Makes sense - most dream school SAT percentiles have me fairly close to the 50th percentile, by mostly 10-30 points (apart from MIT), so that’d be the gray area then. If that’s the case, I’ll probably submit; most in state schools for me have amazing programs that I know I’ll get into, the super competitive ones are just for the sake of trying. If they reject me over <50 points it’s probably not the right school for me anyways.
My D did only the SAT. Got an excellent score, hated the one practice ACT she took.
My S took both. He preferred the SAT and got a very good score, but got a significantly better score on the ACT.
Both my kids took the tests once only. I am an advocate for not taking the test until the student is good and ready, but I can also see that many students benefit from taking a test a couple of times, especially if they bombed the first one due to nerves, feeling unwell, lack of sleep, or whatever. I would NEVER suggest to a student to take it more than three times.
This is what I tell students about the differences between the two tests:
The SAT is more generous with time, but the reading and English sections are notably (especially Reading) more difficult than the ACT. In general, the math is easier than the ACT.
The ACT is much more straightforward for Reading and English, but the time constraint for Reading (and Science) is a killer. Many students run out of time. The math goes up to a higher level than on the SAT.
Neither test is easy, both have definite advantages and disadvantages. It’s a case of choosing your poison.
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Oh…fifth time? Then no…don’t retake.