SAT Exam Review
There are all sorts of standardized tests related to college that are given in this country, but out of all them, one test stands alone-the SAT. It's the big kahuna of standardized tests. No other test even comes close. Originally, SAT was an abbreviation-it stood for Scholastic Aptitude Test, but now the official name of the test is simply the SAT. If you're considering applying for college in the near future, there's a real good chance that you'll be required to submit an SAT score to be considered for admission. The test is going to be pretty much an all day affair; it takes almost four hours to complete. It's offered seven times a year, at hundreds of locations all over the country, and when you register you can choose the one that's most convenient for you. The fee to take the SAT is currently around $42, although this can be waived for low income students.
Recently, the SAT has been revamped after criticism by educational experts who said it wasn't doing the job it was intended to do. At present, the SAT test has three sections-math, critical reading, and writing. The writing part of the test will require you to write an essay, after being given a topic. You'll have thirty minutes to do this, and according to some experts, what matters most (after proper grammar and punctuation) is the length of the essay-longer essays tend to get higher scores. The other two sections of the SAT test are mostly multiple choice. On the mathematics portion, you'll have 50 to 60 questions, and about 10 of them will require you to fill in the grid with the proper answer-the rest will be multiple choice. Subjects covered will be everything you should have acquired from a well rounded high school math curriculum, including some algebra and geometry. On the critical reading part of the SAT exam, you'll face approximately 70 questions in 70 minutes testing your reading comprehension, knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and reasoning abilities. Total scores on the SAT test range from 600 to 2400, with the average score being around 1500. Of course, the higher your score, the better chance you have of not only being accepted by a college or university, but you'll also raise your chances of being accepted by elite schools. With this much riding on your SAT test score, no one should ever attempt taking the test without first making use of some good prep materials.