<p>What's a good number of times to take the SAT? I have All A's and am currently #1 in my class. I've heard that if I take the SAT and get an above average but still under par score for Cornell (eg. 2150) it is best to keep that score and say the reason I didn't get a higher score was because I felt sick, nervous, etc. and cite my good grades as proof. Is this an effective strategy or should I try until I get above a 2300?</p>
<p>once you get above 2250+, it doesn't much matter, but under that higher is ALWAYS better, regardless of what school to which you apply.</p>
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keep that score and say the reason I didn't get a higher score was because I felt sick
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<p>Mentioning that you were ill or nervous for an exam will not excuse or make up for your score. It might even hurt you; admissions officers are likely to see it as just another applicant making excuses, unless the illness was legitimate and someone like your counselor explains the situation. Citing good grades as proof probably won't work either, because the purpose of the SAT is to try to equalize variation in grading among different high schools. Not to mention it would also be dishonest of you to do that. </p>
<p>Incidentally, 2150 is not a bad score for Cornell, unless you are applying to a stat-heavy college like engineering. If you have the time and money I suppose it couldn't hurt to take the SAT multiple times, but my experience is that it really doesn't matter beyond 2200.</p>
<p>last year, when i was applying to colleges, i asked the assistant dean of admissions for cornell's CAS how many times i should take the SATs and she said that if you take it more than 2 times, cornell will get kind of suspicious.</p>
<p>Here's the FAQ: </p>
<p>ONE-TIME TEST-TAKING </p>
<p>Colleges have given up trying to distinguish one-time test-takers from two-time or three-time or even four-time test-takers, because that wasn't useful information to the colleges. There are a number of reasons for that. </p>
<p>1) The colleges have utterly no way of knowing who spends all his free time practicing taking standardized tests and who takes them "cold." </p>
<p>2) The colleges are well aware that students who have actually taken the tests sometimes cancel scores, so they have little incentive to give students bonus consideration if the students submit only one test score. </p>
<p>3) The colleges are aware that students who take the admission tests at middle-school age, who are numerous, do not have their earlier test scores submitted by default. </p>
<p>SAT</a> Younger than 13 </p>
<p>Hoagies</a>' Gifted: Talent Search Programs </p>
<p>Duke</a> TIP - Interpreting SAT and ACT Scores for 7th Grade Students </p>
<p>4) Colleges are aware that the majority of students who take the SAT at all take it more than once. </p>
<p>5) Colleges are in the business of helping students learn, and they don't mind students taking efforts to improve their scores. They know that students prepare for tests. </p>
<p>From the New York Times: "Although coaching would no doubt continue if subject tests replaced the SAT, at least students would be focused on content as much as test-taking strategies, Mr. Murray said. There would also be pressure to improve local high school curriculums so that students were prepared, he wrote.</p>
<p>"These arguments make sense to Mr. Fitzsimmons [dean of admission at Harvard], who said, 'People are going to prepare anyway, so they might as well study chemistry or biology.' He added that 'the idea of putting more emphasis on the subject tests is of great interest' to his group." </p>
<p>6) And now the College Board is back in the business of letting students choose which test scores to send into colleges, </p>
<p>Score</a> Choice - New SAT Score-Reporting Policy </p>
<p>so now there is less reason than ever to suppose that colleges care how many times you take the test, because the colleges have no way to know how many times you took the test officially. </p>
<p>Colleges treat applicants uniformly now by considering their highest scores, period. </p>
<p>From the Harvard admission office: "If you submit more than one set of scores for any of the required tests, the Admissions Committee considers only your best scores—even if your strongest SAT Subject Tests or portions of the SAT Reasoning Test were taken on different dates." </p>
<p>See also a Newsweek article about the renewed score choice policy adopted by College Board. </p>
<p>Reactions</a> to College Board's SAT Score Choice | Newsweek Education | Newsweek.com </p>
<p>Some colleges want to see all scores a student has ever obtained, period, but as one admission officer asks, if "a student submits a single best sitting of 2320," does anyone really care "how low were her other score sets?"</p>
<p>thanks for the advice. i'll still study hard for the first time i take it but if i don't get a good score ill be sure to retake it.</p>
<p>Or take the ACT instead ;)</p>
<p>Would you consider the ACT easier? I've heard they are about the same.</p>
<p>niether test is "easy" or the scores would be stratospheric. It really depends on your testing style on whether one is easier for YOU. Read the hundreds of threads on the ACT board to get an idea of whether it might fit your style better.</p>