Send SAT scores in advance of application submission?

You might think in year 2020 CollegeBoard would have a way of sending SAT scores to colleges electronically. Such as a web service for colleges to pull data. But no, they send SAT scores via snail mail. They have two options: $12 for regular snail mail, or $31 for rush order.

My question is, can I send the SAT score to colleges a few weeks before I am ready to submit my common/coalition app to the college?

I am worried that until I submit the application the college may not have an “account” open for me, so they don’t know who I am, so they will simply discard the snail mail they get from CollegeBoard. If so is it better to wait till I submit my application then send the SAT score?

Yes. You can send scores before the application. It is very common.

A couple of other things. They do send scores electronically. They only snail mail when the college can’t receive electronically.

And many colleges allow self reporting. So don’t spend the money unless the college requires a score report with the application.

First check to see if the school even requires an official score report or if they only require a self reported score with confirmation upon acceptance. I would not send a score report until after you submitted your application. Most schools allow you to track what has been submitted once they have opened up an official application file for you.