<p>For extremely selective universities (HYPSM), does taking the SAT I three times negatively affect your application? Obviously, getting a 2400 the first sitting would be ideal, but I have a 2220, and I'm wondering if I can take one more shot at a perfect score without looking desperate. Thoughts?</p>
<p>They will superscore, retaking will only help you.
Unless this is your 5th time, then that's a different story.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure I read somewhere on CC that there is no correlation between multiple test taking and admissions. Most colleges actually encourage multiple test taking to get use to the format of the test. I'm not sure if it's really necessary for you to retake because a 2200 is an great score, even by ivy standards (or at least there average score for accepted applicants).</p>
<p>@ anhtimmy, Like I said, it would be my 3rd time. As of now, my scores are 750 CR, 760 Writing, and 710 Math (ugh, speed problem), single sitting. So I really just need to pull my math score out of the gutter.</p>
<p>2200 is below average for HYPS. For lower Ivies, like Brown/Cornell/Dartmouth, I'd probably be fine, but I'm not aiming for them. Every little bit helps :)</p>
<p>So taking the test a 3rd time WILL NOT look bad?</p>
<p>hmm... i don't (Think) they will add this in the negative pile. However, if there is a similar applicant and he only took it once and got the same score, i would be more inclined to accept him. But that is a rare occasion. This is your third time you said? Go ahead and try as long as you are confident it won't be something under 2000. Good luck</p>
<p>LMAO no, I would have to purposefully TRY to get below 2000. I made my 2220 almost completely blind, only briefly looking over some prep stuff (no full-length practice tests), which is why I want to take it again (more seriously this time haha)</p>
<p>....bump???</p>
<p>FAQ time here: </p>
<p>ONE-TIME TEST-TAKING </p>
<p>Colleges have given up trying to distinguish one-time test-takers from two-time or three-time or even four-time test-takers, because that wasn't useful information to the colleges. There are a number of reasons for that. </p>
<p>1) The colleges have utterly no way of knowing who spends all his free time practicing taking standardized tests and who takes them "cold." </p>
<p>2) The colleges are well aware that students who have actually taken the tests sometimes cancel scores, so they have little incentive to give students bonus consideration if the students submit only one test score. </p>
<p>3) The colleges are aware that students who take the admission tests at middle-school age, who are numerous, do not have their earlier test scores submitted by default. </p>
<p>SAT</a> Younger than 13 </p>
<p>Hoagies</a>' Gifted: Talent Search Programs </p>
<p>Duke</a> TIP - Interpreting SAT and ACT Scores for 7th Grade Students </p>
<p>4) Colleges are aware that the majority of students who take the SAT at all take it more than once. </p>
<p>5) Colleges are in the business of helping students learn, and they don't mind students taking efforts to improve their scores. They know that students prepare for tests. </p>
<p>From the New York Times: "Although coaching would no doubt continue if subject tests replaced the SAT, at least students would be focused on content as much as test-taking strategies, Mr. Murray said. There would also be pressure to improve local high school curriculums so that students were prepared, he wrote.</p>
<p>"These arguments make sense to Mr. Fitzsimmons [dean of admission at Harvard], who said, 'People are going to prepare anyway, so they might as well study chemistry or biology.' He added that 'the idea of putting more emphasis on the subject tests is of great interest' to his group." </p>
<p>6) And now the College Board is back in the business of letting students choose which test scores to send into colleges, </p>
<p>New</a> SAT Score-Reporting Policy </p>
<p>so now there is less reason than ever to suppose that colleges care how many times you take the test, because the colleges have no way to know how many times you took the test officially. </p>
<p>Colleges treat applicants uniformly now by considering their highest scores, period. </p>
<p>From the Harvard admission office: "If you submit more than one set of scores for any of the required tests, the Admissions Committee considers only your best scores--even if your strongest SAT Subject Tests or portions of the SAT Reasoning Test were taken on different dates."</p>
<p>I love you, tokenadult. You're like the Buddha or Confucius of CC haha</p>