Hi!
I took the ACT twice already, and plan to take it a third time. Does it look bad to take this test three times? I have heard that you should not take it more than twice, however, I think I can do even better than I have already done.
Will taking this test for a third time look foolish to colleges?
A lot of it depends on the kind of schools you are planning on applying to, but if you are confident you can improve your score by a decent margin, then taking it a third time will not hurt you. You really shouldn’t take it more than three times though.
@afamelas Have you already applied to colleges? Just wondering. Because, I think that you self-report how many tests you wish to report, so if I only report 2/3 will they even know I took it a third time? I am not reporting my first score because all of my scores went up from the first test.
I have not applied to colleges yet, but I am currently in the process. The ACT student services do allow you to pick and choose which scores you want to send. But again, it does depend on the school you want to apply to. For example, Stanford requires that you send all of your ACT scores.
@afamelas I do not think any of the schools I am applying to require me to send all of my test scores. Thank you for your advice though!
No problem. Best of luck to you!
It will hurt more your pocket than your chance. Statistics shows there is little improvement after the second attempt. Of course, if you are not thoroughly prepared and left a lot of room in improvement, you may still get a slightly higher score every time. The main idea is to treat each attempt as your last attempt. Retake the test only if it is necessary and you think you can get a better score. It is not like a lucky draw that more attempt would increase your chance for a great score.