<p>Hi, I was wondering about the "limit" a student can take the SAT. I heard that some schools encourage students to only take a certain amount of SATs. Is it true that some schools will take averages sometimes?</p>
<p>I am also more focused on Johns Hopkins. Last year as a sophomore, my crazy asian parents decided to force me to take it, twice. I didnt do as well an I could now (1980), but I am worried that it will look bad after having taken so many. I'm taking the December one this year because I am confident that I can score above 2150. This will have been my third one.</p>
<p>What I am worried about is not doing well on this one and having to take it for a fourth or final time (I am not taking any more after this one no matter what, because I already have a 31 ACT I can fall back to).</p>
<p>My keen asian parents noticed that on the Hopkins application, they put 3 spaces for 3 different SAT I sittings. What if I took 4? Would I only be able to put down 3? What would happen to the last one? Would they average it? They're going to see it on my official score report anyway. Does Hopkins take the greatest score from one sitting, or do they take the highest scores from each individual section?</p>
<p>I also noticed on the WashU apps, they said "test results from any of your high school years are acceptable, though we encourage senior year testing". Does that mean they only want 1 test from senior year? Or is that just saying "take it senior year because you're most ready"?</p>
<p>I am a senior currently applying to colleges (I have completed most of my applications and taken the SAT twice). Here are my suggestions, for what they're worth.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Calm down. You may hear about all kinds of unwritten "rules" about exactly what you need to do to get into college, but you could obey all those rules and still not get in. Retaking the SAT once or twice is not a problem.</p></li>
<li><p>I highly doubt that colleges would "average" SAT scores without publishing the policy. I have never seen any college (or college rep) mention such a practice.</p></li>
<li><p>For many colleges, only the highest scores on each individual section matter. The existence of 3 spaces may be to allow you to record up to three sittings so that all the best scores are on the app.</p></li>
<li><p>Do beware of retaking excessively. I have seen MIT admissions officers specifically say that apparent obsession with the SAT can hurt an application. It's probably not a good idea to retake 5 times, or to retake without studying enough to improve. Use your best judgment, and don't try to guess how many re-takes are "acceptable."</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hopkins does not place any limit on number of tests and uses highest subscores if you have multiple tests. By WashU I assume you mean Wash St Louis and it does the same as Hopkins and the "senior" year statement is guidance only as the time you are likely to do your best. Majority of colleges are similar. However, a significant minority use only your highest score from a single sitting and do not mix and match subscores (example: all UCs), and there are some that recommend against taking more than two (Harvard and Yale are in that group). Also, "excessive test taking" as opposed to any scores may be something some will consider a negative. There are none I am aware of that average SAT scores but my knowledge does not rule out the possibility that there are some.</p>
<p>Also, if you have only three spaces, put in 3 tests. Those self-reported scores are of little meaning anyway since virtually all colleges rely only on official test scores received from the testing agency to evaluate admission.</p>