Musings

SAT – Scholastic Aptitude Test – Get Into top Universities

SAT was earlier known as Scholastic Aptitude Test now it is simply known as SAT. It is an internally known exam for pursuing undergraduate courses in the US and other countries. The test is intended to test the knowledge of students for the entrance to the colleges. The questions are designed such that it matches the high school curriculum, each year there are about three million students appear for the exam worldwide. The exam is generally scheduled in March, May, June, October, and December. The exam conducting authority is College Board and is conducting the exam for more than 6000 schools.

Exam details by PrepAway
https://www.prepaway.com/sat-practice-test.html

The name of the exam is SAT, and there are 2 formats the exams are conducted which are –

  • Sat Reasoning test and Sat subject test consisting of 20 subject option.
  • Exam duration is 3 hours excluding essay and 3 hours 50 minutes when essays are included.
  • The exam fee excluding essay is $47.50 and $64.50 when essay s included.
  • The registration fee for the exam $26 up to 3 subject tests
  • The score range is 200-800
  • The validity of the score is for five years

There are mainly three sections in the exam which are

  • Reading
  • Writing and Language
  • Mathematics
  • Essay

SAT time division and score

Sections Time (min) Number of Questions
Reading Section 65 52
Writing and Language Section 35 44
Essay Section(optional) 50 1
Mathematics section 80 58
Total 180 (230 mins with Essay) 154 (155 mins with Essay)

 

Method of registration for SAT exam

There are two methods of registrations that are prevalent, i.e., Online and email registration. The email registration is only valid for the children below 13 years. The online registration is the fastest way of registering. One can take up a single test by paying $26 and for every additional test have to pay $22. The exam cost for SAT with essay and without is $64.50 and $47.50 respectively.

Testing timings

The test center opens at 7:45 am and closes at 8 am, the candidates are not allowed to enter the examination hall if the exam starts and hence have to reschedule the exam. Generally, the exam commences in between 8:30 to 9 am.

Exam scores

The total score of SAT exam is between 400-1600, where the evidence-based writing section range from 200-800 and mathematics also from 200-800 scale. The essay is scored between 2-8 scales. These three scores of the components are added together to provide the score. No percentiles are provided in SAT.

Sat scores have the validity of five years, and the exam takers can request a question-answer service up till five months from the date of exam.

Attempts for SAT exam

Many students take the exam twice and see some improvement in the score the second time. However, the student should avoid taking the exam too many times as it can hamper their college applications and ongoing school studies. Also, some universities may ask all of your SAT scores.

How to prepare for the exam?

The best preparation techniques for SAT exam is engaging one in coursework and reading the contents rigorously. It is also advised to take the practice tests regularly and gets acquainted with the format of the exam, the majority of questions is multiple choice types so practicing the questions is always an advantage just like putting the answer back to the equation and find what the correct answer is.

Students who score well in SAT exams are good readers and have a vast vocabulary; they can sustain the exam pressure and can answer the nine sections in short time. For overall preparation with you can do self-study or can attend coaching classes. If you are studying in your own, then you need self-motivation and regular with your work and if you are the classroom person then taking up coaching is the best idea. Remember it is not mandatory to have a classroom coaching to ace the exam, but it depends upon you as to which path is the best.

Your teacher may have taught you to solve mathematical problems without a calculator. However, thankfully SAT does allow calculators so during the practice start using it to avoid any silly mistakes.

Remember the formulas. There are some formulas which you should memorize and can come in handy such as the Pythagoras theorem, exponent rules, etc.

Moreover, at last, we advise you start the prep well in advance, some suggest to start the prep two years before the exam. The mantra is that the exam requires time, dedication and practice and more the time merrier it is. However, if you don’t have two years aim more months not days.

I hope if you adhere to this common thumb rules, you can score very well in SAT.

Conclusion

Some students are trying to get into the top US universities to pursue higher studies by giving the SAT exam. Our advice will be to score more than 2000, yes it may sound quite harsh and high but believe me, if you had prepared all sections well enough the score is not hard to achieve. I hope this article has helped you in some way and we would like to hear from you. Best of Luck fellow

 

Share this Story
Load More Related Articles
Load More By Elliot Hopper
Load More In Musings

Check Also

Choosing the Right DME Software for Your Business: A Comprehensive Guide

The healthcare industry is undergoing rapid digital transformation, ...