Let’s say first score = f, where f is above my goal score.
Is it better to take it once and get score f, or take it twice and end up with f+30?
This depends on what score you got and what colleges you’re applying to. As a college admissions consultant I can tell you very accurately if its worth getting those extra 30 points or not, feel free to share your score here or message me privately
I think the main benefit is that it makes it easier on Adcom. A great one time score cannot be denied. A great superscore, must be broken down by Adcom for further examination, and therefore likely planting a seed of doubt.
It depends. If the one time score is 2350, I’d call it a day. There may not be an impressive factor to colleges for a “one and done,” but there is the personal satisfaction of a job well done along with the realization that the time spent prepping for the next round can be put to use in another area. Good luck.
Thirty points is a small fraction of a standard deviation. There isn’t much meaning to a difference like that, and adcoms know it. I would read that as applicant thought they could do better, tried and couldn’t.
I think that it does not matter whether you took the SAT more than once. We are not perfect souls, and that’s okay! Everybody has bad days. Even the Yale admissions counselor I once spoke to said she has no problem seeing multiple SAT attempts. What matters is the score in the end.
If your score is close to the average for the school to which you are applying, do not take the SAT again. I say at 2200+ (Ivy League average), you can stop.