How many times are you taking the SAT?

<p>i just wanna know...across the nation...how many times everyone is planning on taking the SAT I. thanks</p>

<p>TWICE. that is it! A lot of people I know are taking it three times though.</p>

<p>Probably three times. :( Unfortunately.</p>

<p>I would've stopped at two, but my scores went down the second time instead of up. Boo.</p>

<p>I was planning on taking it at least twice, but I got higher than expected in March so I'm done after one.</p>

<p>I'm mostly likely going to take it a third time in October, since I did worse this time =x I hope 3 times doesn't look that bad though.</p>

<p>ONCE ... and goodbye to all that. Good riddance!</p>

<p>Twelve. Get rich or die trying.</p>

<p>As many times as it takes for me to hit 2400. Hopefully that will be once more.</p>

<p>Twice at the most. I'm taking my first one next week. :B</p>

<p>college can only see how many you took if you take more than 3, bbyy</p>

<p>This must be one of the most frequently asked questions on College Confidential, how many times one will/should take a college admission test. First, let me correct a statement made above in this thread: your College Board score report shows ALL scores you have from any SAT I or SAT II test you have taken in ninth grade or higher grades. By default, the score report will not show scores from Talent Search testing or any other sittings for the tests in grades below ninth grade (although some families request that Talent Search scores be kept on their child's record of scores). </p>

<p>This thread has been opened since at least six or seven threads in various forums on College Confidential have raised the issue of how many times taking admission tests is enough (or too many). Bottom line: the original poster doesn't have to worry about retaking the SAT I once or twice. The long answer appears below.</p>

<p>I was at the Exploring College Options consortium (Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Penn, and Stanford) meeting on 10 May 2007 in Bloomington, Minnesota. I attended the meeting specifically to ask about this issue, which comes up over and over again on various forums on College Confidential, and in lots of other online discussion groups I participate in. Before the meeting on 10 May 2007, I emailed ahead to the admission offices of Duke, Harvard, Penn, and Stanford with quotations from earlier CC threads, all publicly viewable threads indexed by Google, in which students asked about the issue of retaking the SAT I. I also included short "fair-use" quotations from some replies (of varying points of view) that those student questions elicited.</p>

<p>After slide shows about each college, the audience of more than 200 students (and many parents) was allowed to ask general questions. I looked around to make sure I wouldn't cut off a student, and then stood up to ask my question. I said that I have seen many online discussions in which a student has taken the SAT I once, and is concerned about taking it again. I asked if that could have a bad effect on how the college would view the student's first score, to report more than one score. The Georgetown admission representative (the only one I didn't write to ahead of time) replied that when there are SAT I retakes after the second time, score increases are not usually seen. But Georgetown counts an applicant's highest score, section by section, and does so even if some of the scores come from the old two-section SAT I rather than the current three-section SAT I.</p>

<p>The Harvard representative, admission officer Julia Topalian, looked me right in the eye as she said, "Take it ten times if you want to; it's not going to hurt you." She continued by saying that test scores are but one element in evaluating applicants for admission, and "how you use your time is important." Harvard will look at what an applicant's extracurricular activities (ECs) are, and taking admission tests is not considered an EC. But specific to the issue of retaking the test, "You can take it as many times as you like."</p>

<p>I thought that was a good response to the groundless worries so many students have about one or two retakes before the final deadline for submitting SAT I scores for an admission application. (By the way, the Harvard representative said in a later discussion specific to questions about Harvard that the first admission test [SAT I or ACT with writing] in the year 2008 will still be timely for class of 2008 applicants in Harvard's new one-deadline application cycle. She also said it is NEVER necessary to rush scores--rushed scores and regular service scores arrive at Harvard at exactly the same time.) Don't worry--don't worry at all--if you think there is a good reason for you to retake the SAT I. Do remember that Harvard (and other fine colleges) every year pass over applicants with peak test scores to admit students with lower scores who have other desirable characteristics. There is no special admission wallop to taking the SAT I only once, and no guarantee of admission even with a perfect score. The 2006-2007 Official Register of Harvard University, a publication of the admission office, says, "You may take tests more than once; we consider only your highest scores."</p>

<p>All comparable colleges have similar policies, so this isn't an issue to worry about. I hope this helps the applicants in high school classes of 2008, 2009, and subsequent classes worry less and enjoy their activities more.</p>

<p>Good luck in your applications.</p>

<p>nice!...i emailed a whole buncha colleges too over the past week...tufts...JHU...georgetown....brandeis....all of them gave me the same answer....no matter how many times u take it...its fine..they don't really mid it...though they may take it into consideration...but its really not gonna hv a negative impact on how they look at u....they don't AVERAGE SCORES AFTER THE 3rd time taking it...they never head of it lol....</p>

<p>I took it twice, and I'm stopping at that. It didn't go up as much as I hoped, but I'm satisfied with my score.</p>

<p>Thanks for the information! =) That really assures me that I will take it a third time. I'm going to study for real this summer, unlike my previous "attempts" to study.</p>

<p>tokenadult, explain that to my mom lmao.</p>

<p>Re: post #15: what is your mom's concern? How does she express it?</p>

<p>ONCE. I'm done, and happy. I suppose I could, theoretically, raise my composite score, but that doesn't seem worth a Saturday morning.</p>

<p>Three times total, but only one college will see that third time, as far as I can tell. I'm sending out all of my applications before the school year starts, when I'll have two scores on record. Except for one school, I believe all of the ones I'm applying to have rolling admissions or will give out decisions by 1 October, before my third SAT. My reach school will see my third SAT.</p>