Should I retake the SAT senior year?

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
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<p>Today I was looking through a WashU viewbook and it said that they prefer to see senior year SAT scores. Is that true of (m)any other colleges? I wasn't planning on retaking SAT Reasoning to free up some time to take some Subject Tests. But now I'm thinking about retaking because:</p>

<p>---I took the PSAT freshmen, sophomore, and junior year, and it increased a lot each time (which I suppose is to be expected, especially with math grades). 186, 200, 219</p>

<p>---The 2nd SAT I took in June was a significantly higher score (in all three sections, done with very minimal studying) compared to the 1st SAT I took back in January. </p>

<p>1st SAT: 700R 640M 630W = 1340(R&M) / 1970 total
2nd SAT: 740R 680M 780W = 1420(R&M) / 2200 total - 230 point improvement</p>

<p>...My question is, am I going to jinx my good luck/improvement by retaking? Or do I maybe just retake really well and could continue improving with some more studying (in order to make the cost and anxiety of the test worth it, I'd want to improve my score, not just have a senior SAT score on supply for picky colleges like WashU)? </p>

<p>Collegeboard says that close to 50% of test-takers with my score score lower on a retest, but they said the same of the last scores. (Although, I know it'd be literally impossible to improve as much as I did again, and a lot harder to improve even half that much.) I might be done improving because a PSAT of 219 (my highest) and a SAT of 2200 (my highest) are virtually the same, and that might just be my max, ya know?</p>

<p>Also, maybe even if I didn't improve my overall score very much, I might end up with a higher math score (or a score more balanced between sections) and that could be advantageous for superscoring colleges...? Maybe? Do many colleges superscore?</p>

<p>Sorry for all the questions, this is my first new thread, and I guess I had a lot of questions bottled up :) Any suggestions, insults, sarcasms, movie references, or better yet, math-oriented logic (never been my best subject), is much appreciated!</p>

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<p>Your scores seem pretty good as is. If you think you might be able to get close to a perfect score in math, and your other scores will be about the same, then you can retake it. Otherwise I wouldn’t.</p>

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<p>I am not sure what the difference is in taking SAT’s in June of Junior year, and October of Senior year. There is not a lot of planned instruction in between those two tests dates, granted there is a lot of time to study if needed. Your scores are great, so I am not sure if it would be a problem. If you are concerned about it, and the school mentioning senior year testing is a desired school, you should probably contact admissions and speak with them about your concerns. Then you would feel better about your decision.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your help!. I bet June <em>is</em> as good as senior year, so I’m just going to focus on the math subject tests instead, and if I end up wanting to retake the SAT down tr road, I’ll be better studied up in math :)</p>

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<p>That sounds like a good plan to me.</p>

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<p>I read sonewhere that a number of schools dropped the SAT II requirements this year, but some of those schools are still recommending them. Double check your schools so you know for sure.</p>

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<p>thanks vlines, I’ll try to find the most up-to-date information!</p>

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<p>Is three the max number of times you can take the SAT exam before it looks really bad?</p>

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<p>If you are prepared and certain that you will get a 2300 or more, then yes, retake it (:</p>

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<p>rotiprata: I think with score choice, colleges don’t have to know. Look into colleges’ “SAT score-use policy” (then decide if it’s worth it to take it more than 3 times off of that). If a college says “ALL” must be submitted then you must send all 3 or 4 tests. And if they are interested in ALL scores, they may be the ones who care more that students are retaking so much.</p>