SAT Exam or test or whatever

Happydude · 10-30-2004, 04:54 PM

who here has taken the SATs?
what was your score?
on a scale from 1-10 how diufficult is each part (in general, since i know they have different difficulties for every part)? what is the difference between SAT I and SAT II?
how long does thoe whole thing take to do?
did you have enough time to do everything?
how long does it take to study for the entire thing?
and finally, do you know of any place with example tests or tests from previous years?

since i'm in canada i don't need to write the SATs, but i've been looking to study overseas (haven't decided where yet) and some places require me to do the SATs. i want to get as much information as posible on the subject, thank you.

Blackmane · 10-30-2004, 05:13 PM

I got 1390 on mine.

SAT I is general ed. and SAT II is specific areas, and therefore much more difficult. Although, neither are very extremely hard.

The Germanator · 10-30-2004, 05:16 PM

I've taken the SATs twice and a three SAT IIs as well, and I'll try to help you out.

My score was a 1100 the first time and 1260, (660 Math, 600 Verbal) the second time.

Considering I've always been a better English/Literature student than a math student and I still acheived a better math score, I'd say that the math isn't that difficult while I found the verbal part a bit more troubling. I'd say that the math is about a 3/10 and verbal is more like 5 or 6/10.

I can't exactly remember how long the test is...three hours I think and I remember having plenty of time. The only reason that I needed more time in the end was to check up on my section or go over a math problem I didn't understand at first, stuff like that...

I didn't necessarily "study", but I took a a class once a week for six weeks that was basically geared towards the SATs. It was good because the SAT is a weird test...it's all about how and what you study as opposed to what you may already know.

I'm sure there are practice and previous exams online somewhere, but I'm not sure where...they seem readily available though.

Oh yeah, SAT IIs are shorter, subject specific SATs that are only scored out of 800. For example, I took the SAT 2 in Writing, Chemistry...and something else, I forget. Some schools like you to have some SAT II's, some don't..

Acebot44 · 10-30-2004, 05:18 PM

I've only taken the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test and the SAT II Writing.

I got a 620 in writing, but it was incredibly easy. The only reason I got in the 600's is because I hadn't written an essay in about 4 months before the test. The mulitple choice was just basic grammar and sentence structure. I took it as practice for the new SAT's this year. The analogies will be removed and an essay will be added to the english portion. I believe Math is just Algebra I/II and Geometry in the SAT I.

The SAT I is English and Math. The SAT II's are specialized subjects like Chemistry, U.S. History, Calculus (or advanced math or some ****), and etc. The New SAT will be broken into three parts, each worth 800 points. Math, English, and the Essay. I had a booklet describing the scoring system and GPA requirements for admition to some colleges but I can't find it right now.

I believe I got about one and a half hours for the SAT II writing and the same is for the other subjects. Don't know about the SAT I though...I didnt have enough time to finish all of my essay though--had a paragraph left to write.

I didn't study.

I guess you can ask your college counslor for information on how to take the PSAT or old SAT tests. Not sure though

Dyne · 10-30-2004, 05:51 PM

My grade 11 English teacher got the second highest mark in California back when she took it in high school. It was two points off of being perfect.

The Germanator · 10-30-2004, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyne

My grade 11 English teacher got the second highest mark in California back when she took it in high school. It was two points off of being perfect.

What do you mean by two points? The SAT is scored in numbers ending in zero, so you couldn't possibly get a 1598...You could get a 1580 or 1590, but that's a little different. Thousands get perfect scores of 1600, so not getting a 1600 would probably get you about 100th place in the state or something...*shrug*

Dyne · 10-30-2004, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Germanator

What do you mean by two points? The SAT is scored in numbers ending in zero, so you couldn't possibly get a 1598...You could get a 1580 or 1590, but that's a little different. Thousands get perfect scores of 1600, so not getting a 1600 would probably get you about 100th place in the state or something...*shrug*

Two somethings off. Must have been 1580. I don't know much about SATs.

Neo · 10-30-2004, 06:22 PM

1340

31 ACT

Jason1 · 10-30-2004, 09:53 PM

Ive never taken the SAT because there's no need to for most kids here in the midwest, the schools around here only want the ACT.

I took the ACT once and only once, and I got a solid 25.

Stonecutter · 10-30-2004, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason1

Ive never taken the SAT because there's no need to for most kids here in the midwest, the schools around here only want the ACT.

I took the ACT once and only once, and I got a solid 25.

Ditto

29 first attempt

28 second attempt, hung over, no calculator.

'Course I then decided to go to a media/fine arts school with an open admissions policy so it's pretty much irrelevant.

Null · 10-30-2004, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Germanator

What do you mean by two points? The SAT is scored in numbers ending in zero, so you couldn't possibly get a 1598...You could get a 1580 or 1590, but that's a little different. Thousands get perfect scores of 1600, so not getting a 1600 would probably get you about 100th place in the state or something...*shrug*

well he said back when she took it. that coulda been the first ever version of the test. and before they added the silly 0 at the end to make people feel better with thier scores.

so she coulda just scored 158.

ZebraRampage · 10-30-2004, 11:15 PM

My highest score on the SATs was an 1190, and my highest combined score, because I took the test three times, was a 1200. I'd say that the verbal was a lot tougher. The highest I scored on the verbal between all three tests was 550, and the highest I scored on the math was 650. I think I'd rank the math as being 4/10 for difficulty, and the I'd give the verbal a 6 or 7 out of 10.

Xantar · 10-31-2004, 03:05 AM

I got 1580. I suppose that seems high until you consider that about a third of my peers here at Swarthmore College got perfect 1600.

I had 780 on Math and 800 on Verbal. At the time, I was a much more left-brained person than I am now. However, I scored lower on Math because you are allowed fewer mistakes before getting a less than perfect score. I may have made just as many mistakes in both sections, but I would have gotten a lower score in Math for it. I think that Verbal is harder than Math just because the answers can sometimes seem rather arbitrary. I especially disliked reading comprehension questions because they were often tied to passages that were honestly pretty poorly written.

I believe the SAT IIs I used for college were Math 2c, Chemistry and Latin. I'm not positive about those, though. Whatever they were, I got somewhere in the 700s for all of them.

I took no prep course for the exams whatsoever. In my opinion, they are a waste of time and money. You'd be much better off just buying a book and studying from it. As for the SAT IIs, the best preparation you can get is AP courses if they are available at your high school. Obviously, it all worked well enough for me.

Vampyr · 10-31-2004, 03:40 AM

I got a 30 on the ACT, and I recently took the PSAT, though I havnt got my scores back yet.

If the PSAT is anything like the SAT, it's not horribly bad. The ACT is more of an achievement test...testing what you know, how quickly you can do it, and how good you are at, well, taking the ACT.

The SAT's aren't like that. They are more of a skills test, testing what you are capable of doing. (though you still have to have some knowledge of things.) Also, you want to be careful on the SAT...because if you guess and get it wrong, you are deducted 1/4 point (I think).

I would recommend reviewing some basic geometry and algebra before taking it, and looking up a few things on speed reading. Time limits can suck if you are a slow worker. Some people dont have a problem with them, but I usually do. I can finish the reading parts in no time (I had five minutes left over to just chill on the reading part of the ACT), but even though I am good at Math, I am a slow worker. So the time limits are bad, but you can practice a little and get around them.

When you sign up to take the SAT, a practice test comes with the registration packet. Maybe you could find more online if you needed them?

As to how long it takes to study...pretty much up to you. You could take it once and not study, just for a test run to get the feel for it, then take it again and study and try to do awesome. Or you could just study a lot and try to ace the first one.

A couple of tips for when you do take it:
1. In the reading sections, dont try reading the questions and going back to find the answers. That DOES NOT work. You will not get finished doing that. Your best bet is to read the passage as fast as you can,, then answer the questions. Avoid rereading things. Often people assume they need to reread something to understand it, but you dont. Just read as fast as you can, and you will recall more than you think you will, and if you cant remember something, it will be fairly easy to find the answer. Also, try increasing your reading span. You can practice doing this on everything you read: the practice test, newspapers, internet, books, or magazines. What I mean by "reading span" is train your eyes to read more than one word at a time. Like, 5 or 6 words at a time.

2. Most questions have 5 choices to choose from. If you can narrow it down to AT LEAST 3 or 4, guess.

3. Graphing calculators help a lot. I recommend a good TI-83.

4. Relax when you take it. Even if you dont do awesome, you can always take it again.

Canyarion · 11-01-2004, 09:23 AM

So they allow graphing calculators? That sucks for the people who can't afford one.

I was of the last year in high school where we didn't have those. We had to draw our own figures and do our own calculations.

I don't know what a SAT is, but my exams weren't that well made. Especially math, I hated it so much that I almost didn't do a thing for it, I scored 4/10 in that year. Just enough to pass my exams.