Take SATs a third time?

Test Preparation
1

<p>I'll start off by sharing my first two SAT Reasoning attempts.</p>

<p>January 09
CR: 630
M: 650
W: 620 (mc - 57, essay -10)</p>

<p>I was pretty satisfied because I was balanced and I had a 1900. My goal was to break 2000 and push 2100.</p>

<p>June 09
CR: 710
M: 700
W: 570 (mc - 57, essay 8)</p>

<p>I'm not concerned about my matches. They superscore, and some don't even care about writing. When I look at a reach like Columbia, a school that doesn't superscore, my CR + M are in the middle 50%. Writing, however, is more than 100 points off. The more I look at competitive schools, not only do they weigh writing equally (or somewhat equally), writing has a higher middle 50% than math and critical reading.</p>

<p>People are telling me taking SATs for a third time is risky, but I think it's necessary if I want to have a chance at my reaches. I know that statistically, there is a high chance my scores will stay roughly the same or go down. My rationale is that I'm not getting into my reaches with my June SATs, so why not take the chance and go one last time for a higher score (writing in specifc)? At the very least, my superscore for high matches/low reaches may improve.</p>

<p>I think I'm going to take the SATs in October, but I would really appreciate your opinion. I would like as much insight into the situation as possible. Because, honestly, what do I know? Thanks in advance =)</p>

2

<p>I took the SAT 3 times. Got my best score in each area on a different date:
3/09- CR-670 5/09- CR-680 6/09- CR-700
M-610 M-690 M-660
W-760 W-730 W-690
I wish I had managed to get 700 on math, but oh well. I am happy with these scores. 2150 isn’t that impressive here on CC, but it is compared to most students.</p>

3

<p>My son got a 2100 the first time, then a 2040 the second. He stayed the same in CR, went up 10 in math, went from 730 to 660 in writing. Essay the same, 8, but multiple choice went down.</p>

<p>Do you think it’s worth retaking, since the CR and Math stayed pretty close to the same?</p>

<p>Don’t think we can do better than the 730 writing, but would like to bring up the math and critical reading, maybe to the 700 range. </p>

<p>Son got a 31 on his ACT in April. Still waiting on June results. Got a 27 on CR there, but a 35 in writing. </p>

<p>Son’s PSAT was 207, which is borderline for NM in La, so don’t know if we’ll need that qualifier for natl merit finalist. </p>

<p>Hoping for merit scholarships in college, though.</p>

4

<p>I took it thrice. First time 2080, second time 2220, third time 2360 (taking superscoring into account).</p>

<p>So it’s definitely possible to improve. If you think you have a legit shot at raising your score, I say go for it.</p>