Although more than 80% of colleges don’t require standardized test scores for admission—a common practice that started during the COVID-19 pandemic—taking the SAT or ACT can still be extremely beneficial to not only increase your chances of admission but also win money for college. That’s because when your SAT and ACT scores are high, you become eligible for more scholarships. Here are some ways to use your standardized test scores to make college more affordable.
How test scores affect financial aid
Beyond being able to apply for more scholarships with your test scores, you may also automatically receive more financial aid from colleges. High SAT or ACT scores can directly lead to financial aid offices offering you more money that doesn’t need to be paid back, including institutional scholarships and grants, in your financial aid package. Along with your class rank, GPA, and extracurricular involvement, standardized test scores can be one of the biggest factors in being awarded merit-based scholarships from colleges. Certain schools will also give out guaranteed scholarships to students who hit a minimum SAT or ACT score, though some may have a minimum class rank or GPA threshold as well.
Related: The Most Important Questions to Ask About Merit Aid
Where to find other standardized test–based scholarships
Depending on if you took or are planning to take the SAT or ACT, there are a variety of ways to find scholarships that are awarded based on standardized test scores. Here are a couple of helpful resources.
Scholarships.com
Scholarships.com is a great website that can be used for finding scholarships for both SAT and ACT scores. In the search tool, simply pick what score range you are in and a variety of scholarships will be presented. What’s great about this tool is that it features scholarships for almost every potential score, so almost everyone can benefit from it. One drawback of these award opportunities is that certain scholarships may require more than just a standardized test score, such as being a resident of a certain area or attending a specific university, so be sure to review the eligibility requirements before applying.
College Transitions
College Transitions is another useful site to find both SAT and ACT score-based scholarships. This resource is especially helpful as it efficiently lays out the requirements of eligibility to apply to each scholarship. Certain scholarships on this website will only take either an SAT or ACT score, so if you’re below the score threshold for a specific scholarship, consider retaking the exam or trying the other test if you have time to increase your eligibility for more scholarships.
Related: 3 Easy Strategies to Increase Your Scholarship Eligibility
How to improve your scores to win scholarships
After a brief exploration into either of the above resources, you’ll quickly realize that the higher your standardized test scores are, the more scholarships you will be eligible for. You should take every opportunity to increase your chances of getting admitted into specific colleges and receive the most potential scholarship money. Here are a couple tips to improve your scores while you have time.
Take a lot of practice tests
Many students take the SAT or ACT multiple times, which is a good strategy to maximize your scores in hopes you can get over some of those eligibility thresholds. The easiest way to improve your scores is to take practice tests frequently. To effectively use this strategy, you must take a practice test, mark every question you got wrong or guessed on in every section, and focus your studying on the topics where you lost the most points.
Take both the SAT and ACT
Although most students focus on just one standardized test to place in the highest percentage of students, you could consider taking both the SAT and ACT. There’s a lot of crossover in the content, so there’s a good chance you could do well on both. However, I would advise you to really focus your studying on the test you’re best equipped to do well on, since taking both exams requires more time and money. But if you are willing and able to take both tests, you may score higher on one over the other and be eligible for more test-based scholarships.
Related: Essential Tips and Strategies for Taking the SAT and ACT
Although the SAT and ACT may not seem as important as before the pandemic with many colleges going test-optional, succeeding on these exams is still key to boosting your high school résumé and receiving more financial aid and scholarships. You should continue to focus on improving your scores for the chance to receive the highest amount of college funding possible.
CollegeXpress is also a great resource to find awards for high test scores! Start looking now with our Scholarship Search tool.
