Early Decision Deadlines for SAT/ACT Applicants

SAT/ACT Deadlines for Early Decision Applicants

Early Action deadlines are usually somewhere between November 1-15, and Indian NRI students have to have their materials prepared before this particular date. Right from the letter of recommendation to SAT / ACT scores to college essays. Now letter of recommendation and the college essays can be worked on one two months prior to the deadline. However, SAT / ACT tests need preparation and if the scores are not upto the mark, then retests are required too.

Let’s talk about the SAT / ACT test dates and what will be your latest test date to be able to submit your Early Decision (ED) college application.

Early Decision and Their Deadlines?

Early decision gives students a chance to head start their admission process much ahead of other students applying via regular process. Now in the case of Early decision, the deadline is around November 1 and the admission results are usually out by December 15.

Now with regards to SAT / ACT tests, if the Early Decision deadline is in November, then the last date for ACT would be September and for SAT it would be in October. Don’t SAT / ACT results usually come out within 15 days. Hence, these would received just in of your submission. There are some colleges, who push their early decision deadline to October, in this case the last date for ACT would be September and for SAT, it would be October.

Now to avoid delays, you have make sure that you mark the colleges you want your scores to be sent to while filling out the SAT / ACT registration form. There might be some cases where there’s a delay in sending the scores to your colleges, don’t panic. In such cases, colleges accept the printout or the screenshot of the report sent to you by your guidance counselor.

It is always advisable that students who wish to apply for early decision, should get their tests completed before they reach their senior year. The benefit of this would be you’ll be done with your tests prior to summer break, and you’ll have entire holiday season to work on your college application, your essays for application, work on other questions asked in the application, and also work with people to get a good letter of recommendation.

As you can see, if you also had to study for the SAT or ACT, you'd waste valuable time that would be arguably better spent improving your college applications.

Schools/Colleges with Earlier Than Usual SAT/ACT Deadlines

Indian NRI Students must pay close attention to these dates, if you wish to apply via Early Decision. These colleges have their deadlines earlier than usual.

Schools That Follow the October ACT/November SAT Rule

These schools stick to the October ACT/November SAT rule.

Hence, it is clearly understood that the last date for SAT is in November and ACT in September.

To Summarize:

Before taking a decision of applying Early decision admissions, make sure you have your SAT / ACT cleared. And it is always advisable to have these tests completed before your summer holidays and in your junior years. This would provide you ample of time to prepare for your application submissions.

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