By: Erik Slagle

Anyone who’s the parent of a high schooler doesn’t need to be told that kids looking ahead to college are under unique, acute stress. We’re past the shifting admissions landscape of the pandemic. Still, each year seems to bring new options and changes to the standardized tests recommended by most colleges and universities nationwide: the SAT and ACT. The shift from paper to digital testing started with last year’s SAT (with mixed reactions from students) and in 2025, the ACT is moving in that direction as well.

In addition, more schools that were “test-optional” during the 2020-2023 admissions cycles have either changed back to requiring test scores, or strongly recommending them. More are expected to follow suit this summer.

So how do you make sense of when/how to take these tests, how long to prep beforehand, and where they fit into a teen’s already-packed schedule? Hopefully this quick primer on 2025 test dates will come in handy!

March 8^th SAT: practice from now until test day, register by February 21^st (Feb. 25^th late registration deadline)

April 5^th ACT: practice from now until test day, register by February 28^th (March 6^th late)

May 3^rd SAT: begin practicing March 8, register by April 18^th (April 22^nd late)

June 7^th SAT: begin practicing April 12^th, register by May 22^nd (May 27^th late)

June 14^th ACT: begin practicing April 19^th, register by May 20^th (May 26^th late)

July 12^th ACT: begin practicing May 17^th, register by June 6^th (June 20^th late)

August 23^rd, September 13^th, and October 4^th SAT: begin practicing after July 4^th, registration deadlines TBD per the CollegeBoard. [This is the first year the CollegeBoard will offer a September SAT date! It can be a great option for both juniors trying an early test, and seniors looking to get a last test in before Early Decision deadlines. But my advice is to focus on one specific date of these 3 – August, September or October – and not just take test after test after test.]

One important note on the ACT – 2025 will see substantial changes to this test, similar to what the SAT underwent in 2024. A digital testing option will be available, along with other changes including the Science section going “optional” and the test overall becoming shorter for students testing online. I recommend checking out actstudent.org for more details about these changes before deciding whether the SAT or ACT will be the better option for your child.

(I also *strongly* recommend no more than four combined SAT/ACT attempts overall. Early Decision/Action applicants should generally be fine even with the September/October tests, but it never hurts to confirm the policies of the specific schools to which you plan to apply.)

The spring semester of Junior Year is often the busiest, most challenging time for college applicants sorting out their options. But the admissions process doesn’t need to be a pain point – it just takes a little organization and a plan of attack!