<p>I wasn't going to retake the SAT but..
my first attempt was 1970 (M-720, CR-620, W-630)
and my second attempt was 1950 (M-720, CR-650, W-580).
Those are rather weak scores for selective colleges , right???</p>
<p>I have to say I wasn't well prepared for previous tests but I'll really try this third time.
Does it impact the way colleges look at my scores if I take it so many times?</p>
<p>They generally will not like it if you take it more than 3 times…so I would prepare hard and get ready for one good test.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>“They generally will not like it if you take it more than 3 times”</p>
<p>Where the heck did you get that from? That’s not even true.</p>
<p>From what they say, colleges don’t care how many times you take it, so if it’s in your best interest to superscore, send all your scores and don’t worry about it. But also keep score choice in mind; if you do way better your third time, you can just send that one in, and colleges don’t even need to know how many times you took the test.</p>
<p>Colleges don’t want students to waste time raising their scores by a few points when they could be doing more meaningful things, like following their passions. Ivy league schools suggest no more than twice, but it’s no more than 3 times at most other schools I’ve looked at. </p>
<p>Take it one last time, but make sure you’re prepared enough to increase your score significantly.</p>
<p>They only recommend “no more than X times” because the College Board says that students are unlikely to see much of a score increase the (X+1)st time they take the SAT. Admissions officers have hearts, so they publicize suggestions like “no more than X times” so that pushy parents won’t force their kids to retake the SAT a bajillion times. </p>
<p>That way, they can pat themselves on the back for having done their part to reduce college admissions craziness in America!</p>
<p>Of course, that doesn’t stop plenty of parents from force their kids to retake the SAT a bajillion times. Thus, it would be unwise for adcoms to penalize students who take the SAT an (X+1)st or even an (X+N)th time!</p>
<p>Though the College Board <em>says</em> that students are unlikely to improve the (X+1)st time, that’s just an average. Plenty of students do improve, especially those who have done meaningful preparation and who <em>aren’t</em> just retaking the test to appease their helicopter parents (and keep from getting grounded).</p>