No. Because they won’t know.
I took it a scary amount of times (15+ between SAT/ACT). It has no repercussions at most schools since most offer score choice and superscoring. However if you are applying to any school on this list, Colleges Requiring All SAT Scores Sent: Complete List · PrepScholar, you need to be more careful since they might see a high amount of takes as a bad thing. Even for them 3 or 4 times should not be a problem.
If there is one takeaway: don’t rely on 3rd party lists. If you’re capable enough to apply to a top school, you’re capable enough to verify with the source.
The list isn’t accurate. I’m not going line by line, but Barnard and Cornell don’t require all scores. There may be schools that nobody talks about, no offense to the University of Puerto Rico, that do, but no top US university other than Georgetown does.
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“The one that took the SAT forgot his calculator the first time.” I read that the ACT math tests can be solved without the use of a calculator; I don’t know about the SATs. Nevertheless, it must have been quite a shock.
You’re over thinking for 98% of schools.
Take what the student wants and how many times they want.
But each school will share how they review so look their testing policy up.
For most, they get the highest scores as you report. They won’t know how many times you took it til you enroll.
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Thank you again. Makes perfect sense.
I disgree that it won’t hurt. It causes a lot of unnecessary stress, expense, and time that could definitely be spent doing something better.
@Ae1231 , in retrospect, might it have been just as effective to have done official practice tests at home, or the library, so that you didn’t waste time and money? Was it stressful doing the tests 15 times? Did you see significant score changes after the third or fourth attempt? Did you hire a tutor? For the money spent on all those test sittings, could a tutor have perhaps helped you get your desired score without taking 15 tests? Finally, do you wish you had used some of that time to do something more enjoyable?
Won’t hurt from the perspective they asked about - admissions - or having it impact.
As I noted above - all kids are different. Some can’t handle one or two. Others can do six. So in that sense you are correct.
But my point was simply related to the impact on an admissions decision.
I don’t regret it. For me, I always score better in the actual test since I am more focused. A practice test could never replicate a real one for me. I did not find it stressful. I raised my superscore every test, ended over 300 SAT points and 4 ACT points higher than my first. No tutor and I don’t really wish I did something else because it allowed me to get into the college I wanted. A few Saturday mornings was totally worth it for that. I love my college and would not a change a thing in high school since what I did got me here.
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Thanks for sharing.
What if the superscore is derived from 4 attempts
Thanks. That pretty much summarizes what I was looking to confirm. Daughter took SAT once (got in the mid 1400s) and was pondering if she should take it again (attempt to break 1500). Thanks again.
If you are referring to the ACT, where your highest score for each section is on four different tests, then you would need to report each of those section scores.
If you are referring to SAT, there are only two sections, so you would report a max of two test dates.
If the college accepts self-reported scores in the Common App, the college will not see the lower section scores.
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You seem to have come to a conclusion, @LKLA, but there is one point that I have not seen made yet.
If a student is taking a test repeatedly (3+, but especially 4+ times) to raise their score to get into a highly rejective college, I would be very mindful when choosing which college to attend. If, for instance, a student got a 1550 on the first try and keeps trying five more times to get a 1600, this is not directed toward that person. But if a person is scoring a 1200 or 1300 on their third try of the SAT (or equivalent on the ACT) but keeps retesting and eventually gets a 1550, I would have concerns about how successful the student may be at a highly rejective college, particularly with respect to the student’s goal(s) after college.
A student who is a hard worker and has persistence and resilience is great and can be very successful (and the person I would generally prefer to hire over a lackadaisical applicant who can test well). But if that person is, for example, pre-med and is competing against people who are naturally better test-takers (i.e. the kids who scored a 1550 on the first try), they may have a hard time in a number of the early science classes when tests are often graded on a curve. Thus, they may end up creating big hurdles to overcome on their science GPA early on when they may have been more successful at a different school.
This is not to say that a student with a 1300 GPA cannot be successful at a highly rejective school, but even if they get in as a test optional applicant, I would still be very mindful about making sure that the student enrolls at the school where they think they will be happiest and most successful.
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My understanding is that the test is designed to show growth over time. Scores may increase some with prep and some with time, and not so much with the number of times the student took the test. The answer to your question may depend on how long ago she took the test, what prep she did, and what grade level she is vs when she is applying to college. If she most recently took the test this fall, and she’s a senior, perhaps her time is better spent working on applications. If the test was a while ago, or she’s only a junior, there is time over which she may show improvement in one or both sections regardless of prep.
That’s why it’s a superscore / your highest section no matter the test.
Zero issues here.
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I would in fact consider that a very reasonable thing to do, and would not be concerned about it backfiring. Not mandatory either, but if she feels like with some more prep that is an attainable improvement, and it would help her get into the normal range for some colleges of interest (or possibly make her more competitive for some merit), then I would go for it.
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FWIW, all 3 of my kids consistently did materially different on the real tests than the timed practice tests for some reason. The older two both expected to focus on the SAT (and one of them had, ironically taken an SAT prep course, but took both (real tests) and did much better on the ACT so focused on just that for the second test.
Similar situation to both sons. For one it made sense to aim for 1500. The other son it didn’t really matter. It depends on the schools, major, etc.
S1 was applying to a few schools where he needed merit to attend. Retaking made sense. That said, if student won’t prep for the retake or it causes stress I wouldn’t bother.
It could also help with things like honors programs. For some public universities it can be a very nice perk. For some others, not so much.
Regardless, it will work out how it’s supposed to. Good luck.
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