<p>I applied to a competitive 11th-12th grade high school last year, and I needed a good SAT score to get in. (I did get in)
I took it in October and got a mediocre 2180. I was so nervous when I took it that my parents and I thought that if I took it in November my score would increase. I did even worse-a 2120. My superscore is a 2200.
My goal is 2300+. I am signed up to take the SAT on January 25th, and I am terrified that I will not reach my goal. I know it has been over a year since I took those tests, my PSAT score in that time ended up at a somewhat acceptable 225, and my practice has been fine, but I just NEED a 2300 and I don’t feel like I can do it.
I have heard you can’t take the SAT more than 3 times because it looks bad for colleges. I also have heard that since I took it twice for entrance into my high school, I can still take it two more times if I wanted to.
Which is true?</p>
<p>You should have spaced them out more, but if you show significant improvement you will be fine. Of they stay around the same score, it’s considered a problem them. The rule is to not take it more than 4 times. I’m going for my 3rd on the January 25th (8th grade, 9th grade) and I’m a junior.</p>
<p>My point is that the one I took in 8th grade obviously doesn’t count. I’m not perfectly sure, but I believe you will be fine. Just explain if they allow on the application that you were required to take it at the time for reasons other than applying to college.</p>
<p>Most colleges merely recommend you don’t take the SAT more than three times since research has shown that most people who take it for a 4th or 5th time don’t end up improving their scores much over their 3rd time (of course, you probably have a higher chance of improving when retaking it since you took your first two quite some time ago and not right before your 3rd).</p>
<p>And anyway, with Score Choice, most colleges will allow you to choose which scores you send, and they won’t even know how many times you took the SAT or whether or not you showed improvement. You can learn more about Score Choice at <a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/sat-score-choice.pdf[/url]”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/sat-score-choice.pdf</a> and see colleges’ policies at <a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/sat-score-use-practices-list.pdf[/url]”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/sat-score-use-practices-list.pdf</a>.</p>
<p>Another option if you end up not liking your SAT score is to take the ACT and not mess with sending the SAT to colleges at all. Almost all colleges will accept the ACT as an equivalent alternative to the SAT.</p>
<p>Neither is true, nor do you NEED an arbitrary 2300.</p>
<p>Just do your best and don’t stress over it. Based on your previous scores, you can very well score a 2300.</p>