Taking SATs Multiple Times?

[hentob]

Will it hurt you to take the SAT's over and over again to achieve the highest score? What do the colleges think about this?


Wondering what little brother should do?

 

[Feralpeg]

They actually expect it. DD has taken the SAT 3 times and the ACT twice. She was just accepted at Florida State University and the University of Central Florida. Absolutely take it more than once unless you do terrific the first time.

 

[DVCLiz]

No, it won't hurt you at all. All of the colleges DD17 has applied to will simply take the best score in each area and add them together for her best score. She went up 90 points in math between her first and third tries (she took them once in her junior year and twice as a senior.)

 

[monarchsfan16]

You can definitely take them multiple times
Just be warned: not everyone's scores go up. Mine dropped 50 points. Both sections dropped. But my scores the first time were better than I had expected, so I was willing to just take it twice.

 

[4greatboys]

The colleges encourage you to test several times. When you have them sent to the school they keep them on file and just use the highest score on your application.

 

[disykat]

We're being pressured to have DS take it as a 7th grader. We said no.

 

[RyMickey]

We're being pressured to have DS take it as a 7th grader. We said no.

I took it as a 7th grader as part of a Johns Hopkins program. I'm not sure whether it "helped" me at all, but it did give me a heads up as to what the SATs were about.

Needless to say, I tanked on them in 7th grade.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Both of my kids took them as 7th graders as part of the John Hopkins program. It gave them a chance to experience the test with no pressure. Then when they took it for real it wasn't as terrifying. They each took it twice in high school.

 

[tiggersmom2]

I took it as a 7th grader as part of a Johns Hopkins program. I'm not sure whether it "helped" me at all, but it did give me a heads up as to what the SATs were about.

Needless to say, I tanked on them in 7th grade.

I took them in 7th grade also. I am positive the colleges didn't look at those scores!

 

[janette]

My DD took them in 7th grade too, I thought it was a great time to get a feel of what is expected. She did pretty well within her age group so that was nice to know too. We did it in a very no pressure approach. No prep, just went on test day and did the best she could.

I do plan on her taking them multiple times when it really matters. Just a few points can make a big difference and the best score is used

 

[4greatboys]

We're being pressured to have DS take it as a 7th grader. We said no.

My ds took it in the 7th grade as well as part of the Duke TIP program.

 

[ilovedale3]

I also took the SAT many years ago as a 7th grader as part of the Duke TIP program. It was a good experience as it showed me what the test was like and what to expect. I actually did rather well on it as a 7th grader... my score was higher than many high school students at that time!

When I was a junior, I took the SAT's twice. My score really didn't change all that much between the first and second tries. Most people find that this is the case, unless you take some sort of SAT prep course to improve your score significantly.

Schools usually just look at the highest scores on each section no matter how many times you took the test.

 

[xterratri]

I took them multiple times I guess. 7th grade, 8th grade through the Johns Hopkin program and then once in the 11th grade on my 16th birthday in May. Colleges only looked at the time my junior year. I didn't bother taking the ACT and did the PSAT for the National Merit Scholarship qualification so no suggestions for the OPs brother. Some people do better on the ACT though because its a slightly different test style. He might also look into some of the prep class programs. Again, no personal experience but I know that many of my med school classmates used Kaplan for the MCAT and virtually all of us will be using either Kaplan's or Princeton's online question banks for Boards prep in a couple months so there are all sorts of programs out there.

From my personal experience, the 7th/8th grade taking them and doing well enough to qualify for the regional and national programs was a great experience. I could have went to any of the major programs based on scores but at 12 yo going from MT to CO(Univ of Denver) for 3 weeks alone was a big adventure. I had a good time and it was eye opening to get out of my own little community(my 8th grade class had 19 students split into 2 sections). So don't necessarily be so quick to discourage kids from taking them early. I don't know if having taken the SAT early helped me when it came time to 'count' but what it got me at the time was worth it.

 

[Lil_Tink]

Here it costs $ to take it agian...

 

[Aidensmom]

I only took the SAT and ACT once each, but most of my friends took it numerous times. I think the only way it really hurts you is monetarily, it is not exactly cheap to take the tests.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

my advisor in my high school told me that if you take it more than 3 times, it can hurt you--i dont know why but thats what i was told.....I took it 2 times

 

[crs7568]

We also advise students at my high school not to take the exams more than three times.

 

[AMcaptured]

My daughter goes to a private school where everyone is "expected" to go to college and they suggest that students take the PSAT once and the SAT's twice.

Honestly, I don't know anyone who only took their SAT's once, even 20 years ago.

 

[belle_of_the_ball]

this is how mine is going

6,7,8th grades i took the SATs through John Hopkins

10th and 11th grades i will take the PSAT atleast 2 times

11th and 12th grades i will take the SATs multiple times in that year


it doesnt hurt in fact counslers and colleges enourage it.

 

[froglady]

My children also took either the SAT (DD) or ACT (DS) in 7th grade through the Duke program. DS took the ACT last week, so I don't know how he did yet. He stated that almost all of the math section and most of the science section involved material he hasn't covered yet, so he probably didn't do well. If the practice test he took at home is any indication, he did well in the verbal section, as did DD when she took the SAT.

I agree with others who felt it was beneficial as my children were able to take the tests as a lark, with no expectations or pressure to do well.

DD did well on the PSAT, SAT, and ACT, so only took each test once. Some of her classmates took them multiple times to a. improve a less than stellar score or b. trying for a perfect score.