SAT

Since the United States does not have a universal educational standard, which means a B in New York, can mean a C in California.  The SAT was developed to help colleges set a standard by which to admit students.  Educators believe the SAT reflects not only what you have learned, but also how hard you work and your potential for doing well in college.  This exam is not used as an aptitude or intelligence test.   

The SAT costs $41.50, exams are administered several times a year on Saturdays.  Results are available online within 3 weeks. 

The SAT has three components: math, critical reading, and writing.  An experimental section does not count toward your score.  The math section includes Algebra II concepts, as well as functions, more geometry, data analysis, and statistics; quantitative comparisons have been eliminated.  The critical reading section focuses on reading comprehension and includes both short and long reading passages; analogies have been eliminated.  The writing section includes an essay and multiple-choice grammar questions.

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The exam takes 3hrs and 20 minutes.  The SAT is scored 200-800 on the writing, 200-800 on the math, and 200-800 on critical reading.  The total score is from 600-2400. 

There is a great deal of emphasis placed on this test in junior and senior year of high school.  Do not stress out about this test.  This exam is just one of the things that colleges look at when deciding on its class enrollment.  Grades are the most important item on your application since they show 4 years of work.  This exam will not decide your fate in life, contrary to common belief amoung high school students. Many educators believe the SAT is not a useful too to predicting how a student will do in college since certain ethnic and gender groups seem to perform better on the exam. 

SAT Prep Classes

Many parents feel the need to enroll their college bound teenagers in SAT prep classes.  These classes claim to raise your average SAT score by 100-200 points (when the exam was based on a 1600 point scale).  It is possible to prepare for the SAT, and if you feel that you study better under instruction, a prep class can help you, otherwise taking practice tests independently can also significantly raise your score.  Math scores tend to improve, since preparing for math is much more formalized then preparing for the writing or critical reasoning portions of the exam.

The SAT is sometimes required for online colleges and distance learning institutions.

For more information about the SAT go to www.collegeboard.com