<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>