My personal experience with taking the SAT many times is 30 years old. That said, I took it at least every year from 8th grade through 11th, and I think there may have been a year when I took it twice, because I think there were five lines on my old SAT record when I ordered it recently. I still got into MIT (twice, in fact, because I didn't go there as a freshman but transferred in as a sophomore) and RPI, the only places I applied. (I was already accepted to UC Berkeley, so I only applied to places that I would rather go to.) Maybe the applicant pool has increased so much that no one is looking at when you take it any more, but I wouldn't bet on that. The colleges know about CTY and other organizations that encourage kids to take the test when they are young.
