Why is the SAT so important?  When admissions officers juggle numbers around, they feel they're making objective decisions. Your SAT score is the only uniform number they have for all candidates, so it satisfies this craving for objectivity. Choosing students from vastly different backgrounds with vastly different talents and interests is incredibly hard to do--especially when their pool has 10 applicants for each spot--and admissions officers hate to reject applicants. Denying a student on the basis of a very low SAT score takes a lot of that pain away, because they've denied admission on the basis of a number, not a personality. sats also allow them to winnow their applicant pool quickly and considerably. The psychological importance of SAT scores in the minds of college admissions officers doesn't have to work against you. In addition to being one of the most conspicuous, easy-to-read pieces of information in your folder, your SAT scores are also the easiest to change in a short period of time. There's nothing you can do about all that TV you watched instead of participating in extracurricular activities, but you can raise your SAT scores in the space of just a few months.   Practice with real SATs  One of the best ways to learn about the SAT is to practice on real tests. The SAT registration materials ETS sends you include a sample SAT, which you should definitely take. The College Board also publishes a collection of real tests accurately titled Real SATs. It's usually available in bookstores. Buy a copy and take the tests (it has PSATs in it as well). Familiarity is key with the SAT.   Work on your vocabulary  The verbal SAT is little more than a vocabulary test. Students with big vocabularies almost always earn high verbal SAT scores; students with small vocabularies almost always earn low ones. In order to do well on the verbal SAT, you need to improve your vocabulary. The best way to improve your vocabulary is to read widely and constantly, so start a book today. If you're really pressed for time, check out Word Smart (The Princeton Review). It's got over 800 vocabulary words that are often used on the SAT. Keep taking math courses. Students who aren't taking math courses do worse on the math SAT than students who are. Even--or especially--if you struggle in math, you should sign up for more math courses through your junior year. If you haven't taken algebra II already, take it. If you have taken algebra II, see if your school offers something like pre-calculus or advanced algebra. These courses are perfect for those who don't want to take the big plunge into calculus.   SAT prep materials  SAT preparation courses, software and books are great ways to further familiarize yourself with the SAT and learn some good test-taking strategies. The Princeton Review has the best-selling prep materials in each of these genres, so we know what works best for whom. Courses and tutoring provide the greatest score increases and are best for students who need a bit of a push and continuous reinforcement (you know who you are). Interactive software also takes some of the drudgery out of preparing for the SAT, with fun graphics and a variety of bells and whistles. But if you're not self-motivated, the bells and whistles will only hold your attention for so long. Prep books are great for motivated students who can make a schedule and keep to it. If you are considering any of the three, take an honest look at your budget and your level of commitment, then choose the prep method that's right for you.   The SAT II subject tests  Just when you thought the tests were over, here come the SAT IIs. Taken by over 350,000 students last year, the SAT IIs are a battery of 23 tests covering 20 subjects. Many selective colleges require you to take one or more of these subject tests in addition to or in lieu of the SAT. Colleges that require SAT II tests usually suggest that you take three: Math IC or Math IIC (the C stands for calculator), Writing and another SAT II of your choice. Which math SAT II you take depends on which math classes you've taken in school. If you're a junior in pre-calculus, you've studied the material tested in Math IIC more recently than the material tested in Math IC. You may thus find the more "advanced" test to be easier. There are also two English tests: Writing and Literature. The Literature test consists entirely of multiple-choice questions; the Writing test consists of multiple-choice questions plus a short essay. As we said, most schools recommend or require you to take the Writing test. If you are a literature whiz, you can take the Literature SAT II as your optional test, but taking an SAT II in a different subject would present you as a more well-rounded student, provided you can do as well on that test as you would have done on the Literature SAT II. SAT IIs now include a Score Choice option. By choosing Score Choice, your scores are released only to you and your high school. You should choose Score Choice unless you are taking the SAT IIs in your senior year (your scores won't reach the colleges in time). Score Choice allows you to decide whether or not to send your scores to colleges after you find out how you did. If you're not sure which three subject tests to take, you can take four or five, select Score Choice on all of them, release the good scores and hold the bad ones. As long as you are positive you won't miss any deadlines by using the Score Choice option, it's the way to go.   The ACT  The ACT is the college admissions test administered by the American College Testing Program. It is the sat's only real competitor; around 1.5 million ACT tests are administered each year. Used primarily by schools in the South and Midwest, the ACT measures academic achievement in four areas: English, math, reading and science. Students receive separate scores for each subject, as well as a composite score. Each score is on a scale from 1 to 36, with 36 being the best possible score. For all practical purposes, the ACT and the SAT are the same kind of test, though the ACT is "subject based" instead of "skills based." Some colleges give you the choice of taking either the ACT or the SAT. If you're a mediocre test taker and have no reason for taking one test instead of the other, consider taking the ACT instead of the SAT.   The PSAT  Originally created to be nothing more than a practice run for the SAT, the PSAT has become much more. Many students take the PSAT in October of the sophomore year as a kind of practice for the "real" PSAT, taken in October of the junior year. The score on your junior-year PSAT determines your eligibility for the National Merit Scholarship Competition, a national scholarship contest that each year awards up to $27 million in scholarships, based on academic merit and PSAT scores. The score sent to the competition--called the Selection Index--is the sum of your math-, verbal- and writing- section scores. So how much should you worry about your PSAT score? That depends. If you think you have a shot at getting a National Merit Scholarship, you should give the PSAT considerable attention. Of the nearly 2 million students who take the PSAT, 15,000 Merit Scholarship semifinalists are chosen (that's about 1.5% of all PSAT takers). Additional requirements, including solid academic performance in grades 9 through 12 and high test scores, reduce that number to around 14,000. Committees then meet to choose which of the finalists will receive Merit Scholarships. Around 7,000 Merit Scholarships are offered. That's right, 7,000 students, out of the million-plus who take the PSAT and are eligible, get Merit Scholarships. Tough odds.   Practice SAT test on line Return to Central Valley Christian School's full home page Return to Central Valley Christian School's fast home page