{"id":66236,"date":"2026-09-03T09:41:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T01:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/?p=66236"},"modified":"2026-09-03T09:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T01:42:16","slug":"score-reporting-guide-2026-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/score-reporting-guide-2026-27\/","title":{"rendered":"Sending Official SAT, ACT, and TOEFL Scores for the 2026-27 Application Season: Fees, Timing, and the Nov 1 Deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Every application season, Ivy-Way advisors field a version of the same panicked message: &#8220;I already submitted my Common App, but the school says they never received my SAT score!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This almost never happens because a student was careless. It happens because of a structural misunderstanding: <strong>scores typed into the Common App are &#8220;self-reported&#8221; \u2014 not the same as an official score report reaching the school.<\/strong> The Common App&#8217;s own documentation says so directly: the Testing section is self-entered. Official scores still have to be sent separately, straight from the testing agency (College Board, ACT, ETS, and so on).<\/p>\n<p>Sending scores isn&#8217;t hard on its own. What makes it tricky is that each agency runs its own schedule, fee structure, and rules \u2014 none of them synced to your application deadline. Here&#8217;s the full process Taiwan-based applicants need for the 2026-27 cycle.<\/p>\n<p>*(Compiled from official websites as of September 2026. Fees and dates change, so always confirm on the official site before you act.)*<\/p>\n<h2>Step 1: Find Out Whether the School Even Wants Your Scores<\/h2>\n<p>Before worrying about how to send scores, figure out whether you should send them at all. US colleges currently fall into four rough categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Test Required<\/strong>: no scores means an incomplete application.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Test Optional<\/strong>: sending is your choice, but if you send them, they get factored into your review.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Test Flexible<\/strong>: AP, IB, or other exam results can substitute for SAT\/ACT.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Test Free \/ Test Blind<\/strong>: scores are not considered even if you send them \u2014 the University of California system is the best-known example.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Rule of thumb: if your score sits above the <strong>median of the school&#8217;s middle-50% range<\/strong>, sending it usually helps. If it&#8217;s noticeably below the 25th percentile at a Test Optional school, skip it. Make this call before you register for the test, since registration is also when you decide how to use your free score reports.<\/p>\n<h2>Sending SAT Scores: The Number That Matters Is &#8220;9 Days After Test Day&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>College Board&#8217;s rule: <strong>every SAT registration comes with 4 free score reports<\/strong>, and you can choose or change the recipient schools at registration, before the test, or <strong>up to 9 days after your test date<\/strong>. Once those 9 days pass, the free reports are gone, and every additional school costs <strong>US$15<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>A few more numbers worth knowing:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Standard electronic delivery<\/strong>: about <strong>5\u201310 business days<\/strong> from order to school receipt.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Rush Report<\/strong>: <strong>US$31<\/strong> (plus the per-report fee), delivered in <strong>1\u20134 business days<\/strong> \u2014 but this only works for scores that have already been released, and once sent, it cannot be cancelled.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Registration fee<\/strong>: US$68 in the US; international registration (including Taiwan) is US$68 + US$43 = <strong>US$111<\/strong>. Some Taiwan test centers charge an additional US$24 site fee \u2014 check the exact amount on the registration page. Late registration adds US$38.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Fall 2026 SAT Test Dates and Score Release Dates<\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table  class=\" table table-hover\" >\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Test Date<\/th>\n<th>Registration Deadline<\/th>\n<th>Score Release<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>9\/12\/2026<\/td>\n<td>8\/28\/2026<\/td>\n<td>9\/25\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>10\/3\/2026<\/td>\n<td>9\/18\/2026<\/td>\n<td>10\/16\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>11\/7\/2026<\/td>\n<td>10\/23\/2026<\/td>\n<td>11\/20\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>12\/5\/2026<\/td>\n<td>11\/20\/2026<\/td>\n<td>12\/18\/2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p>This table is arguably the most important part of this whole post, because it directly shapes your score-sending strategy (see the timeline section below).<\/p>\n<h3>An Easy-to-Miss Detail: Score Choice and &#8220;Send All Scores&#8221;<\/h3>\n<p>The SAT lets you choose which <strong>test dates<\/strong> to send, but not mix and match within a date \u2014 you can&#8217;t send the Math score from Test A and the Reading and Writing score from Test B as one report. Some schools require <strong>every<\/strong> test record you have, while many others superscore, automatically pulling your highest section scores across the dates you send. Check each school&#8217;s score-reporting policy first \u2014 College Board&#8217;s send-scores page displays each school&#8217;s specific requirements as you check them off.<\/p>\n<h2>Sending ACT Scores: Superscore Doesn&#8217;t Send Itself<\/h2>\n<p>For fall 2026, US\/international ACT test dates are <strong>9\/19, 10\/17, and 12\/12<\/strong>, with scores typically released <strong>2\u20134 weeks<\/strong> after the test.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Registration includes <strong>4 free<\/strong> score reports to schools of your choice.<\/li>\n<li>After that, each additional report is <strong>US$20<\/strong>, charged <strong>per test date<\/strong> \u2014 sending scores from two different sittings means paying twice.<\/li>\n<li>International registration fees start around US$188.50, depending on whether you add Science or Writing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The important part: ACT&#8217;s Superscore does not send itself.<\/strong> You must actively choose &#8220;Superscore&#8221; or a &#8220;single test date&#8221; in the system. Many students assume that after three attempts, schools automatically see the best combination \u2014 and end up sending only their most recent attempt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>English Proficiency Tests: Using Your Free Reports Early Matters More Than Using Them Often<\/h2>\n<p><strong>TOEFL iBT<\/strong>: name <strong>4 free<\/strong> score recipients any time before test day; the deadline to change them is <strong>10 p.m. local time the day before your test<\/strong> \u2014 the deadline students miss most often, since it falls before the test rather than after. Beyond that, each additional report is <strong>US$25<\/strong>. Delivery time depends on how the school receives it, but through the ETS Data Manager it&#8217;s typically about <strong>4\u20138 business days<\/strong>. TOEFL scores are valid for <strong>2 years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>IELTS<\/strong>: send up to <strong>5 free<\/strong> paper Test Report Forms. Electronic score sharing through the IELTS Results Service is generally free and not limited to a fixed number of institutions. Fees for additional paper TRFs vary by test center \u2014 Taiwan-based test takers should confirm the exact amount with their registration center. Computer-delivered results are usually available within <strong>1\u20132 days<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Duolingo English Test<\/strong>: sending scores is free with essentially no limit on institutions, and results are typically ready within about 2 days \u2014 though since this comes from Duolingo&#8217;s own site and couldn&#8217;t be independently verified item by item, confirm the actual fees and turnaround inside your account at englishtest.duolingo.com.<\/p>\n<h2>Working Backward From Nov 1: Your Score-Sending Timeline<\/h2>\n<p>Say you&#8217;re applying Early Decision or Early Action, with a deadline of <strong>November 1, 2026<\/strong>. Working backward from the numbers above:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>9\/12 test \u2192 9\/25 scores<\/strong>: plenty of time, with room to spare to decide whether to even send it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>10\/3 test \u2192 10\/16 scores<\/strong>: <strong>the last SAT date that safely makes it in time for ED\/EA<\/strong>. Send scores the moment they&#8217;re released on 10\/16; with 5\u201310 business days for delivery, they&#8217;ll likely land around 10\/26\u201310\/30 \u2014 tight but workable, or pay for Rush if you want a margin. Registration for this date closes <strong>9\/18<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>11\/7 test \u2192 11\/20 scores<\/strong>: too late for ED\/EA, but fine for most Regular Decision deadlines (1\/1\u20131\/15).<\/li>\n<li><strong>12\/5 test \u2192 12\/18 scores<\/strong>: RD only, and some schools set separate cutoffs for December scores, so check individually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Same logic for the ACT: the 10\/17 test date releases scores in early November \u2014 already too late for a Nov 1 ED\/EA deadline.<\/p>\n<p>Good news: <strong>when your Common App is submitted and when your official scores arrive are two separate things.<\/strong> You can submit right on 11\/1 and have official scores land slightly later, per each school&#8217;s policy \u2014 but how much later is up to the school. Check each school&#8217;s admissions site for their score-arrival deadline rather than assuming.<\/p>\n<h2>The Five Most Common Mistakes Taiwan-Based Applicants Make<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Assuming the Common App entry counts as sending scores.<\/strong> Self-reported scores just let admissions officers get an early look \u2014 the official report still has to be sent separately.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Missing the free-report deadline without realizing it.<\/strong> For the SAT it&#8217;s 9 days after the test; for TOEFL it&#8217;s 10 p.m. the night before. Miss it, and you&#8217;re paying for every report from then on.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Name and date-of-birth mismatches.<\/strong> The English name and date of birth on your score report must match your application and passport exactly. A common issue for Taiwanese students is a reversed name order or inconsistent middle-name handling, which causes the school&#8217;s system to fail to match the incoming score to your file \u2014 and your application can get flagged as incomplete.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Underestimating delivery time.<\/strong> The 5\u201310 business day window doesn&#8217;t account for weekends or US holidays, and things back up especially badly around Thanksgiving.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ignoring a school&#8217;s &#8220;send all scores&#8221; requirement.<\/strong> Sending only your best attempt to a school that requires all scores can be treated as incomplete disclosure.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>Three Things You Can Do This Week<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Open your school list and check three things for every school: testing policy, whether they require all scores, and their official score-arrival deadline. Put the answers in one table.<\/li>\n<li>Log into your College Board, ACT, and ETS accounts and confirm whether you&#8217;ve already used your free reports from past tests \u2014 and where they went.<\/li>\n<li>If you still need to retake the SAT and you&#8217;re aiming for ED\/EA, register for the 10\/3 test <strong>before 9\/18<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Sending your scores requires no talent, yet it&#8217;s the easiest step to mess up. It won&#8217;t make your application stronger on its own \u2014 but skipping it undercuts everything else you&#8217;ve worked on.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>About Ivy-Way<\/strong>: Ivy-Way Academy was founded by alumni of Harvard, Princeton, and other top universities, and offers SAT\/ACT\/AP test prep along with US college admissions counseling. If you&#8217;re not sure whether your scores are worth sending, or you want to plan out your testing timeline for the 2027 application season, feel free to reach out to us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Self-reported scores on the Common App are not the same as official score reports. Here are the free sends, fees, delivery times, and a working-backward timeline from Nov 1 for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","is_share_social_media":0,"is_publish_medium":0,"language":"en","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2356],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized-tw"],"views":{"total":1,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1788479449},"ivyway_views":0,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/score-reporting-guide-2026-27.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66238,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66236\/revisions\/66238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ivy-way.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}