SAT is an international standard test measuring students’ academic skills for years before university courses. In this article, we provide you with everything you should know to get a good result on SAT.
What is SAT?
With the holding of SAT in 1926 under the title of “Scholastic Aptitude Test” by the private and non-profit institution of the American Bard College, this new test was introduced to the world.
The SAT is used for admission in 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States and 1,800 universities in 85 other countries. Canada, Australia, and many European countries such as England, Norway, Finland, Austria, Turkey, in Asia, India, Malaysia, and Singapore are the criteria for entering the universities.
In recent years, the content of this test has been standardized from American high school textbooks and is planned in three sections: reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics; Therefore, apart from English – speaking students, other candidates must have a good language foundation or make it a priority during the preparation period.
What parts does the SAT exam consist of?
1- Comprehension section: Evidence-Based Reading
Questions in this part of the test are multiple-choice and negative marks are not considered for wrong answers. The purpose of these questions is to measure your ability to understand the material. Generally, a literary text is selected from classic or contemporary American texts. After explaining, ask you many questions about it.
Sometimes graphs, charts, or tables are used in these texts. Understanding these texts is not related to your mathematical knowledge, and you can answer such questions with basic intuition.
This section consists of 52 questions, and you have 65 minutes to
2- Writing and Language Test section
All the questions in this section are in the form of four options, and again, negative marks are not considered for wrong answers.
This section intends to test the written grammar of the English language. The questions in this section include grammar points, sentence structure, grammar usage, and punctuation rules. Like the first section, this section requires a high understanding of the text, and maybe just knowing English grammar points is not enough to get a good grade.
This section consists of 44 questions and 35 minutes is considered for it. As mentioned, its score in combination with the first section is considered from 100 to 400.
3- Mathematics section
This part of the SAT measures your skills in the form of mathematics. It includes different parts of mathematics, including geometry, statistics, algebra, etc.
Regarding the level of the questions, SAT does not have very complicated math, and the student is faced with simple questions that, still require a high level of understanding.
The scores of this section alone are given to the participants from 200 to 800
The first part includes 20 questions and 25 minutes of answering time.
You are not allowed to use a calculator in this section.
The second part includes 38 mostly analytical math questions, and you can get help from a calculator in 55 minutes to answer them.
4- Essay section
The essay part of the SAT is optional, and its score is insignificant in most universities. This section tests your analytical skills; you need reading and writing skills to answer the questions.
Your response time in this section is 50 minutes, and you will receive a score between 2 and 8 separately from the previous 1600 scores.
The validity period of this exam is two years.
Now that you have briefly learned about the SAT, we will explain this test in more detail.
Chances of passing the SAT
The chance of passing SAT is determined by the score obtained and the quorum score in the university of your choice; Therefore, in order to estimate your chances of passing, you must refer to the required quorum of the university in the field you are applying for.
Is the SAT hard?
Various answers have been given to this question by volunteers in the past years. Still, in general, the difficulty of the SAT is determined by several fundamental factors.
First: English language level; Considering that this test is designed for US students and it is considered an average test in America, if you have a good level of English and language comprehension, SAT will be an average test for you.
Second: the test lasts between 3 and 4 hours (including the time to write the essay), so your concentration depends on your practice and repetition. The long test time may lower your performance despite your good study skills.
Third:Since this exam has been held for years, if you have access to the right resources or good courses, you will not be surprised by a question during the exam session.
SAT conditions
Candidate’s age: There is no minimum age or age limit for participating in SAT so that all age groups can participate in the SAT. But the statistics show that most participants are between 17 and 21 years old.
Types of SAT: This test is held in two forms, general and subject. While the general form of the SAT includes only comprehension, writing and math, the subject form of the SAT also covers specialized subjects such as chemistry, biology, and physics. This article will discuss the general form of the SAT. On January 19, 2021, the College Board announced the discontinuation of the optional essay section, as well as its SAT Subject Tests, after June 2021
Validity of the result: The SAT is globally valid for 5 years, but some countries consider a more limited time for it. For example, this exam is only valid for two years to submit to the
Frequency of holding: This test is held four times for international candidates, but in America, the SAT is held seven times a year in August, October, November, December, March, May, and June.
Registration time: From the time of registration to the start of the exam process, it is an average of one month.
The number of times allowed to participate in the exam: according to the examination board, there is no limit to the number of times a candidate can participate in the exam; But during the test, if you feel the result will not satisfy you, you can cancel your test result at the same time and by filling out a particular form. You can do this after the test until the end of the week (midnight on Wednesday) through the test’s official website.
SAT registration
SAT exam registration is done according to the scheduled schedule of the college board. It is necessary to enter the site and the SAT section during the registration period at collegeboard.org, then:
- Create a user account.
- Enter the necessary information, including name, address, school details, and parents’ details.
- Enter the desired test type.
- Upload a suitable personal photo.
- Select the test venue.
- Pay the fee.
Required documents to register for the SAT
To participate in SAT, you need a passport valid for six months. Other identity cards with the photo are also used in America, such as a driving license. To register, you must have a passport, personal photo, graduation date, and a payment card that allows international payments.
The cost of SAT
The cost of the SAT in the US is around US$50 (£39.50, €43.50). For participation outside the United States, this fee increases to $51, bringing the approximate cost of the test to $101. Until last year, you had to pay an extra fee for any change in the exam. Still, Brad College removed this rule, and now applicants can easily change their exam area or change its time without any cost.
During SAT registration, you can choose to send the results directly to 4 universities. If you want to increase the number of these universities, you have to pay an additional fee. If you intend to receive the score within a few days, you can receive the score earlier by paying $31. Objecting to the score after the announcement of the test results or requesting manual correction of the papers will also add 55 dollars to your costs.
SAT topics
SAT include three subjects: math, reading comprehension, and writing. 800 marks, i.e., half of the test marks are obtained from the math section and the other 800 marks from the reading comprehension and writing sections.
The average score of candidates in 2020 in these sections was 523 for math and 528 for reading comprehension and writing. SAT questions do not have a negative score; Your score is obtained from the questions you answer correctly.
Reading and comprehension section
The four-choice questions in the comprehension section are asked from 5 texts, a total of 52 questions. That is 10 questions from each text. 65 minutes is allotted to answer these texts in the exam.
The contents of the texts are presented from 3 subjects of basic sciences, history, and humanities. One of the five texts is always about American history, and two are from basic sciences. The other two texts will be about economics, psychology, etc.
The content of the questions can include conceptual information obtained from a graph or diagram or to measure your understanding of the entire content expressed in the text in the form of referencing or the connection between words.
Writing section
In the rest of this section, you have 25 minutes to answer the 44 questions of the mandatory writing section. You should read the relevant sections and suggest corrections for the underlined material. In this section, the College Board seeks to assess the ability and strength of reasoning, alternate and appropriate words, and generally improve analysis in social studies and science subjects. The use of words and punctuation marks to modify the sentence structure is also measured in this section.
Math section
Most of the questions in this section (45 questions) are multiple-choicei, but a few analytical and descriptive questions (13 questions) are usually asked in this section. The topics of the math section include the following:
Algebra: linear equations, the system of linear equations and linear functions
Problem-solving and data analysis, including statistics, modeling, and problem solving skills
Advanced mathematics, including nonlinear expressions, radicals, exponential function, and…
The first part of mathematics has 20 questions that should answer in 25 minutes without a calculator. In the second part, the use of a calculator is allowed, and there are 38 questions you must answer in 55 minutes. Although the overall exam score is important for many universities, your high score in the math section has a decisive effect on the choice of major. For example, you should think about a math score above 600 to get admission to medicine.
Essential tips for taking the SAT
Participating in the SAT has its special tips and sensitivities. For example, sensitivities related to registration, resources, and things that are allowed or not allowed in the test session.
Items and equipment allowed in the test session: valid passport with photo, two pencil erasers, an approved calculator, if you are taking a particular medicine, in coordination and transparent bags, clock, food or a small snack in the bag transparent are allowed.
Unauthorized items and devices during the exam session: You should refrain from carrying pamphlets, audio and video devices, cameras, mobile phones, highlighters and pens, and dictionaries.
SAT study resources
If you have been with us since the beginning of the article, you know that this exam has been held for 95 years, so it will serve you best to provide sources of exam questions. Although there are some new tips in every exam, and you should know them to get the best score, most of the questions are known and clear.
From the main sources of general and subject tests in the SAT, we can refer to the books of the College Board Institute, which organizes this test. For the general test, the official SAT study guide references are considered the most important part of this test.
Kaplan and Baron’s publications are among the sources of SAT in math, reading comprehension, and essay sections too.
Using a calculator in the SAT
In general, the math part of the SAT is divided into two parts: with and without a calculator. In the math section of the sat exam, there are 38 questions; that use of calculators is completely allowed, but only simple calculators or scientific calculators. The use of online calculators or mobile calculators is not allowed.
You should not use a calculator in the other 20 questions, which include 15 multi-choice questions and 5 descriptive questions.
SAT score cancellation
If you want to cancel your SAT score for any reason (for example, because you did not prepare enough for the exam and got a poor score), you can use these two methods:
Cancellation of the score during the exam
If you did not pass the test well or missed some questions, etc., you could cancel your test immediately on the spot. For this purpose, you can request the “cancellation of test scores” form from the relevant supervisor at the same moment and at the test center. Please fill in all the details, sign the form, and send it to the supervisor. Make sure that the form is sent before leaving the test site.
Cancellation of grade after a Timing
If after the test and at home you think that you performed poorly in the test, you can cancel your test at home. However, there is a time limit for this type of grade cancellation. You should submit the cancellation request to the concerned authorities as soon as possible, as the deadline for receiving such requests is only up to 11:59 PM (IST) on the Wednesday following the exam date. You have to download the “request for cancellation of test scores” form from the institution’s official website, fill out the form details and finally sign it. Then you can fax it.
How to view SAT results
Follow these steps to access your SAT scores:
- Click on the “my organizer” option on the official SAT website.
- In the menu on the left, you can see the “SAT scores” option; Select it.
- Then click on the “Access my scores” option.
- You will be asked for a username and password; Enter this information.
- “My test scores” option can be seen on this page; you can access the results by clicking on it.
Frequently asked questions about
How many questions does the SAT have?
The SAT contains 154 questions, of which 52 are comprehension questions, 44 are writing questions, and 58 are math questions.
Is there an age limit to participate in the test?
No – there is no age limit for participating in the sat exam.
How many times a year is the SAT held?
SAT exam is held seven times in America and four times in other countries.
Is the SAT multiple choice?
Most SAT questions, except for the 20 questions in the math section, are multiple-choice and without negative marks.
The SAT is used for admission in 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States and 1,800 universities in 85 other countries, including Canada, Australia, and many European countries such as England, Norway, Finland, Austria, Turkey, in Asia, India, Malaysia, and Singapore.
The purpose of this section is to measure your ability in understanding the text. So it includes five passages and 52 questions (10 or 11 questions per passage).
Generally, a literary text is selected from classic or contemporary American texts for this section.
Sometimes graphs, charts, or tables are used in the texts. Understanding these texts is not related to your mathematical knowledge, and you can answer such questions with basic intuition.
Questions in this part of the test are multiple-choice and negative marks are not considered for wrong answers. You have 65 minutes to answer them.
The score is combined with the writing and language test section (next sections) from 100 to 400.
