We don’t know of anyone who likes taking standardized exams. But tests like the SAT® are often required for college admissions, so you just have to grin and bear it.
You have to study extremely hard for weeks, wake up early on a Saturday, and spend nearly four hours in a quiet, tense exam hall being really, really focused. So, after it’s all over, take a few minutes and enjoy your feelings of freedom because they won’t last long.
Because guess what?
You’ll need to retake the SAT®.
“But, why???” You might ask. Well, here’s why:SAT® Score Increase Needed
It’s pretty standard practice for American high school students to take the SAT® at least two times. The first attempt at the exam is usually made in the spring of their junior year, perhaps in March or May. After a long summer of studying, they would retake the test in October, and, if things didn’t go as well as they’d hoped, take the exam one last time in November.
Yet, as the college admissions process becomes more and more competitive, students are now encouraged to devote the better half of their senior years entirely to “finishing strong” (that is, avoiding senioritis and getting straight A’s senior year) and developing stellar college applications.
So what does that have to do with how many times you retake the SAT®?
A lot, actually.
It’s a wise choice to begin studying for the SAT® no later than the fall of your junior year and take the SAT® as early as you can. In fact, it would be in your best interest to begin as early as spring of sophomore year. This way, if you don’t score as highly as you want to, you have plenty of time to take it again and create less pressure for yourself as you approach the self-imposed deadline created by waiting until the last minute.
You can read more about when to start studying for the SAT® here.
But how many times is too many?
Remember that your goal in retaking the SAT® should be to increase your scores. Whether you are trying to qualify for a certain scholarship or be a competitive candidate for a particular school, two-three times is the standard number for SAT® retakes. More than that and you start to look desperate. It’s also highly unlikely that your scores will continue to increase after the third time, as most students experience what is known as “score stagnation” by this point.
What do you mean “desperate?”
Unless you are improving by 100+ points with each retake, schools might see your many attempts as hopeless grabs at an unattainable goal. If, after you have studied extensively, you feel like you now have a better mastery of the content and could increase your score by a sizeable margin, it is in your best interest to take a mock exam before you retake the actual SAT®.
Many local test prep centers offer mock exams for a small fee. You can also purchase a test prep book like this one and administer the exam to yourself, or ask a friend or parents to step in as the proctor. The idea is to recreate the conditions of test day as accurately as possible, meaning that if you are taking the exam at your desk, you need to adhere to the strict time limits, only take a break if one would be available on the actual exam, etc. By doing this, you can get a pretty good picture of what you will score on test day.
By self-administering these “benchmark tests,” you will be able to track your personal progress while saving yourself the hassle of hiding low scores, or little to no score increases, from colleges who do not allow selective scoring. You will also save yourself from wasting money on registrations fees for scores you don’t plan to use anyway.
What is selective scoring?
Selective scoring is when the colleges you apply to only see the test results that you want them to see. Meaning that if you did great on the October SAT®, had no improvement on the December test, but jumped up 150 points on the March exam, you only have to submit your October and March scores. They don’t even have to know that the December test happened. The only catch is that the admissions committee will see ALL scores submitted from a particular test date. So, if you did great in Math (750) and okay in Evidence-based Reading and Writing (650) they will see both scores.
Super scoring is when you get to combine your performance from more than one test date to create the best score possible. Meaning that if you got a 750 in Math and a 650 in Evidence-based Reading and Writing on the October SAT® for a score of 1400, but your Math score jumped to 800 in January, schools that super score would consider your application as though you had scored a 1450 in one sitting.
If you are interested in which schools practice super scoring and selective scoring, and which schools require applicants to submit all of their test scores, you can find a comprehensive list on the College Board’s website here. It is important to know about these policies as early on in your testing cycle as possible, so you know which strategy to employ.
To Recap:
- Only retake the official SAT® if you are confident in your ability to increase your scores by about 100 points (as demonstrated through mock exams).*
- Be aware if the colleges to which you want to apply practice super scoring, selective scoring, or require that all scores be submitted.
*The only exception to this rule would be if you are, for example, about ~50 points away from a scholarship or admissions cutoff point. Then, by all means, retake the SAT® even if your score will not increase by 100 or more points. In this sort of situation, a second try that would yield only a small score increase would be totally worth it.
So now you know when and why to retake the SAT®, but how do you increase your scores? While there unfortunately isn’t a magical formula to boost SAT® scores overnight…
Here are some key strategies that you must follow to achieve your version of a perfect score:
Study for both sections.
Let’s say you need a score of 1400 on the new SAT® to be a competitive candidate for the school of your choice. You took the test in October and scored a 550 on Evidence-based Reading and Writing, and a 650 on the Math – giving you a total score of 1100. This is pretty far from your goal! Obviously, you performed better in Math and need way more work in reading and writing, but this doesn’t mean you should stop prepping for Math.
As you make gains in one section, you do not want to forfeit any progress you made on the other by neglecting to study for it. To beat this, you’ll need to develop a smart study plan and be accountable.
Your week might look a little something like this:
Sun. |
Mon. |
Tues. |
Wed. |
Thurs. |
Fri. |
Sat. |
| Review semi colons, commas, and dashes. | Review percentages. | Practice timing on reading passages. | Review the Foil Method. | Practice vocabulary in context. | Time yourself on data analysis about prose. | Rest – you deserve it! |
As you can see, although the Evidence-based Reading and Writing material is highly favored in this study plan, the Math is still present. Students also hoping to make the jump from a 1050 to a 1400 should be studying more concepts a day than are present on this chart.
Which brings us to…
Set incremental goals.
Improving your SAT® score is possible, but it is going to take a lot of hard work. The amount of work you need to put in is directly proportional to how many points you need to improve.
Say you need to increase your score 200 points. Just know that this change will not happen overnight. To avoid discouragement, a better plan of action would be to set few incremental goals instead.
For a score increase from 1000 to 1200, they might look a little something like this:
January SAT® |
March Practice Test |
April Practice Test |
May SAT® |
||
| Math | 450 | 490 | 550 | 570 | |
| Evidence-based Reading and Writing | 550 | 590 | 620 | 630 | |
| Composite Score | 1000 | 1080 | 1170 | 1200 | |
It’s a good idea to write down your current score, goal score, and the smaller increases you hope to make in between. Keep them somewhere public like on your desk or the refrigerator so that your family can see them and help hold you accountable.
Now how can you achieve these score increases?
Here’s a handy chart to help you determine what your plan of actions should be when deciding to retake the SAT®:
SAT® Score Increase Needed |
How Hard it Will Be |
How You Can Achieve it |
| 0-50 more points |
It won’t be too hard. Many students can achieve this level of improvement with little to no extra work. | You might need to memorize another formula or two and work on your pacing. There is a possibility that you could achieve this score on your second attempt with no prep at all if the curve works in your favor. |
| 50-150 more points |
Still in the realm of complete possibility. You will need to put work into it, though. | You need to buckle down and start treating the SAT® like an actual class. You should take a practice test and pinpoint what category of question you tend to get wrong. As you notice trends in your mistakes, it will be easier to stop making them |
| 150-250 more points |
If you are very motivated and willing to make sacrifices (mainly of your time) then this is still achievable. | If you need this level of score increase, it means that you have some pretty big gaps in your content knowledge. It can be difficult for even the highly motivated to learn the material on his or her own. At this point, you’ll want to consider working with a tutor who can explain the tricky concepts to you and keep you on track. |
| 250-350 more points |
This level of score increase will be very hard to achieve. It is only possible for those who are highly motivated, accountable, and teachable. | Not only do you need to start treating the SAT® like a class with nightly homework to achieve this level of improvement, you will need to do so consistently over many weeks, perhaps even a few months. You will also need to begin working with a tutor, preferably in private sessions because you have a lot of content to learn. It would also be helpful to work on timing, pacing, and guessing strategies alongside your content work. |
| Over 350 more points |
Score increases of this much are highly unlikely. You will need to recalculate your target SAT® score and possibly accept the possibility that a few of your former target schools are out of your reach. | You are misunderstanding major chunks of the content on the SAT®. Often, this is caused by poor teaching at your school. Maybe you also neglected to pay attention during freshman or sophomore year when this fundamental content was introduced. You will need to get a private tutor and put in hundred of hours of work. |
Steps you can take RIGHT NOW to improve your SAT® score:
- Take a practice test.
- Identify your areas of weakness.
- Make a SAT® study plan to address those areas.
- Set incremental score goals.
- Stay focused and don’t get discouraged.
Be sure to check out our resources to help you get started.
Remember:
- You should retake the SAT® if you’ve only taken it once.
- You should retake the SAT® if you took a mock exam and improved by 100+ points.
- You should retake the SAT® if you are almost at the score you need for a scholarship.
So there you have it. Now you know if you should retake the SAT®, how to improve your scores, how likely it is for you to improve your scores, and everything in between.
Best of luck on the road to your perfect score!
Let’s put everything into practice. Try this SAT® practice question:
Looking for more SAT® practice?
You can find thousands of practice questions on Albert.io. Albert.io lets you customize your learning experience to target practice where you need the most help. We’ll give you challenging practice questions to help you achieve mastery of the SAT®.
Start practicing here.
Are you a teacher or administrator interested in boosting SAT® student outcomes?
Learn more about our school licenses here.
