<p>im only taking the SATs once in october nd im working hard for it....is that bad tho just taking it once?</p>
<p>If that's what you're set on doing, then just review what you need to know; check the collegeboard website if you're not sure.</p>
<p>I took it twice, and would probably do it again if it weren't for financial setbacks (those tests rack up quite a bill!). </p>
<p>My advice is not to decide for sure until you see how you do the first time around. Many of my friends opted not to take it again because they did sufficiently well in the first place.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>My daughters GC says take both the SAT & ACT, but take them only once.</p>
<p>is it bad to take them more than once? i took it the first time, then took it a second time and got like 30 points lower. but i've also noticed that certain dates just have all-around higher scores! for example, everyone i've asked about the SAT reasoning test who took it in june have said that they improved over 100 points.. without studying. so should i try one more time?</p>
<p>i'd have to disagree with the gc, shrink, unless there are some extenuating circumstances i'm not aware of.</p>
<p>it's always better to take each test as many times as you can stand to, in my opinion. most schools only care what your highest individual scores are (check out their web sites). in that situation, you have nothing to lose by re-taking.</p>
<p>@ the op: taking it once isn't necessarily bad, but there will be more pressure on you than you'd have if you could know you had another chance. i dunno if you're a senior with time constraints or some similar situation. if that's the case, then that's just the way it goes. but if you can take it two or more times, i'd recommend planning on that.</p>
<p>i only took each once. i'm gonna submit my higher score. i don't wanna waste my time or money on a test where i might do worse. especially since i'm very pleased w/ my scores the first goround.</p>
<p>If you are happy with the scores you get, it's OK to take them once. If you're not happy with the scores you get, it's OK to take them more than once.</p>
<p>See how easy that is?</p>
<p>shrink, GC is giving bad advice! If you are not happy with the score take again!</p>
<p>so like im taking my SATs for the first time in october and if by any chance i wanna take it again, is nov or dec. too late? i mean cant u like submit ur application and mail ur SAT scores later to the colleges?</p>
<p>Check each college's website to see whether December is too late for regular decision. Each school has its own rules. And yes, you can submit your app first and your official scores later.</p>
<p>"shrink, GC is giving bad advice! If you are not happy with the score take again!"</p>
<p>My happiness leas nothing to do with it.I certainly understand a trend around CC to take standardized tests as many times as it takes to get a near perfect score, but my daughter is just a normal kid who has no desire or motivation to do that. It seems rare that someone posts that they are "happy" (with their score...) I read here and cull the information I think makes sense for her, given what I know about what's important to her and how she makes best use of her time and energy, and add that to what she gets from her GC. I'd share his opinion here about retaking but not mine.</p>
<p>if you're happy with your score the first time, then it's fine. 2-3 takes are good too, as long as they're justified and you're improving. Anything more than that is overkill</p>
<p>there's no such thing as taking the test too many times unless you feel, personally, that you've taken the test enough times for you. but no guidance counselor should give a blanket piece of advice about taking each test only once. This is horrible advice in almost every case.</p>
<p>In fact, it would be better to take one of the tests twice than to take both of them once, since scores tend to rise on the second try by a margin that outpaces the average difference between the two scores. In other words, even if you're more inclined to the ACT, you'd often be better off taking the SAT twice and not taking the ACT at all than taking each test once.</p>
<p>a student may not want to take the test again (heck, who <em>wants</em> to take the SAT again?) (besides me, i mean), but the possible benefit of a higher score usually outweighs the inconvenience of an extra day spent on the test.</p>
<p>i'm not saying this to "correct" shrink, but just to have the comment posted for anybody else who might be reading this and decide that taking the test once is the best strategic way to approach the situation.</p>
<p>"the inconvenience of an extra day spent on the test."</p>
<p>I don't take it as correcting me, but rather correcting the GC. That's why I come here, for other opinions.</p>
<p>i.e.I had not heard this before:</p>
<p>"In fact, it would be better to take one of the tests twice than to take both of them once, since scores tend to rise on the second try by a margin that outpaces the average difference between the two scores."</p>
<p>OTH, it's my impression that it's not just the few hours to take the test, but rather the many hours to prepare, so that you do better than the "college board retake" statistics suggest. For my daughter I'd have to help her weigh these commitments against her grades, extracurriculars, applications, essays, college tours, other standardized tests (ACT, subject tests), and preparing for them. And I mustn't forget "Chilaxin"!</p>
<p>
[quote]
since scores tend to rise on the second try by a margin that outpaces the average difference between the two scores.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Where did you get this information? I don't think that's true. It depends on your initial score on the test. When you get your SAT's back the College Board tells you the odds of your scores actually going down if you take them again. The higher your scores are the first time, the more likely it is for your scores to go down.</p>
<p>There is no blanket rule about taking or not taking the test. My d took the SAT once and got a great score. She took the ACT once and got a great score. She was done. She's going to a top 50 school.</p>
<p>If your scores are good (for the schools you're applying to), and you have no reason to believe that you'll improve substantially - like doing significant extra prep - there's no reason to take the test again. </p>
<p>If you believe you can improve your scores substantially, and it would help you for the schools you're considering, then take it again.</p>
<p>Happy for your daughter, Chedva!
One point on retakes that I haven't seen noted here is the effect of "super scoring", which most privates do.
Suppose your first time scores on each section are such that the chance of your score going down or staying the same on each section is 60%. The chance of no improvement on ALL THREE sections is only 21.6% (.6x.6x.6 ).
78.4% chance of an improved super score.
Retakes are less compelling (but often worthwhile) for schools like the California publics which use the single best sitting.</p>
<p>^ It's true. I did worse the second time on the math portion of the SAT I, even though I'm pretty sure it was easier.</p>
<p>That royally ****ed me off, haha.</p>
<p>Nobody should wear themselves thin from taking tests all the time. If that's what it takes to get into the college you want, then maybe you ought to set your sights on a reasonable alternative.</p>
<p>yeahh im planning to take it only once in october but im not gonna BS it...im gonna work hard to do really good on it</p>
<p>
<p>That's the question in the original post, which was followed up by a reply saying, </p>
<p> [quote=danielle1013] is it bad to take them more than once?
</p>
<p>How many times to take the SAT is an individual decision. The College Board reports that students vary in how many times they take the SAT, and reports average scores for the groups of students who retest multiple times. </p>
<p>How many times you take the SAT depends on what else you do during the testing dates, how well you think you did the first time, what your college goals are, and what else you are doing to build a strong application. If the worry you have is how college admission officers will interpret your number of tests taken, this thread already illustrates that there are various interpretations that people propose for more testing sessions or fewer. I've asked college admission officers about this (because this question comes up a lot here on College Confidential) and the consensus of the college admission officers, what they say in public meetings when asked about this, is not to worry about how many times you take the SAT, but to be sure to remember that your SAT score is not the only aspect of your application they will look at. </p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4198038&postcount=1%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=4198038&postcount=1</a> </p>
<p>Whatever you have already done you have already done. Whatever you still do before the admission deadline may vary from what someone else decides to do. Don't worry about it. Decide what makes sense for you to do for a strong application, and then do that fearlessly. </p>
<p>Good luck in your applications.</p>
<p>If you've prepared as much as you can and worked as hard as possible for the test, then there would be little sense in retaking it, regardless of your score. As long as your score reflects your abilities, there is no need to retake the test.</p>