SAT and ACT 2025: Complete Guide for Immigrant & International Students
The new digital SAT format, SAT vs ACT, what scores mean, registration and fee waivers, free prep, TOEFL requirements, and how test-optional really works — for immigrant families.
Reviewed by Deepak Middha, CA, Series 65
Updated August 16, 2025 · 6 min read
For an immigrant family, the SAT and ACT can feel like a black box: unfamiliar tests that somehow decide college options. They matter less than they used to — many schools are now test-optional — but a strong score still opens doors and earns scholarship money, which is exactly why it's worth understanding how the system works in 2025.
In a nutshell
The SAT is now fully digital and adaptive (since 2024): two sections — Reading & Writing and Math — scored 200–800 each for a 400–1600 total, taken in about 2 hours 14 minutes. The ACT is a separate, faster test scored 1–36 with a science section. Colleges accept both equally. The SAT costs $68 (fee waivers available for eligible US students), and the best prep — Khan Academy — is free. International students often also need TOEFL or IELTS to prove English proficiency.
Key takeaways
- The digital SAT has two sections (Reading & Writing, Math), is adaptive, and takes ~2h 14min.
- Colleges accept the SAT and ACT equally — take whichever you score better on.
- The SAT costs $68; fee waivers cover the test plus extra score reports for eligible low-income US students.
- Khan Academy's official digital SAT prep is free and uses the real test format.
- International students usually also need TOEFL/IELTS — that's separate from the SAT.
- Test-optional means scores are optional, not ignored — submit if your score is at or above a school's middle-50% range.
Why the SAT and ACT still matter
Even in the test-optional era, a strong standardized score does two things: it strengthens your application at competitive schools, and it triggers automatic merit scholarships at many universities — real money off tuition based purely on a score threshold. For immigrant and international families who can't access federal financial aid, that merit money is often the difference between affordable and impossible.
The digital SAT (2024+) explained
The SAT went fully digital in 2024, and it's a meaningfully different test:
- Two sections: Reading & Writing, and Math — each split into two modules.
- Adaptive: how you perform on the first module of a section determines the difficulty of the second.
- Shorter: about 2 hours 14 minutes, down from over 3 hours.
- Taken on a device through the College Board's Bluebook app, on a laptop or tablet.
- Scored 400–1600, with each section worth 200–800.
- A calculator is allowed on all Math questions.
SAT vs ACT: how to choose
Colleges accept both with no preference, so the only question is which suits you. The ACT has a dedicated science-reasoning section and moves faster, rewarding quick workers. The SAT is shorter, fully digital, and folds data analysis into its other sections. The right move: take one free official practice test of each, see which feels better and scores higher, and then put all your prep into that one.
| SAT | ACT | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Digital, adaptive | Paper or digital |
| Time | ~2h 14min | ~2h 55min |
| Score | 400–1600 | 1–36 |
| Science section | No | Yes |
What your score means
Scores are best understood as percentiles — how you rank against other test-takers. Roughly: 1200 is around the 75th percentile, 1350 around the 85th, 1500 around the 95th, and 1550+ in the top 1–2%. As a rough college-fit guide:
- 1500+ — competitive for the most selective schools (Ivies, MIT, Stanford).
- 1400–1499 — strong for top-50 universities.
- 1300–1399 — solid for state flagships and frequent merit scholarships.
- 1200–1299 — accepted at most four-year colleges.
- Below 1200 — consider a community-college transfer path, or retake after free prep.
To see your own total, percentile, and college-fit band, use our SAT Score & College Fit tool.
How to register
Register at collegeboard.org (SAT) or act.org (ACT). You'll create an account, pick a test date and a nearby test center, and pay the fee. Register a few weeks early — popular centers fill up. The SAT is offered seven times a year in the US.
Cost and fee waivers
The SAT costs $68; the ACT is similar. Fee waivers are available to eligible low-income US students through a school counselor and cover the test fee, extra score reports, and sometimes college application fees. International test-takers pay an added regional fee. Each registration includes four free score reports; additional reports cost about $16 each.
Free vs paid prep
You do not need to pay for prep. [Khan Academy's](https://www.khanacademy.org/digital-sat) Official Digital SAT Prep is free, adaptive, and built in partnership with the College Board, including full-length practice tests in the real Bluebook format. Paid courses (Princeton Review, Kaplan) run $200–$1,500 and add structure and live instruction, but the free path is genuinely sufficient for most students who put in the hours.
TOEFL and IELTS for international students
This trips up many families: the SAT measures college readiness, while TOEFL or IELTS measures English proficiency — and many colleges require both from students whose first language isn't English or who studied in a non-English-medium school. Some schools waive the English test for students from English-medium schools, so check each college's specific requirement.
AP exams save real money
Advanced Placement (AP) exams let high schoolers earn college credit while still in high school. A strong AP score can place a student out of an introductory college course, potentially saving $3,000–$10,000 in tuition and a semester of time. For cost-conscious immigrant families, loading up on AP courses is one of the highest-return moves available.
Test-optional: submit or not?
Test-optional means you *may* apply without a score — not that a score is ignored. A strong score (at or above a school's published middle-50% range) still helps and can earn merit aid. A score below that range is usually better left off. The simple rule: submit if your score is at or above the school's typical range; otherwise, lean on your GPA and essays.
Once you have a target score, see which colleges fit in our College Rankings Explorer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the digital SAT format?
The SAT is now fully digital and adaptive, taken through the Bluebook app. It has two sections — Reading & Writing and Math — each scored 200–800 for a 400–1600 total, and runs about 2 hours 14 minutes. Performance on the first module of each section sets the difficulty of the second.
Should I take the SAT or ACT?
Colleges accept both equally, so take whichever you score better on. The SAT is shorter and fully digital with no dedicated science section; the ACT is faster and includes a science-reasoning section. Take a practice test of each and commit to the one that fits you.
How much does the SAT cost and are fee waivers available?
The SAT costs $68. Fee waivers are available to eligible low-income US students through a school counselor and cover the test fee, extra score reports, and sometimes college application fees. International test-takers pay an added regional fee.
Do international students need TOEFL or IELTS in addition to the SAT?
Often yes. Students whose first language isn't English, or who studied in a non-English-medium school, are usually asked for TOEFL or IELTS to prove English proficiency — separate from the SAT. Some colleges waive it for students from English-medium schools.
Does going test-optional mean I shouldn't send a score?
No. Test-optional means a score is optional, not ignored. Submit your score if it's at or above the school's middle-50% range, since it can still help and earn merit aid; leave it off if it's below that range.