SAT and ACT Accommodations

If you think you might be eligible for accommodations on the SAT or ACT, here are some things to keep in mind:

Counseling Department

The most important thing to remember: everything goes through your high school’s counseling department. Have questions? Ask counseling. Need paperwork submitted? Go to counseling. They are the key coordinators of this entire process.

If your high school counselor is unsupportive or unresponsive, try to contact your school’s District Manager for Special Needs.

Extended Time

The most common accommodation is 1.5x extended time. Online, you can find the time limits for the extended time SAT (click ‘Test Day Details’) and the extended time ACT. Extended time is far from the only accommodation that is offered: additional breaks, computer for typing the essay, and audio format test are just some of a wide range of accommodations offered to students who can demonstrate a documented need.

SAT Accommodations

If you took the PSAT in school and received an accommodation, then you are likely pre-approved by the College Board for that same accommodation on the SAT, but check with your guidance department to confirm. If you did not take the PSAT or did not receive an accommodation, check out the College Board’s website for SAT accommodations and ask your guidance department to start the application process.

However, the SAT is rarely the best test for students with extended time accommodations. See “Which Test to Choose” below.

ACT Accommodations

The ACT is administered by a different organization from the SAT. Pre-approval by the College Board for SAT accommodations does NOT ensure ACT accommodations. For the ACT, you must apply separately.

One quirk of the ACT’s process is that you’re required to register for an ACT before you can apply for accommodations. If you’re not ready to test anytime soon but want to get the accommodations process in motion, register for an ACT (ideally one at least 3 months away), then check out the ACT’s accommodations website and ask your guidance department to start the application process. Once you’ve been approved, you can cancel the registration and rest easy with the knowledge that your accommodations will be available for you when you are actually ready to test.

In the past, applying for accommodations on the ACT was sometimes a difficult process that involved submitting extensive documentation or appeals to be approved.

However, ACT announced in 2021 that any students with accommodations in their IEPs or 504 plans will automatically be approved for those same accommodations on the ACT!

“Students with disabilities already face many barriers in their lives, and we don’t want the accommodations process for taking the ACT to be one of them,” said ACT CEO Janet Godwin.

To read the full press release, click here.

Once approved, remember to bring your accommodation approval letter to the test center on your official test day!

ADA

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), colleges will NOT be able to see that your SAT or ACT was taken with accommodations.

Which Test to Choose?

For students who receive the 1.5x extended time accommodation on both the SAT and ACT, we almost always recommend the ACT. ACT questions are generally less complex than SAT questions, and the extended time adds flexibility to the ACT’s typically stringent time limitations.

Each extended time test takes nearly 5 hours. To limit the upfront time commitment, we have extended time students begin with a diagnostic ACT only. We’ll recommend a diagnostic SAT only if the ACT results indicate that a student may be uniquely suited to the SAT.