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Published byHarriet Austin Modified over 9 years ago
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College Admissions Testing College Admissions Testing: What You Need to Know
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Roadmap for today 1. Introduction to the PSAT 2. Going from the PSAT to the SAT 3. More tests: The ACT and SAT Subject Tests 4. Next Steps: Testing timeline and prep options
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Why does Testing Matter? Standardized tests are the biggest “bang for the buck” part of the college admissions process.
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What is the PSAT? Practice version of the SAT For Sophomores: the first exposure to college admissions testing For Juniors: A chance to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program For Everyone: A chance to find out “where you stand” so that you can get prepared effectively for the real SAT!
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The PSAT Critical Reading 2 25 minutes Math 2 25 minutes Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
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Going from the PSAT to the SAT 95+ percent content overlap between the tests There are only three differences between the PSAT and SAT: 1. The SAT is slightly harder 2. The SAT has a 25-minute essay 3. The SAT is much longer (~4 hrs.)!
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The SAT Reasoning Test Critical Reading 1 25 minutes Math 2 25 minutes Writing 1 25 minutes Experimental Section 25 minutes Writing 2 10 minutes Critical Reading 3 20 minutes Math 3 20 minutes Total Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes Math 1 25 minutes Essay 25 minutes Critical Reading 2 25 minutes
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SAT Scoring Three sub-scores (just like PSAT): Math, Critical Reading, and Writing Each sub-section is scaled from 200-800 The national average for each section is roughly 500 (1500 total)
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SAT Scoring Scoring One raw score point gained for each correct answer 1/4 raw point taken away for each incorrect multiple choice answer No penalty or gain for omitted questions or incorrect answers on grid-ins Leaving Them Blank Guessing Randomly Using Process of Elimination 30 Questions # Questions Correct0610 # Questions Incorrect02420 Positive Raw Points0610 Negative Raw Points065 Total Raw Points005 Total Scaled Points0030-50
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The ACT The ACT has four sections: English, Reading, Math, and Science. Each section is scored on a scale from 1 to 36 The national average for each section is roughly 21
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The ACT English 45 minutes Math 60 minutes Science 35 minutes Reading 35 minutes Total Time: 2 hours, 55 minutes Total Time with Essay: 3 hours, 25 minutes
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PSAT vs. SAT vs. ACT PSATSATACT 2 hours 15 minutes3 hours 45 minutes3 hours 25 minutes no science section includes science no trigonometry Includes trig multiple-choice onlyincludes essayessay optional guessing penalty no guessing penalty math accounts for 33% of your score math accounts for 25% of your score questions follow order of difficulty random question order “reasoning” based content-based Big challenge: tricky questions Big challenge: tricky questions, length Big challenge: time crunch! PSAT vs SAT vs ACT
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SAT Subject Tests Each test is one hour in length Achievement-based tests, measuring knowledge learned from college-level courses in the following areas: ENGLISH: Literature HISTORY: U.S. History, World History MATH: Mathematics Level 1, Mathematics Level 2 SCIENCE: Biology E/M, Chemistry, Physics LANGUAGES: Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Modern Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Japanese, Korean
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Testing Timeline Sophomore Year Junior Year Senior Year
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Test Prep Options Self-Study Most cost efficient! Least time efficient: Assume you’ll spend 5x more time for every point of improvement Best analog: Reinventing the wheel Group Course Best value! Learn + practice + test = A formula for success Less targeted attention Private Tutoring Most personalized Ensure that you get your maximum score Most expensive option
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Questions?
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