Is there any reason to use my Nov free score reports if I am retaking the SAT in December?

I took the SAT 1 this November, and now have 4 free score reports I can use until Saturday’s deadline.
Since I’m taking an SAT 2 in December though, I’m wondering if there is any reason to use the free report at all.

My May score was 1440, so I’m aiming for the 1500s this time. In all honesty I feel like this test went okay, but again I feel like SAT scores are quite unpredictable. I’m confident my scores would be in the 1400-1500 range though.

Now let’s say I didn’t do well, obviously I would rather not send them at all to the schools I’m reaching for.

Let’s say I did well, that’s good. But since I’d really want to be a competitive applicant in this school’s admissions (I’m aiming for top schools), I’d send them my December SAT 2 results too (I am only retaking Math 2 where I got 740, so I can really focus on raising my score this time). By that time, I’ll know my November results as well, so less will be at stake, just my Math2. So then is there any point in sending scores now to my dream schools?

Also, if my school requires all testing history, then my November report be invalid anyway, am I right? Really confused about this.

Since I think that I don’t actually need my November results sent, I’m thinking of not using them at all, or sending them to less competitive schools who are likely to settle with whatever score I get. I’d like to kind of do “practice” applications in their early decision just so that I know my way around the admissions system.

What do you think? Would sending my score reports this time be of any use in admission to my dream schools?
I might have also misunderstood how these reports work, so please point things out if I got them wrong.

Thanks in advance!

  1. Colleges that require all scores do not care how many times you have to send scores to do that. Thus if you send Nov and before via a November free send, you can then send Dec later.
  2. Do not know colleges to which you are applying, but some have end of Nov or early December application deadlines for which the Nov test is the last acceptable test and if you wait until sending Dec scores to send the Nov scores, your scores may be too late to be considered.
  3. A number of colleges with Jan application deadlines have early Dec deadlines if you want to be considered for scholarships, and for that scores need to be in their hands by early December, and the only way to assure Nov scores will arrive in time is to identify the colleges in your test registration as one to receive scores automatically upon release (that results in the fastest form of delivery and scores are usually sent electronically to colleges a day before you get them online).

4.Something could go wrong with the Dec test, e.g., you could be sick and miss it, the test could be delayed in being graded, sometimes by up to a month, for any number of reasons – something goes wrong at the test site in recording tests, there may be suspected cheating at the site which can possibly delay all tests from the site until they complete the investigation. They do not send prior tests in that situation to colleges identified in the test registration until the Dec test is ready to be released.

  1. If you have more than four colleges to which you intend to apply and at least some of them are like the vast majority of colleges that do not even use SAT subject tests to determine admission, then you might want to use the Nov free sends for those to avoid the cost of sending scores.

In other words, there are possibilities that you need to check on and think through before deciding. If the college is one that accepts Dec scores for all purposes including scholarships and you are willing to pay to have the Nov scores separately sent from Dec scores if you have a problem such as mentioned in 4 above, then you can probably choose to wait.