I actually heard it wasn't very difficult to be approved to take the test a 4th time (however I do believe you are correct on the schools viewing it poorly). I think the main reason for requiring applicants to do this is because they dont want people from test aids (Kaplan, Destroyer, Topscore, Achiever, ect) to just repeatedly take the test. They want to make sure you are a serious applicant, which is why they request the above info... however this is all 2nd hand speculation, although it does make sense to me.