The 2026–2027 SAT calendar: which date should a student in Saudi Arabia book?

What exactly was published

For each school year College Board publishes the list of SAT test dates (normally Saturdays) with a regular and a late registration deadline for every sitting. Deadlines close on U.S. Eastern Time, which is late at night in Riyadh — that alone is why many students miss one.

We deliberately do not restate the figures here: the full table with every date and deadline sits on our SAT dates page, linked to College Board's official page with the date it was last checked.

How to choose a sitting from Saudi Arabia or the GCC

The most common mistake we see: a student books the nearest available date and then finds there is no preparation time left, or books so late that scores arrive after the university's deadline closes. The decision runs backwards from the university, not forwards from the calendar.

• Subtract the score release and sending window from your application deadline, then subtract the preparation weeks you realistically have.
• If that leaves you under eight weeks of preparation, take the next sitting and use the time instead of burning an attempt.
• Check that a centre near you has seats in that city before you fix the date, not after.

What this means for your study plan

The yearly calendar gives you one real advantage: you can plan two sittings — a target and a backup — instead of betting on a single attempt. Our programs are built that way: a diagnostic test, then weeks of work on your two weakest areas, then a full practice test two weeks before the sitting.