The SAT in Moraga is a standard examination you are expected to pass when planning for college admission. Some students will do well taking the SAT, but others struggle. If you struggle, you may wonder if can still get into a college with SAT scores that aren’t high enough.

A low score on your SAT exam can seem like a devastating setback. This is especially true if you’ve prepared so hard for the exam. Even if you receive high grades in your high school courses, you may not be sure if you can get high scores from your SAT (or ACT) exams.

There are a number of factors that may have played against you when you took the SAT. Perhaps you have a learning disability or the test seemed to take too long. Maybe your reviewing methods didn’t fit well, you may have had the usual jitters, you may have been ill at the time of the exam, or you simply fell short on your preparation.

Whatever the reasons, you shouldn’t worry too much. Colleges and universities know the SAT is sometimes an imperfect test. Low exam results do not necessarily indicate that you’re not smart enough, or that you can’t go to college. Even if you’ve scored low on the SAT, there are still options and another chance for you to get into college.

Although being able to submit a good SAT score can greatly broaden your college choices, there are also colleges and universities that accept students with who attained lower than average SAT results. There are even some schools that don’t require SAT results at all. Here are the options you may want to consider in the event you SAT scores are lower than you would like.

Retaking the test

Consider the factors listed above (illness, long tests, etc.) and how they can affect your SAT performance. If you believe that you can get higher test scores than the first time you took your SAT test, you may want to consider taking the test again.

Schools generally consider the highest scores from combined SAT sections as the keys to admission. For instance, if you got remarkably high marks on the mathematics section for the first time and scored higher on the grammar section than in your previous test, then the school would consider both of these two scores and you have a good chance of entering college.

Other admissions criteria

The other criteria for college admissions, if not SAT or ACT scores, would be your grade point average (GPA). If your GPA is strong, it might offset your low SAT score. Other factors that can compensate your low SAT results are extracurricular activities, a high quality written essay, or excellent recommendations. However, if you’re struggling academically and in your extracurricular activities, you might consider a junior college or nearby university that is not your first choice and then transfer after a year or two later.

Test-optional schools

As implied before, there are some schools that don’t require you to take the SAT at all. If you don’t want to bother retaking the test, then apply for a test-optional school. Examples of test-optional schools with a good reputation and high rankings include many liberal arts colleges (like Hamilton College and Wake Forest University) and well-known public educational institutions (University of Wyoming and University of Arizona, for instance).

Remember, there are options if you don’t do well on either the ACT or SAT tests. You most likely will still be able to go to college. You may want to check into test-optional schools, you can do as well as you can in your regular school work and extracurricular activities, or you may try to improve your score by taking the SAT in Moraga test again.