taking SAT 4th time to improve from 2290 to 2300?

Hello! So I have heard from multiple sources (my counselor a, my friend’s mother, my other friends with their own counsellors, whatever) that it is possibly detrimental to my chances at many colleges if I should take the SAT more than 3 times. I feel this is a common belief. I was not initially planning on taking a 4th time before I realized that my superscore is 2290 and many of my dream schools (mainly NYU) take the superscore so? I am planning to take it one more time to improve my writing score from 730 to 740 so I can achieve a 2300 superscore, but my friends are warning me away from this saying the difference is too insignificant to have to submit 4 scores! Could I please have some more opinions on the matter?

Have you asked yourself why you are obsessing about your scores?

NYU doesn’t need a 2300. It needs to see a good hs record and a good app/supp. Put your energies where it matters.

I’m not obsessing over my scores; I just feel like a 2290 looks less impressive compared to a 2300

People will say your sitting a 4th time with a 2290 to achieve a possible 2300 IS obsessing…

You asked. Ppl gave their answers. I’m simply not sure if you wanted confirmation one way or another.

Spend your time on something else wil get you more than that 10 point difference.

Yes you are.

I guess shouldn’t have said “I’m not obsessing over my scores”, then. I suppose I wasn’t really asking for confirmation; I was more asking if people thought the difference between 2290 and 2300 was significant enough to justify taking the test a 4th time

For 10 extra points? This late? If it’s not a problem obsessing, then it’s a problem dealing with the stress. Breathe. College adcoms don’t focus on the grand total the way CC or your hs peers do. You’re in the wrong tizzy.

When does the format change for the new SAT begin?

Retaking is a waste of time. 10 points on the SAT is statistical noise.

You really have no control over the outcome here, just the degree of excellence you put into the effort to get in. Shore up your essays and presentation.

The stats might work for you with a far lower superscore, if you’re one of the lucky ones:

http://www.collegedata.com/cs/admissions/admissions_tracker_result.jhtml?schoolId=436&classYear=2019

When college admin people see someone taking the test for the 4th time in order to get 10 more points, they ask themselves if this is really the kind of person they want on campus. This will hurt you more than any score gain is going to help. You are letting your anxiety cause you to lose perspective (also known as ‘obsessing.’) Spend your time writing better essays or researching school programs more thoroughly.

Here’s the thing. If you DO NOT retake the tests, apply to NYU, and get rejected, you will always (in some twisted way) believe that it was because you didn’t try for the extra 10 points. Either get over the belief that the 10 points makes a difference, or go do it just so you don’t drive yourself into a tizzy.

@2muchquan Old format ends in January, New format starts in March.

No! Have you noticed that your scores vary each time you take the test? Ten points is well within that variation and it has NO MEANING to adcoms or anyone else except people who have no knowledge of statistics.

Another No! It won’t make a difference, your time is better spent on something else. Lastly, the writing score matters the least to colleges. Maybe you can spend the 4 hours finding a safety school you can picture yourself happily attending.

I doubt you should have taken the test 3 times to begin with.

IMO not worth it. Every school shows a range of SAT scores, not one acceptable score. The application has so many components (essay, ECs, recommendations, etc.) that 10 points one way or another on a SAT won’t be the difference. And IMO submitting 4 scores may make you look a bit obsessive.

Taking it a 4th time after getting such a high score already will send adcoms the signal you don’t care about what matters, ie., learning, just “scoring”. Even if you get a 2300, it will hurt you.