<p>I got a 2300 in my first attempt, will a college like yale prefer a candidate who's got a good score in one go rather than in 2-3 attempts, or does it not make any difference at all?</p>
<p>It depends on the school. For those who honor Score Choice, you could send you first score or fiftieth and they wouldn’t know the difference. For those that don’t, if you have taken it around 4 times or less, I don’t think they would really care.</p>
<p>@Mandalorian is right.
When I visited Amherst, the dean of admissions said that they use a computer program that, if you’ve taken the SAT more than once, automatically chooses your highest score in each category and compiles them, so the admissions officers only see those numbers (meaning, they never see how many times you’ve taken the SAT). Conversely, some schools, like Harvard, also only use your best score in each category, but the admissions officers do it themselves, so even if they say they aren’t swayed by how many times you’ve taken the SAT, they very well could be. You should figure out which schools you’re applying to do are more like Amherst or more like Harvard in their “score choice” system, or if they don’t do anything like that.</p>
<p>Actually since Harvard accepts score choice, you can have the CB send the top scores, Harvard AOs would not know if you have taken the SAT more than once. Yale does not accept score choice, so you send all your scores. Yale does superscore.</p>
<p>From the Yale website:</p>
<p>Frequently Asked Questions - Standardized Testing | Yale College Admissions
Q: Some colleges will consider only my highest scores. Why does Yale require a full testing history?</p>
<p>A: An applicant’s testing history provides useful contextual information to the admissions committee. With a full testing history, the committee is able to look at a student’s highest officially reported score on each section of the SAT, the highest individual SAT Subject Tests, and/or the highest ACT Plus Writing composite score.</p>
<p>I think 2-3 sittings is fine; 10 is probably not. However, in reality, there is insignificant difference on the admissions decision between 2300 and 2400.</p>
<p>Didn’t know Harvard accepted score choice, wow. But anyway, there are schools like Amherst who choose only the best scores from each section (math, english, writing) in the end. So you could do 0R, 0W, 800M, then second test, 0R, 800W, 0M, and third test 800R, 0W, 0M. You’d still count as having got 2400. However, since most of us apply to several colleges with several types of score acceptances, It is in your best interest to follow the guidelines of the most strict. Therefore, since you have a 2300, which is really high, I would suggest not taking any more tests. It may be a slight disadvantage at Harvard and Amherst, but there are more top tier schools like Yale that will see all of your scores, including this first 2300, and perhaps a later 2400, or maybe a later 2200. It is your choice in the end, but just appreciate the great score you already have. Good luck!</p>
<p>Chance me?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1613118-chances-for-brown-u-of-rochester-amherst-and-u-of-michigan-ann-arbor.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1613118-chances-for-brown-u-of-rochester-amherst-and-u-of-michigan-ann-arbor.html#latest</a></p>