Can a bad SAT score still hurt you if you retook it and got a much higher score?

I’m going to be a senior in high school, and am aiming to get into UT Austin. I was extremely sick when I took my first SAT, and got a 1240. I suppose that’s not horrible, but it’s not great by UT standards. I retook it in May (in good health that time!), and landed a 1450, which is in UT’s 75th percentile. Can my 1240 still hurt me, or should I be safe?

Your new score is great, and you can’t un-take the first score. You should be fine as schools focus their attention on the highest score! Find a way to explain the circumstances surrounding the 1240 in your application, if you can. But I don’t think you need to.

Don’t worry. There are many reasons to get a lower score. They would just look at your higher score. Particularly you have not taken it many times.