For schools that use superscoring like JHU, Northwestern, Princeton, and Williams, would a 2280 with a 2230 highest sitting be viewed as less favorable than a 2280 single sitting?
No.
In the isolated question of one and done vs. multiple attempts, one and done is better. In the grand scheme of how admissions at those schools work though, it’s essentially a meaningless distinction particularly with your highest single score being only 50 points lower.
@iwannabe_Brown so although one and done is better, it is a “meaningless distinction” that has essentially no effect?
Yes. To use a more extreme example: which is better: 2400 or 2390? While the 2400 is obviously “better” than 2390, that’s virtually never going to be a factor in deciding between two applicants at those schools.
It’s not going to matter at all. Maybe it would if someone took the SAT 4 times to get that superscore, but even then the college still happily reports the superscore to US News…
If it mattered, they wouldn’t be superscoring, would they?