meeting, or on a date. But that’s not really an apt comparison at all.

While you may be tempted to give the folks at the College Board (who runs the SAT) a call about your plan not to show up, it’s not necessary.

In fact, the College Board would actually prefer that you don’t bother them about this at all. Keep in mind that this organization has to deal with almost 2 million students taking the SAT, and some of them are bound not to show up. If they got a call for every student who fails to appear for the test, they’d be inundated with calls. The College Board has better things to do with their time.

So, don’t bother to call them, even if it might seem rude. You’re actually doing them a favor.

Your absence automatically cancels the test, and the College Board won’t demand an explanation. No SAT scores will be sent, and your decision to register and cancel won’t go on your record.

If you’ve paid for extra score reports beyond the 4 score reports covered by your registration fee, the fees for those extra score reports will be refunded if you fail to appear for the test.

#2.The Refund Option

There is one caveat to the “be absent” option. If you don’t show up for the test, you can say goodbye to the money you’ve already spent on registration.

It’s actually possible to get a partial refund on your SAT fees and get $10 (and only $10) of your money back. You just have to cancel your SAT test at least 5 days before the test date.

To cancel the test and get the refund, you first need to call customer service. Call 866-756-7346 if you’re in the US, or dial 212-713-7789 for international calls. Get your registration information ready before you make your call.

Getting your $10 back will take a bit of time. The College Board will only start processing the refunds 6 weeks after your scheduled test date.

Also, once you’ve called to cancel the SAT test, there’s no going back. If you change your mind again and decide to take the SAT, after all, you will have to register again and pay the whole registration fee again, too.

The Financial Repercussions of Canceling the SAT

Keep in mind that if you cancel the test, you’re not getting back the money you’ve already paid. And then if you change your mind, you get to fork out more money.

You pay $52 for your SAT registration fee. That jumps to $68 if your SAT includes the essay portion. And if you register again, after reconsidering your decision to cancel, you’ll have to pay the same fees again.

If you’re not really sure yet about canceling the SAT altogether, then you may simply just reschedule the test. You’ll pay an extra $30 for the change fee, but that’s better than paying the $52 or $68 again.

What If You Only Want to Cancel the Essay Portion of the SAT?

This isn’t really a problem at all. If you already know that you won’t take the essay portion even if you’ve already paid $68 for the SAT with the essay option, just call customer service and tell them about it.

In fact, you can even change your mind on the test day itself, simply by informing the staff there.

And best of all, you even get a refund and get your $16 back, so that you just pay the $52 for the regular SAT test.

Canceling Reports

It is also very common that you end up taking the test, but then you’re dissatisfied with your score. If that’s the case, you can just decide to cancel your scores.

To cancel your scores, talk to the test coordinator before you leave the test center on test day. Tell them you want to cancel your SAT score, and they will score the cancellation request form to complete and sign. Turn that form into the test coordinator before you leave.

You can still decide to cancel your SAT scores when you leave the test center. Download and print out the “SAT Request to Cancel Test Score” form. Fill it out, and make sure you also provide:

• Test date
• Test center number
• Name of test you are canceling—either the SAT or SAT Subject Test(s)
• Name, address, gender, birth date, and registration number
• Signature

You can send this back through overnight delivery via U.S. Postal Service Express Mail, addressed to

SAT Score Cancellation

P.O. Box 6228

Princeton, NJ 08541-6228

Or you can send it via anther overnight mail service or courier, addressed to:

SAT Score Cancellation

1425 Lower Ferry Road

Ewing, NJ 08618

Another way to send back the form is via fax, using this fax number: 610-290-8978.

Whether you use a mail service or fax, make sure you use the label Attention: SAT Score Cancellation.

Conclusion

You just have to be very sure about canceling your SAT test, or even just your SAT scores. If you’re sure, then at least you know what to do.