I agree with @mathmom. Testing twice will not raise eyebrows since that is probably the norm for kids who are applying to higher end schools. Taking it three, four or more times will probably not look good to the AdComs and will look like the student was just shopping for a particular score instead of putting together a more well rounded high school career. There is no need to take the ACT or SAT 3 or 4 times.
I agree in general, but there is a specific exception where a student is just short of a threshold score for an automatic-for-stats scholarship. In that case, trying until one reaches the threshold score or runs out of test dates makes sense if the scholarship is large enough. With large scholarships of this nature, the relatively few hours spent on preparation and test taking to earn such a scholarship makes it far easier money than working part time while in school.
In our district, SAT scores are reported on the transcript. Though not considered “official” scores, the colleges will definitely know how many times my kids took the test and what the corresponding scores were.
Yes, our school district also includes all scores on their transcripts as well.
With the exception that @ucbalumnus pointed out (trying to increase scores for automatic-for-stats $), I think that taking the test repeatedly might indicate personality issues: score grubbing, perfectionism, gaming tendencies (i.e., trying to raise one part of the SAT per test sitting), etc.
I would expect schools to pay attention to this. Everyone has an occasional bad test day, and you can’t read anything into a retest. A retest, not 7 retests. Someone retaking a test that is already above 2300 is, IMO, exhibiting behavior not indicative of good academic values.
There is, I believe, not a school or future employer who would reject an applicant solely because they got a 2300. If they exist, you don’t want to attend/work there anyway.
Re cost: I think ACT charges for each test date transmission, but SAT doesn’t.
People should also remember that the concerns that excessive test taking might only be seen negatively by a small handful of colleges. Most colleges are ECSTATIC about a high testing applicant, regardless of the number of sittings. They’re falling over themselves to try to get you to attend.
Only the very selective ones who must parse out offers to a small percentage of their applicant pool might even consider de-valuing an applicant who sits for the SAT a fourth or fifth time. All other schools won’t give a darn and will hope to land that kid w/merit scholarships!
Interesting. Along with all of the sports trophies, athletic records, drama and debate awards and other athletic and academic achievements, our HS has a wall with photographs of kids who scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. The younger honors/AP kids look up to those with photos on the wall and want to emulate them. Is that score grubbing perfectionism?
@Zinhead, DS’s HS didn’t have a photo wall, but word spreads, whether or not a kid wants to advertise it. His 2360 first/single seating was looked up to by the younger kids, IMO more than if he had retaken a few times to get rid of that pesky 1 careless error on the Math section, on a “count on your fingers easy” question.
Fwiw, some kids pushed him to retake, going for a 2400; notably, the HS college counselor and his good friends did not. His response to the trophy seekers was to say, semi jokingly, that he had narrowly dodged the bullet of being the 2400 kid that AOs like to point out as rejected by their college. Privately, he laughed at them, because he preferred spending time with his GF, playing hockey, working at ECs, etc. to getting his name in the local paper.
ETA: he had signed up for the ACT before getting his SAT scores. He did not sit for it, but based on sample tests, might have scored 36. What would the schools he applied to know about his college readiness that they didn’t know based on his SAT?
That’s true, and I should have considered that the various college rankings don’t weight score results down for retests. My mind-set was showing :). Too late to edit, but I should have specified that my post was for highly selective colleges.
I agree with IxnayBob about our answers being geared toward the more selective holistic schools that don’t have merit scholarships. There are many fabulous schools that have merit money, and striving for the best score in that case is a totally different situation. As a psychologist though, I still think that taking the test too many times is a disservice to our kids. Once they get in college, there won’t be too many do-overs like that.
Another exception is athletic recruiting for highly selective schools. For some sports, the main recruiting season is the sophomore year. Being able to have a firm ACT/SAT score will go a long way in bolstering the confidence of a coach that a potential athlete will be able to meet the minimum Academic Index required by the school, and requires the student/athlete to achieve that score at an early age.
One kid we knew was recruited to an Ivy, and was told she needed a 33 to get a likely letter. Despite multiple attempts, she was not able to get the score, and ended up playing someplace else.
^^^^This. The scores are about them, not about you. As in," What can you give us in return for admitting you?"
There are many reasons (enumerated in this thread) as to why schools might want all the scores. I’d like to question whether they are entitled to see all the scores.
You pay for taking the tests, the scores are therefore yours to reveal as you see fit.
Their school. Their rules. Also, if you’re going for a merit-eligible score (agree, perfectly valid reason for several re-takes), you’re probably not applying to a school that cares about number of attempts. Maybe.
@soze, true enough, you’re also free not to apply to the school if you don’t like their process. You could make the same argument for your grades, essays, etc. There are score optional schools that might fit your needs better.
It is entirely possible that a student may be retrying several times to hit the automatic full tuition/ride threshold at a safety school, while also applying to a reach school with good need-based financial aid that may care about the number of tries.
Even schools that I heard address this issue, said they might notice, said they would only be concerned if there were questions about the rest of the application. i.e. someone who seemed to have very few ECs for example. I don’t think students should worry about this too much.