How many times should students take the SAT or ACT?

The number of times kids take the SAT or ACT can vary widely.  Some kids just take it once when it’s given at school while others also take it multiple times on National Test days.  But, it’s worth it to consider how taking it more than once might improve your chances of reaching your goals on the test.  According to ACT, it usually takes 2-3 attempts to reach their testing goals.  The College Board recommends that students take the SAT two times, once as a junior and once as a senior.    However, in my experience, students should consider taking the SAT at least 3 times in order to maximize their superscore.

Most colleges will let students use the highest verbal score and pair it with their highest math score, even if it’s from different test administrations.  This creates their “superscore”.  Likewise, most colleges will let students superscore ACT scores as well.  This can help students be more competetive for admissioin and for merit aid.  In fact, some colleges encourage students to take the tests as many times as they can up until the final merit aid deadline in order to earn the highest scholarship awards.

Another reason to take the test at least three times is that most students get more comfortable and confident with how to approach the test after taking it a couple of times and often do better on the third try.  Students really boost their scores when they are involved in a robust prep course that includes ample study material and practice tests.  Sometimes parents ask if colleges frown on kids that take it multiple times, but I have never seen any evidence that suggests this is true.  If you have any questions about this question, about the tests, or about prep, please contact us at 817-451-6200.

https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/help-center/how-many-times-can-student-take-sat-and-when-should-they-take-it#:~:text=Students%20can%20take%20the%20SAT,score%20when%20making%20admission%20decisions.

https://www.act.org/content/act/en/students-and-parents/high-school-success/testing-advice-for-the-act/reasons-to-retest.html#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20limit%20to,to%20achieve%20their%20testing%20goals.