Do you wish to pursue your higher education in the United States? Why don’t you take the SAT, or Scholastic Assessment Test which is one of the most standardized test for successful admissions in the majority of the colleges in the USA.
Around 80 years ago a private, nonprofit organization of the country called the College Board created this standardized, systematic college entrance test that allows the students to get admitted in the colleges, over and above their final grades after they have successfully completed their high school. Today, it is administered by Educational Testing Service.
The standard of SAT is very high when it comes to validity and reliability because it is highly researched, internationally recognized, and quite accurately measured examination to understand the quality of the students appearing for the test.
SAT is offered 8 times a year. The SAT test is offered several times a year. Various students take the test in spring for first time of their junior year and a second time during the fall of their senior year. It is offered in October, November, December, January, March (U.S. only; SAT only), May and June. You can register Online.
Why SAT is Conducted?
-SAT is the first step to pursue higher education in college at the USA for all students irrespective of location and background. The reading, writing, logical skills are tested which are needed in the higher studies in near future for the students.
-The test is for every student and pretty straightforward in nature. The design is without any tricks and it is said that students who are good at studies in the class can pretty well clear SAT.
-One can get a wide opportunity to get scholarship through SAT to study in the colleges of USA.
-SAT also helps the students to select the right college for him/her. The examination tells you how strong you are academically.
-SAT is considered to be a globally recognized, valuable and trusted indicator of the academic potential of a student, and whether he/she is eligible to study in an USA college or not.
Structure of the Exam
There are two types of SAT examinations, SAT-I through which the examiners assesses a candidate on several factors like critical reading, writing and mathematical reasoning, essential for the students for higher studies. The critical reading section would need the students to read passages and complete sentences, whereas the writing sessions needs the candidates to write short essays, answering multiple choice questions, identifying errors, improving grammar. In the mathematics portion you as a student need to answer questions on basic mathematics like arithmetic, geometry, algebra, probability, as well as statistics. At every section you need to score at multiples of 10, on the scale of 200-800. When the secured marks are added for all three sections, the final obtained mark of the candidate is determined.
SAT –II deals with around 20 multiple choice questions on individual subjects, choice of which depends on the student, and the college he/she wishes to get admitted to.
Eligibility of SAT
Every year, almost two to three million students appear for SAT all over the world. If you have successfully completed your class XII examinations from a recognized board/university in India or any other country, you are eligible for SAT. While you are studying in the XII or XIIth standard, you may also appear for the examination based on your preparations.
You must choose the colleges in which you wish to study because the deadline differs in each case. Your scores will be judged properly and then only you can apply for admissions in those colleges. You can sit in the examination during October or November and the total duration of the test is 3 hours 45 minutes. The total costs involve US $51 for American candidates and US$91 for international candidates. You must follow the registration dates and the subsequent important criteria to be eligible to sit for SAT.
How many times SAT is conducted in a year?
The SAT tests are conducted several times during a year. Students can appear as many times as they want but since it is mainly for college admission, so mostly students take SAT during their junior years before college admission. So a 3 to 4 times spanning over the entire session of the junior years is feasible for a student for taking SAT.
SAT Application Procedure
-You may apply online to register for the test and pay the fees through credit cards as well.
-You may also apply through mail but for that you have to pay through money order or cheque, must be less than 13 years and are incapable of uploading your photograph digitally through online procedure.
SAT Score For Scholarship
This depends on the college you wish to get admitted to but a raw score of 1300 and above can get you one step ahead for a scholarship.
How is scoring done in SAT?
SAT scores are calculated on the percentile of a student with respect to the other students appearing for the test.
For Mathematics section
There are multiple choice questions and Grid ins where a student has to answer 54 questions. A correct answer adds 1 point to the score whereas a wrong answer deducts none. Total marks to be answered are 800 in total.
For critical section:
You have to answer total 67 multiple choice questions of total 800 marks, and each correct answer adds 1 point to the score but a wrong answer deducts 25 from the same.Total marks to be answered are 800 in total.
For Writing section:
You have to answer 49 multiple choice questions plus write an essay to score in this section. The criteria of correct and incorrect answers remain the same as critical section. Total marks to be answered are 800 in total.
So if you manage to obtain 500 in each section, your raw score adds up to 1500 out of 2400.
Your raw score will be converted to a scaled score of 200-800 after which the percentiles can be determined by the evaluators.
For more details about SAT, click here