Help! Made a 5-minute mistake on the SAT—how badly will this affect my score?

So, I just took the SAT and I messed up the timing on a section, basically lost five precious minutes. I'm kind of freaking out. Does anyone know how much this sort of mistake can drag down your score? Trying to figure out if I should start planning for a retake or just hope for the best. Would love to hear from anyone who had a similar experience.

I understand how stressful and disappointing it can be when things don't go as planned during such an important test. Five minutes can be quite significant, particularly if it means you weren't able to answer several questions. The impact on your score will depend on how many questions you missed and the difficulty level of those questions, given the SAT's scoring method. Remember, there's no penalty for guessing, so if this happened and you made educated guesses, you could still potentially receive some points for correct answers.

However, if you feel like this mistake prevented you from demonstrating your actual abilities, considering a retake might be wise. Many students take the SAT more than once to improve their scores. When choosing your next steps, consider the score you're aiming for based on the requirements of the colleges you're interested in. Reviewing the missed questions (if you can remember which ones they were) during your test prep for a retake could be beneficial as well. Finally, breathe and remember that one test is just one part of your college application. While important, it's not solely representative of your potential or your overall application. Good luck!