Should You Retake the SAT?
What’s Covered:
- What Is Your Target SAT Score
- How Likely Are You to Improve Your Score
- How Will Your SAT Score Impact Your Odds of Acceptance
You’ve just received your SAT scores, and you didn’t get the perfect score you hoped for. (Don’t worry, hardly anyone does.) No matter whether you scored a 1400 or a 1000, you might be wondering if you should retake the test. Practically every student who takes the SAT at some point is faced with the decision to settle with their current SAT score or take the test again.
On the one hand, retaking the test is a big commitment. On the other hand, though, most students find that their SAT scores improve significantly after the first test administration and continue to do so, though less dramatically, even after the second and third. A higher score could put out of reach schools suddenly within your grasp or qualify you for a scholarship you’d otherwise miss out on.
In this post, we break down how to decide if retaking the SAT is the right decision for you. What factors should you weigh and what questions should you ask yourself if you’re deciding whether to retake the SAT? Keep reading to find out.
What Is Your Target SAT Score
When deciding whether you’ll retake the SAT, one major consideration is how close you are to your target SAT score. If you are still hundreds of points away, you will need to retake the test if you intend to keep your sights set on the same schools that you’d originally planned on applying to. If you are closer, say within 20-50 points, you’ll need to consider how important and precise your target score is. Is there any wiggle room? Do you think you could surpass it?
If you did not set a target score before you took the SAT, it isn’t too late to do so. First, you’ll need to consider your existing score and whether you believe it’s a fair representation of your ability. Also, look at the colleges you’d like to attend. Research what SAT scores represent the average admitted student at each of these schools, and then factor in your other application factors. For example, if you have stellar grades and impressive extracurriculars, a slightly lower SAT might still put you within reasonable reach of certain schools.
It’s also worth considering if your time will be better spent strengthening other portions of your application. For example, the hours you spend studying could be used to hone your essays, start an independent side project, or devote more time to your schoolwork. Sometimes it can be more effective to work on these other aspects than trying to get 50 points closer to your target score.
How Likely Are You to Improve On Your Score
The important question to ask is how likely you are to improve upon the score you received. While this might seem obvious, it relies heavily on a few factors. If you’re trying to figure out how likely you are to improve your score, consider these central questions:
Did you underperform?
While we’d all like to think that we underperformed if we didn’t achieve the score we want, there is an easy way to determine if you truly underperformed. If you scored more than 100 points below your average practice test score, you probably underperformed.
While this can be frustrating, it’s good news. Underperformance is often linked with test anxiety or an error, such as reading directions incorrectly or filling in the scoring sheet wrong. These issues can be easily addressed, and when they are, you will see your score return to something closer to your average range.
Another common culprit is test anxiety. Many students experience anxiety when it comes to test-taking, especially with one as emphasized as the SAT. Learning tactics to cope with test anxiety might alleviate some of the pressure on the next go around.
How many times have you taken the test?
In general, students achieve the greatest increase in their score the second time they take the SAT. While the average student continues to experience some score improvement beyond the second SAT, these gains are far less significant.
One study released by the College Board revealed that the greatest score gains were achieved between the first and second SATs taken by students, with lower-scoring students achieving greater gains.
If you have only taken the SAT once, you should consider retaking it to capitalize on the score improvement associated with a second SAT. If you have already taken the SAT twice, you still might consider retaking it if there are compelling reasons to believe you’ll improve, but generally, just taking the test twice is usually enough.
If you’ve already taken the SAT three times, it’s unlikely you’ll achieve any significant score improvement unless there are other significant changes as well. Further, some admissions officers may be turned off if they see you have taken the test more than three times.
How much did you prepare?
Students who spend time seriously brushing up on content and who study strategy and time management as well will generally achieve a score closer to their peak score. In other words, if you prepared a ton the first time around, your score increase will likely be less significant than someone who didn’t study at all and finally decides to apply him or herself.
If you know you didn’t study as much as you should have or you identified major knowledge gaps during your first test, you have a decent chance of improving your score significantly if you put some more time into preparation.
How Will Your SAT Score Impact Your Odds of Acceptance
Even with the expansion of test-optional policies, standardized tests like the SAT (or ACT) continue to play a major role in the college admissions process, especially at highly selective schools. However, test scores aren’t the only factor considered—your GPA, course rigor, extracurriculars, essays, letters of recommendation, and so on are also crucial.
If you’re wondering how your overall profile will stack up at the colleges you’re considering, check out CollegeVine’s free chancing engine, which evaluates all quantifiable aspects of your application, including grades, course rigor, extracurriculars, and, yes, standardized test scores to estimate your odds of being accepted at over 1,600 schools across the country.
Our admissions calculator can also give you suggestions for how to boost your chances of acceptance—for example, by raising your SAT score. If a slightly higher score would lead to a big bump, a retake might just be worth it!
