1. THE SAT

2. What is the purpose of the SAT? Because the United States does not have the same education standards for all states, the SAT provides college admissions officers with a way to compare applicants from thousands of different high schools. The reading and vocab sections determine your ability to read college-level texts. The math sections focus on your ability to reason logically. The writing skills sections test your ability to write an essay under time pressure and spot grammatical errors.

3. How long does the SAT take? The test takes 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete, with short breaks in between There are 10 sections: 3 critical reading 3 math 3 writing 1 experimental

4. What content does each section test? SECTIONCONTENT MathUp to geometry and algebra II ReadingSentence completion, critical reading comprehension WritingGrammar rules, word usage, word choice EssayYou have 25 minutes to write the essay. The prompt will contain a short paragraph about an issue and a question.

5. 3 scores: critical reading, math, writing Each on a scale of 200-800 points. Your total score will range from 600- 2400. For all three tests the median score is 500, for a total of 1500. How is the SAT scored?

6. What is a “good score”? 1510 is the national average. The top schools in the country want above a 2000.

7. Is it OK to guess ? All multiple choice questions are scored the same way: 1 point for each correct answer (for both easy and hard questions) ¼ point subtracted for a wrong answer No points subtracted for answers left blank Only guess if you can definitely eliminate at least 1-2 of the answer choices. If you have no idea and cannot eliminate any of the answer choices, DO NOT guess!

8. How much does the SAT cost? The fee is $45 (subject tests separate) Four total fee waivers are available — two for the SAT and two for the SAT Subject Tests. SAT Subject Test fee waivers can be used any time from 9th grade through graduation. SAT fee waivers can be used from 11th grade through graduation.

9. How can I prepare? 9 th grade= learn about the test structure, do the SAT question of the day 10 the grade= take the PSAT 11 the grade= take the SAT for the first time 12 th grade= take the SAT again Learn test strategies Take practice tests and use your results to study effectively