{"id":6207,"date":"2016-03-23t09:00:54","date_gmt":"2016-03-23t16:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/?p=6207"},"modified":"2017-11-07t17:20:27","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08t01:20:27","slug":"how-many-times-should-a-student-take-the-sat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/sat\/how-many-times-should-a-student-take-the-sat\/","title":{"rendered":"how many times should a student take the sat?"},"content":{"rendered":"

retaking the sat<\/a>. there\u2019s absolutely nothing wrong with it. in fact, most students probably should retake the sat at least once because chances are very likely that your score will improve even if you don\u2019t study the second time around (but still study). and with the whole score choice<\/a> option, you can make sure that colleges only see the scores that best represent your abilities while theoretically having the freedom to take the sat as many times as you want. but is there such thing as too many times?<\/p>\n

ideally, students shouldn\u2019t take the sat more than 3, maybe 4 times, except under rare circumstances (e.g. family emergency, being 10 points shy of your target score, etc.). by the third try, most students will probably have reached their maximum potential, given that they have put forth a solid effort in studying. furthermore, each retake of the sat is mentally and physically exhausting. <\/em>after a few attempts at the sat, it would be a much more productive use of your time to focus instead on being a rock star in your academics or exploring your passions meaningfully in your extra-curricular activities.<\/p>\n

wanna know what you can do to make sure you avoid being in the position to take the sat too many times? i\u2019m glad you asked!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

step 1: start preparing early<\/h2>\n

the main benefit in preparing for and taking the sat as early as you can is not being pressured by time, which can significantly improve your sat prep experience. for one, you don\u2019t have to worry about the time crunch due to application season, which \u2013 by taking off a considerable amount of pressure \u2013 can actually help you do better the first time you take the test. by getting an early idea of your initial standpoint on the sat, you also have a longer and therefore less stressful time to work on your weaknesses. also, spaced out study sessions over a long period of time are much more effective<\/a> than cramming, which is particularly helpful if you are reaching for point increases in the several hundreds. i recommend to start preparing for the sat your sophomore year \u2013 that way, you don\u2019t have to worry about prepping as much during junior year when you have your toughest course load while indirectly working to ace your psat during your national merit semifinalist qualifying year.
\n <\/p>\n

step 2: understand your target score and study smart<\/h2>\n

there is a difference between studying and studying smart when it comes to the sat. studying is just when you\u2019re just doing lots of aimless practice without regard to where you need the most help whereas studying smart means that you are taking the time to understand your weaknesses and your common mistakes and then actively working to improve them. research your target schools<\/a>, figure what kind score you\u2019ll need as well as how many points you\u2019ll need to increase your diagnostic score, and study smart!<\/p>\n

step 3: practice strategies to reduce test anxiety<\/h2>\n

text anxiety is probably one of the most overlooked factors in keeping students from their target sat scores because students spend so much time studying and stressing over their score that they do not consider the huge hindrance test anxiety and over-studying can be to their performance. focusing on minimizing sat stress<\/a> and working actively<\/strong> to reduce test anxiety<\/a> should therefore be just as important as studying for the test itself.
\n <\/p>\n

step 4: remember that the sat is only one aspect of your application<\/h2>\n

if you\u2019ve spent hours and hours preparing for the sat, have taken the actual test a few times, and you still haven\u2019t reached your target score, remind yourself that there are other important aspects of your application that colleges take into account. if you have a stellar academic record and\/or have a great r\u00e9sum\u00e9<\/a> that showcases how you shine at your job or other outside activities, these elements will have more weight than a low sat score. besides, there are ways to address weaknesses in your application; you just have to make sure you talk about them as a learning experience while also bringing it back to your strengths. college admissions is a tricky process and there is never guarantee of admission, but great candidates have gone to great schools despite mediocre sat scores. if you\u2019re not completely satisfied with your sat score after a few tries, it\u2019s time to make sure the other aspects of your application are as strong as they can be. it\u2019s also time to remember that you are so much more than an sat score!<\/a>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ideally, students shouldn\u2019t take the sat more than 3, maybe 4 times, except under rare circumstances. read on to find out why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[24874],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nhow many times should a student take the sat?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"ideally, students shouldn\u2019t take the sat more than 3, maybe 4 times, except under rare circumstances. read on to find out why.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/sat\/how-many-times-should-a-student-take-the-sat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"how 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manzoor","image":{"@type":"imageobject","inlanguage":"en-us","@id":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/a905363542a5d5a2579a9d1458d37f95","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/78b3214bdc92ed073b96ccc35f8d82a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contenturl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/78b3214bdc92ed073b96ccc35f8d82a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"anika manzoor"},"description":"as one of magoosh\u2019s blog editors, anika relies on her nearly 20 years in education and youth leadership spaces to produce empowering, student-centered content across magoosh's blogs. anika has a ba from grinnell college and an mpp from harvard university. her experience includes serving two years as a fulbright english teaching assistant in malaysia, an sat tutor for kaplan, and currently, as the executive director of youth activism project, a nonprofit that she co-founded when she was 12 years old. anika's work has been featured in the washington post, the boston globe, and yahoo! money. she has also spoken at panels and given presentations at new york university and harvard university. if you'd like to keep up with anika, you can check out her linkedin, instagram, and twitter.","url":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/author\/anikamanzoor\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":24874,"user_id":164,"is_guest":0,"slug":"anikamanzoor","display_name":"anika manzoor","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/78b3214bdc92ed073b96ccc35f8d82a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"manzoor","first_name":"anika","description":"as one of magoosh\u2019s blog editors, anika relies on her nearly 20 years in education and youth leadership spaces to produce empowering, student-centered content across magoosh's blogs. anika has a ba from grinnell college and an mpp from harvard university. her experience includes serving two years as a fulbright english teaching assistant in malaysia, an sat tutor for kaplan, and currently, as the executive director of <a href=\"https:\/\/youthactivismproject.org\/whoweare\/about-the-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">youth activism project<\/a>, a nonprofit that she co-founded when she was 12 years old. anika's work has been featured in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/outlook\/2019\/03\/01\/why-children-have-such-powerful-moral-authority\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the washington post<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/metro\/globelocal\/2019\/06\/13\/how-chelsea-high-students-took-graduation-back\/ck8crrh0x1jixx1tt7p3pi\/story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the boston globe<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/money.yahoo.com\/raise-child-activist-224232037.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">yahoo! money<\/a>. she has also spoken at panels and given presentations at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tkrzxjdk2hg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new york university<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/sici.hks.harvard.edu\/2018\/09\/04\/anika-manzoor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">harvard university<\/a>. if you'd like to keep up with anika, you can check out her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/anikamanzoor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">linkedin<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/_anika_humaira\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">instagram<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_anika_humaira\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">twitter<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.anikamanzoor.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">personal website<\/a>."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6207"}],"collection":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6207\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6207"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=6207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}