<p>I already posted this on the SAT board, but was hoping to get feedback from parents as well as students, so here goes:</p>
<p>My son took the SAT in January and was happy with his math, and just OK with the reading and writing scores. Took it again in April and is now happy with both writing and math, but the reading score didn't change. It was a pretty hectic time and he didn't study or anything. He's considering taking it again in June to get the reading score up because he wants to go early action to his number one college and doesn't want the hassle or pressure of waiting until October for that one last shot at it. Is it a bad idea to take the SAT three times? It used to be acceptable to take it a couple times, even three, when there were only two parts- isn't it logical that with three scores to worry about, students would be more likely to take the test three or more times?
If his reading score doesn't move on the June test, is it a bad idea to take it one more time (October) or should he just pack it in?</p>
<p>I would say a third time is fine; the fourth is questionable not so much because the schools would look down on it as that the SAT is a pain in the neck (and now with the third section, who needs the stress?). If the score is at least "pretty good" by the third test, then I would move on from the SAT. Just my opinion though.</p>
<p>Test scores often go up in senior year just because your teen's brain is constantly growing and maturing. If his reading score hasn't changed in two testings, I wouldn't think a third quick test would make much difference, but, if he puts in the study time over the summer, he may see a decent score improvement. IMO, it is up to the student at this point.</p>
<p>He also needs to consider if his early decision school requires SATIIs, since those are only offered at the same time as the SAT.</p>
<p>I definitely wouldn't take it a fourth time. My suggestion would be skip June, since he just took it, but re-take in October. It gives him a summer to "unwind" from testing, and some time to do some reviewing for the reading section. Still allows plenty of time for EA.</p>
<p>College admissions officers I heard all said 3 max. You'd be better off improving some other aspect of your application like the extracurriculars or volunteer activities. I don't think he should take the SAT in June unless he studies seriously for it. I think taking it in early fall would be more effective. Has he taken SAT2s? June is usually an ideal time to take them.</p>
<p>My D took the SAT in October and submitted her SCEA application November 1st -- no problems at all. So I'm with 2331clk -- if you're going to have your S take the SAT a third time, make it October rather than June.</p>
<p>He took the Jan SAT, did great on math and good on the rest. Couldn't do the March, did the April and improved on writing. He was getting over being sick and hadn't done much of anything in the weeks prior. He did Subject tests in May, thought bio was easy and Math II reeally hard. Lately he's been doing a section of practice CR daily in hopes of bringing that score up in June. He's aiming for upper 600's at least, and gets between 620 and 710 in the blue book. I just thought he should get one last test in before October because if he bombed the math subject test he'll need to take it then (plus another).</p>
<p>It seems silly that anyone would even care how many times he takes the SAT, after all, how do they know how many practice tests he's done, or how many prep classes he's taken. For all they know, he's taken the test 15 times already. (The tests he took in Jan and April WERE his practice tests.)</p>
<p>I never thought I'd be worrying over SATs- I HATE this. I pine for the good old days when hardly anyone did prep, took the test one or two times, and anything over 1100 was considered a good score and you knew you'd get into a good school.</p>
<p>Instead of a 4th SAT, how about giving the ACT a shot? Some kids do better on one than the other. There is free test prep information on the ACT website, including a free sample test. The ACT score doesn't have to be sent, so it's a kind of "no sweat" test. Spend a couple of half days over the summer reviewing the test prep info, do a practice test, and give it a shot at the September sitting. (Do the writing portion though, as some schools require it.) October and June are still available for an SAT sitting.</p>