<p>I did my first SAT on Jan 07 and got 1620 and also did the May test and I am thinking of doing it again in October if I do not meet my goal</p>
<p>Will repeating the SAT three times effect my chances of entering a college?</p>
<p>thx for any replies</p>
<p>I don't think you should take the SAT more than two times, even if you can set a pattern of improvement. If you don't meet your goal, then take the ACT instead. You might meet an equivalent goal there or surpass it.</p>
<p>Three times is fine.</p>
<p>^<br>
Agreed.</p>
<p>lol, i am a soph, and taken twice. therefore i am not taking more than one more time.</p>
<p>Yea, three times is the most you should take, it's a fine amount...</p>
<p>Don't worry about it! As long as you can improve, taking more wouldn't be bad at all (in fact, it should help you if your score improves). What you DON'T want to do though, is go crazy and take 5 SATs or something like that. ;)</p>
<p>I have another problem </p>
<p>If my scores for the may SAT is not good I am planning on doing it again in october then doing three subject tests in november</p>
<p>Is it ok to do that?will I make it before the application deadline?(Bear in mind that I am an international student)</p>
<p>thx in advance</p>
<p>you should be fine</p>
<p>It's really no big deal. I know plenty of people that take the SAT three times.</p>
<p>As long as you improve, colleges won't complain! Also, three is generally the max amount of times you should take it, I think.</p>
<p>Whatever. But you just might see diminishing returns by your third go-round. And it can become disheartening and the test and all the prep takes away time from school work and other things.</p>
<p>I went up 100 points the second time, 10 points the third. The third was a waste.</p>
<p>This thread has been opened since at least FIVE other threads (maybe more) in various forums on College Confidential have had postings answering the question opening this thread. 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 just 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>Tests taken before the end of this (Western) calendar year will be timely for college applications for regular action by class of 2008 high school seniors. So the original poster's proposed testing schedule should be fine.</p>