Hello,
My son is in junior high right now. He will be going to take SAT in his school in April. This is his first time taking it too. I was wondering would he request to send the scores to his choice of colleges or he should wait for the score and if he would get good score then send it from the college board website. I am not sure if he should request it during his test and don’t get good score then what kind of impression the admission team will have. On the other hand if he should wait for the score and don’t do good then he can take it again so he can send the better score. Would someone please clarify this. Also does college board charge any fees afterwards if you don’t choose to send the score at the time of the test. Thank you so much.
Amber
Do NOT send his middle school scores no matter what. And I say this as a parent of a kid who had a very high middle school score (taken through one of the talent search programs, and used for admission to summer programs). My kid had a score in the top 3 out of over 10,000 kids her grade in our region of the country taking the SAT, and we still didn’t send it. Because though her scores were very good, her HIGH SCHOOL scores were even better. Colleges don’t care what talent you show in middle school, they care what happens in high school, and your kid’s scores will surely be higher then as a result of more coursework, more reading, and added maturity.
Generally SAT scores are wiped out when the kid gets to ninth grade. You can request for them to keep them, but that is very rarely a good idea. A few tippy top schools want all scores, and if those old scores are held onto, you have to send them. A 700 might feel great for a 7th grader, but if he has 800s in high school, he will wish they weren’t there.
That said, it does cost more to send scores later if you don’t use the free ones now. But although colleges keep them for a couple of years when you send them in high school, I wouldn’t count on them still having them when your kid is a senior if you sent them 4-5 years ago.
Thanks for your reply. My son is not in middle school he is a junior in high school. He wants to apply in colleges in early action next fall in his senior year so that is why I was asking should he send the scores now or later when he know about his score.
You wrote: “My son is in junior high right now.” @intparent responded correctly to your question. If your junior is in high school (not the same thing) is confident in his abilities, you might as well take advantage of the free reports. I believe you have to make this choice at the time of registering for the test. I do not believe that you can decide during the test whether to have scores reported, although you can cancel reports very soon after the test. And, yes, if you choose to send the reports later, you will pay. It’s not that much. Wait until you start adding up the college application fees. 
Sorry about the confusion and thanks for correcting me.
@amber1927: It’s so easy to ask the “wrong” question. I sympathize (having done it myself).
I sort of wondered, but then decided to answer it as it was asked. We held off on sending scores until we saw them. So many kids are not happy with their scores, and want to retest, and decide later which scores to send. But if money is a big issue, or if he plans to apply to any schools where all scores MUST be sent (a very top schools, he can see on the school admission website if they require all scores), then he can use his free scores. But they get sent before he sees the results – so there is some risk.
That us what we are confused about too. Should we send it and take a risk or just wait. I think we should wait until we see the scores because this is his first time taking it so not sure how he would do in the test, although he is working so hard. Thanks for your help.