<p>When reading these questions, assume “college” means MIT/Caltech/Ivy caliber colleges.</p>
<p>I hear people saying they are taking an SAT in March and May (or something similar). Is it common that people take SAT’s this frequently? Do colleges <em>really</em> not care how many SATs you take? Doesn’t signing up for two SAT’s in a row show a lack of confidence? </p>
<p>Colleges say their application deadlines are January 1st (or something similar). So what is the point of taking another SAT senior year? For scholarships only? Do the colleges get the scores in time to take them into account? What is the “deadline” for taking an SAT and the college getting it soon enough in the admissions process?</p>
<p>If I get a 36 on the ACT and a 2000 on the SAT, what would a college do?</p>
<p>No one in my family (or probably in the history of my high school) has tried for a competitive college, so I have no one to ask these questions…</p>
<p>The kids who say they’ll take in March and May probably don’t think they’ll do well so they sign up for the next one ahead of time, and if they turn out to do well the first time, they don’t bother with the second (or they call/go online to collegeboard.com to change to a subject test and take one of those instead since many colleges want those). The rule is this: never take the SAT a fourth time…it just looks moronic. As for the 36 or 2000 thing you said, I think a college would really look at you as a top scorer who either improved if the 2000 was first, or had a bad test day if the 2000 was after you got a 36. Definitely, 2000 first is better because it’s like going from a 2000 to a 2400 and of course improvement over time is a good thing.</p>
<p>Yes, I know of seniors who took over tests after deadlines, but only because of scholarships.</p>
<p>For regular decision applications (usually Jan 1 or 15, later in a few schools), the latest test you should take is the December test and then RUSH the scores when they come in in late December (rush ordering available online or over the phone and costs extra). </p>
<p>For early decision/early action, deadlines are usually early to mid november, so you must take your sat if necessary by october latest, and rush the scores when they come in late october. Better yet, take it in spring of junior year and again in june if necessary. Even if you take in May, there is a small windows to register for the June test AFTER getting May scores so you don’t have to pay for two tests before getting the first score. It wasn’t always this way, but people started complaining I think, so it changed to our benefit.</p>
<p>Hey bud, if you have any other questions, PM me. I’m only a junior but have two siblings in college and two parents who went to competitive schools, so I may have answers to more questions! (BTW, what grade are you in?)</p>