<p>For the SAT especially.</p>
<p>until you can't improve by 50 pts or more</p>
<p>don't take it more than 3x</p>
<p>There is no one-size-fits-all answer (what scores already exist? what scores are likely to be added in later testings? where are you applying? etc).</p>
<p>What does exist are published reports from admissions officers at many top schools, ranging in time from the early 1990s to the last few months, saying that more than 3 sittings can leave negative impressions with readers of the admissions file.</p>
<p>if you take it more than 3 times, consider adding "Standardized Testing" to your EC list</p>
<p><note the="" sarcasm=""></note></p>
<p>don't do a fourth, unless you're sure you'll significantly improve.</p>
<p>One response from a recent post </p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4261829&postcount=2%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4261829&postcount=2</a> </p>
<p>by a Johns Hopkins admission officer is </p>
<p>
<p>Don't listen to them - it is not true.</p>
<p>At Hopkins we do not state a specific preference or restriction on the number of times a student may take the SAT (or ACT for that matter). The reason for this is that each student is looked at differently. Some applicants score best one time, others need to take it two or three times, and even some more need to take it more than three times. It all depends, and the Admissions Committee understands that. In my years, I have definitely admitted students who have taken the SAT more than three times.
</p>
<p>Having spoken to admission officers from several other, more selective colleges on various occasions, I have every reason to believe that this is what will usually happen in an admission office. It all depends. Have a good reason, and prepare well, each and every time you take the SAT. Other than that, don't worry about the number of times you take it. Do take care to strengthen all other aspects of your application. </p>
<p>Good luck. There is a little more advice to the original questioner on the Johns Hopkins Forum in the linked post.</p>
<p>It is nice to see Hopkins refuting the mythology so often posted on CC, that a university having a highest-scores policy for the SAT means that there is no risk in taking more exams:</p>
<p><a href="Johns%20Hopkins%20admissions%20officer%20wrote:">quote</a>
*If your scores do not change or even go down, there is the possibility that the Admissions Committee will look at the fourth scores as a negative. * Taking the exams a fourth time in October is a risk, one that you will need to consider.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The quotation is from the posting linked above.</p>