Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)
1. WHAT IS THE SAT?
The SAT is a three-hour standardized test broken down into six sections: 1. Verbal Aptitude (30 minutes). The antonym section was eliminated in 1994. This section contains 10 analogy questions, 10 sentence-completion questions, and 10 reading-comprehension questions. The passages are now longer ranging from 400 -850 words in length (old SAT passages ranged from 200-600 words) and include questions that require the student to compare two different passages. 2. Mathematics Aptitude (30 minutes). This section contains 25 to 35 questions on mathematical reasoning; measuring your ability to solve problems and to make quantitative comparisons. A new type of question called "Grid-ins," in which students supply their own answers by filling in a numerical answer on the grid. Calculators are now allowed. 3. Test of standard Written English (30 minutes). This section (TSWE) was eliminated in 1994. 4. Verbal Aptitude (30 minutes). The antonym section was eliminated in 1994. This section is similar to the first one: , 10 analogy questions. 5 sentence-completion questions, and 15 reading-comprehension questions. 5. Mathematics Aptitude. Again, this math section is much like the earlier one, with 25 to 35 questions that test mathematical reasoning and rely more heavily on thinking skills and less on guessing techniques and mathematical problem shortcuts. Calculators are now allowed. 6. Varies. The last section of the test might include 40 questions on verbal aptitude. 25 to 35 on mathematics, or 50 that are part of the Test of Standard Written English. 7. SAT II: Subject Tests (60 minutes). This is a separate test referred in the past as the Achievement Tests is a one-hour test to measure knowledge in specific subject areas. These tests are often used for placement and college admission purposes. They are scored on a 200-800 scale. The choices available for the Subject Tests:
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- Writing (includes a 20-minute essay)
- Literature
- American History and Social Studies
- World History
- Math Level I
- Math Level IIC (Calculator)
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- French (reading only)
- German (reading only)
- Modern Hebrew
- Latin
- Spanish (reading only)
- Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Spanish (each with listening)
2. How Do Colleges Look at the SATs?
Different schools will look at your SATs in different ways. .Some, especially state schools, may simply have mini- mum grade and SAT requirements, beyond which they: might have almost no other formal admissions demands. Others, especially the more selective ones, will look at your SATs as part of a total package. But the more selective schools generally have higher ranges of SAT scores for the students they accept for admission.
Schools will distinguish between your verbal and your math scores. A more technical school like MIT, for example, looks for high math ratings. Their most recent profile shows that only 20% of students admitted scored above 700 on their verbal SATs, while 75% scored over 700 on the math section. If you are applying to the liberal arts college of a school like Johns Hopkins, they will be more interested in your verbal score.
3. How Do Colleges Look at the SAT II?
Often schools requiring the SAT II are flexible in which tests are required for admittance. Many require three Subject Test scores in addition to the regular SAT I, one of which must be the SAT II: Writing test. The other choices are of the discretion of the student.
4. How Much Do They Count?
Your scores are one of five major factors affecting your admission to college: (1) which classes you have taken in high school (including how many of these are Advanced Placement or honors classes), (2) the grades you received in those classes, (3) your rank in your class, (4) your extra- curricular activities, and (5) your SATs and achievement test results.
These factors will be weighted differently, depending on your profile, on the needs of the school to which you are applying, and on the other students with whom you are competing the year that you apply. A special talent in sports, music, or art or the like may outweigh a low SAT score. A lower score than the median SAT score of a college you have applied to does not mean you will not be accepted--a median score range is just that, a median SAT score, not a minimum requirement. .It is obviously to your advantage to score as high as possible, but remember that standardized test scores are but one factor in the admissions process.
5. How the SAT is scored?
The SATs have traditionally been scored from 200 (low) to 800 (high). But because of an error range of 30 points, plus or minus, scores are now being reported differently. Whereas in the past you would have received only a single score--say, 550-now you will receive that score plus an indication on your report that the score falls somewhere between 520 and 580. This range reflects the fact that people can perform differently on different days, and acknowledges that an SAT gives only a general idea of a person's aptitude, not a fixed measurement.
6. Median Scores
As we've discussed, different schools have different standards for median SATs. (Median means that half the SAT scores have fallen above the median and half below.) You can use the following ranges of SAT scores at different schools to get an idea of which colleges are looking for scores in your range. Divide the schools you are interested in into "Reach" (those schools that would be very difficult for you to get into, on the basis of your scores), "Range" (those schools where your chances of getting in are about fifty-fifty or sixty-forty), and "Safety" (those schools you are virtually certain to get into). (Where no percentages are given, the figure is a median score.)
Most Competitive
Amherst: 66% scored above 600 verbal; 83% scored above 600 math
Brown: 630 verbal; 670 math
Bryn Mawr: 70% scored above 600 verbal; scored above 600 math
Columbia: 630 verbal; 660 math
Cornell: 587 verbal; 652 math
Dartmouth: 620 verbal; 670 math
Duke: 606 verbal; 657 math
Georgetown: 616 verbal; 657 math
Harvard: 50% scored above 600 verbal; 50% scored above 600 math
Haverford: 67% scored above 600 verbal; 86% scored above 600 MATH
MIT: 72% scored above 600 verbal; 97% scored above 600 MATH
Northwestern: 590 verbal; 650 MATH
Oberlin: 600 verbal; 616 MATH
Princeton: 649 verbal; 695 MATH
Rice: 620 verbal; 679 MATH
Stanford: 620 verbal; 670 MATH
University of Chicago: 620 verbal; 645 MATH
University of Pennsylvania: 600 verbal; 670 MATH
Wesleyan: 620 verbal 650 MATH
Williams: 624 verbal 662 MATH
Yale: 660 verbal; 680 MATH
Very Competitive
Alfred: 500 verbal; 550 MATH
Babson: 510 verbal; 600 MATH
Bard: 560 verbal; 520 MATH
Brandeis: 580 verbal; 610 MATH
Carlelon: 610 verbal; 640 MATH
Carnegie-Mellon: 580 verbal; 685 MATH
Case Western: 548 verbal; 636 MATH
Clark University: 530 verbal; 570 MATH
Colby: 560 verbal; 600 MATH
Emery: 550 verbal; 600 MATH
Franklin and Marshall: 565 verbal; 593 MATH
Kenyon: 560 verbal; 570 MATH
Lafayette: 560 verbal; 630 MATH
Lehigh: 560 verbal; 650 MATH
Middlebury: 600 verbal; 620 MATH
Mount Holyoke: 590 verbal: 590 MATH
Trinity(CT): 560 verbal; 590 MATH
Tufts: 575 verbal; 632 MATH
University of California (Berkeley): 532 verbal; 607 MATH
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor): 550 verbal: 620 MATH
University of Notre Dame: 560 verbal; 630 MATH
University of Virginia: 580 verbal; 630 MATH
Washington University: 560 verbal; 620 MATH
Competitive
Baylor: 480 verbal; 540 MATH
Boston College: 509 verbal; 557 MATH
Clemson: 471 verbal; 542 MATH
Colorado State: 466 verbal; 524 MATH
Denison: 500 verbal; 535 MATH
Drexel: 500 verbal; 580 MATH
George Washington University: 530 verbal; 560 MATH
Hollins: 510 verbal; 510 MATH
Lake Forest: 520 verbal; 540 MATH
Miami University of Ohio: 500 verbal; 560 MATH
Mills: 520 verbal; 520 MATH
New York University: combined score: of 1100 Penn State: 510 verbal; 565 MATH
Purdue: 465 verbal; 540 MATH
Sarah Lawrence: 520 verbal; 500 MATH
Skidmore: 530 verbal; 540 MATH
University of the South: 535 verbal; 565 MATH
Wheaton(MA): 530 verbal; 540 MATH
There are many ways to prepare for the SATs. COLLEGE COMPASS provides you with Sample Test to print and a computerized test to take. You may also consider buying one of the many handbooks published by educational publishers. These include sample tests, often of the same or similar length as the actual SAT, and will help ,you to become more familiar with the test. As with the PSAT, you will want to study the sample tests, if only to become familiar with the format of the questions and the directions. Be sure you understand what the questions mean and how to follow the directions. Once you are comfortable with the format, you will be free to concentrate on the content of the questions themselves.
You can prepare for the SATs by yourself or with friends. Studying vocabulary lists is very helpful; a review of basic math can also help. Reviewing old grammar tests from your high school classes or studying a grammar text might be useful for the verbal section. Taking the sample tests should give you an idea of the areas in which you need to work hardest.
Many cities around the country have College Board coaching classes. These are usually given in six-week sessions that meet twice a week. Class fees, which can range anywhere from $250 to $600, usually include workbooks. These classes should be carefully checked through your school to make sure that they are legitimate. Many schools offer their own coaching classes.
You should know that estimates of how much good these classes do vary depending on who is doing the estimating. The College Board, which supervises the tests. believes that these courses add only about 10 or 20 points to your scores, although the companies offering the courses may promise gains of 25 to 125 points on each aptitude test. Control groups taking an SAT a second time without extra coaching have often shown increases as great as those of the students who got special help. On the other hand, if you feel that taking a course will decrease your anxiety, it might be a good investment for that reason alone. Look at your PSAT scores, consider your other admissions factors and make the decision that is right for you.
Finally, if you are still concerned about your performance on the SAT, you might consider hiring a tutor. This is the most expensive option of all--up to $40 an hour. Studying with a tutor might have some advantage over a class simply because the tutor can focus on your particular strengths and weaknesses. You will have to decide if a tutor's benefits will be great enough to outweigh the costs.
In any case, no amount of tutoring or classroom coaching will make much difference unless you commit yourself to a follow-up schedule of work between classes. Simply attending a course will not do much for your scores; it is the homework and study you do between coaching sessions that will bring you extra points.
Source for this section (http://www.edonline.com/collegecompass/satprep.htm)