What You Probably Don’t Know About the SAT But Should
IT IS DIFFERENT THAN YOUR USUAL SCHOOL TEST
The SAT is not like a classroom test. You don’t get the test back nor do you know which questions you got right and wrong, or even what the correct answers were. There are also levels of question difficulty and they don’t tell you which is which. What you do get is a score for each section and how you compare to everyone else. There is also a score that supposedly measures how “ready” for college you are. Ignore that section, if you are reading this you ARE ready for college, the question is simply which one. Overall, the test results you get are not particularly useful for anyone but the colleges.
YOU CAN INCREASE YOUR ODDS FOR ROUND 2
What if you could get your test back? With the list of questions you got right and wrong, an indicator of the level of difficulty for each, and the answer key? Now that would be useful! Just think how much time you could save in studying if you already knew which sections you were good at and which ones deserved extra study time. Sounds like a much more efficient way to improve your scores right?
HERE IS THE SECRET
Three times a year you can get all that information when you take the SAT. But you must take it in October, March, or May. That’s it. You also need to pay a little extra (less than $20) and request the Question-and-Answer Service when you sign up. These are the three test dates when the College Board retires the entire test after the scoring is done and are willing to share it. I strongly encourage all juniors to take the March or May SAT and then again in October of senior year. If you use your Spring results to study, there is a high probability your Fall score will increase.
When you register, be careful to select the Question-and-Answer Service, NOT the Student-Answer-Service. The SAS is not nearly as detailed. In other words, not as useful to study for the next round. If you are going to take this test, you may as well get the most out of it!
6 BONUS TIPS
Kahn Academy has strong SAT tutoring modules and is FREE
Take the test at least once (March or May ideally!) before your senior year just for practice. Think of this as the “can’t-lose” round (even if you took the PSAT). Study or don’t, you choose, but there is something to be said for nerves affecting outcomes. Take it the first time just to shake the nerves, become more familiar with the format, time limits, etc. It is not as intimidating when you walk into a familiar situation and have a better sense of what to expect. Predictable is good for calming anxiety!
Some students find the ACT a better test. It depends on the test taker.
Waivers for test fees (and college applications!) are available through your high school guidance counselor.
Colleges have an incentive to “super score.” This means if you take the test more than once, they will take your highest math score and highest English score even if they come from two separate tests. This allows the college to report higher average numbers and look more competitive.
If test taking is not your strength, there are an increasing number of schools that do not require the SAT. Sometimes they have other requirements, such as a minimum GPA, so it is important to look at each school individually.
