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SAT and ACT
SAT Exam
The SAT is the most widely taken US college entrance examination. It is designed to test your skill level in maths, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. The test is divided into seven sections: 3 maths, 3 verbal, and 1 experimental section. The maths and verbal sections each have their own distinct question types, including quantitative comparisons, sentence completions, grid-ins, and more. The experimental section, used by the test developer to try out new questions, is not scored and can be either math or verbal. You will not know which section is experimental.
The SAT is scored on scale of 200-800 for both the maths and verbal sections. The College Board sets the average for all test takers at 500 for each. A perfect score on the SAT is 1600. Overseas students looking to go to a 4-year US College are normally required to take a SAT.
Students are normally required to score 860 marks out of a possible 1600.
Preparing for the SAT Exam
It is always worth familiarizing yourself with the style of questions. Kaplan are a good source for preparing for these exams.
To register for the SAT examination, please click here: www.collegeboard.com There are testing centres throughout the UK.
ACT Exams
The American College Testing Assessment (ACT) is designed to test your skill levels in English, math, reading, and science reasoning. On the test, you will have 2 hours and 55 minutes to complete a variety of multiple choice questions divided into four sections—one for each tested subject area. The English, reading, and science sections each include several reading passages with anywhere from 5 to 15 questions per passage. The maths section includes 60 questions—each with 5 possible answer choices.
The ACT is a content-based test, whereas the SAT tests critical thinking and problem solving skills. Depending on your particular strengths and weaknesses, you may perform significantly better on one test than the other. Regardless, you should check with each of your target schools before taking either exam.
There are testing dates throughout the year, with registration deadlines generally a month prior.
Taking Tests More than Once
You may take the SAT or the ACT more than one time. If you take either test more than once, you may use your best sub score from different tests to meet the minimum test-score requirements. Your test score will continue to be calculated using the math and verbal/critical reading subsections of the SAT and the math, Science, English and reading subsections of the ACT.
