Bait&Switch

I was the cliched smart kid who did zero work. I was, in fact, drunk when I took the (old) SAT. I got a 1350. A respectable score, but hardly world-beating, so when I got out of the Army and got serious about college, I contemplated dumping time and money down the SAT hole. Best piece of advise I got? The SAT is a test for HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. When I wrapped my head around that, I came to the realization that it was really true, and that I had been out of high school too long to cater to schools where an SAT score would be 'make or break'.

Also keep in mind that the SAT has seemingly become less and less important as admissions get more and more holistic. Several adcoms have told me that it is one of the last things that they look at (tie-breaker situations).

In summery, I think it's much better to put your efforts and resources into areas that will be more likely to payoff during the transfer process:

1. your college grades
2. your essays
3. your extra-curriculars
4. a developed sense of understanding regarding the schools & programs you are applying to
5. how the first 3 things, aka your current life: a) demonstrate and reflect genuine pursuit of your stated interests and b) prepare you for these specific programs and places

This is how I played the whole thing, and I just got into Dartmouth as a community college transfer student, and will attend there, barring acceptances to Duke or Yale.