The SAT is a standardized test administered by The College Board to students who intend to apply to college in the United States.  For testing dates and test registration, visit the College Board’s website, www.collegeboard.com.

The SAT is comprised of eight sections, including a Critical reading, Math, and Writing - recently added.   The critical reading section, formerly known as the verbal section, includes short reading passages along with the existing long reading passages.  Analogies have been eliminated, but sentence-completion questions and passage-based reading questions remain.  The math section covers number and operations, algebra and functions, geometry, statistics, probability, and data analysis.   Both sections are scored on a range of 200-800 points.  In addtion, there is one 25-minute unscored section.  The 25-minute essay will always be the first section of the SAT, and the 10-minute multiple-choice writing section will always be the final section.  The remaining six 25-minute sections can appear in any order, as can the two 20-minute sections.

Colleges use SAT scores as a basis of comparison for students who come from a range of educational backgrounds.  For large state universities who admit thousands of applicants, the SAT (combined with GPA, or high school grades) is an efficient way of evaluating students.  Typically, the SAT is weighed more heavily than the personal profile (essay, interview, recommendations, and activities) at larger schools.  Smaller liberal arts colleges, including Ivy League universities, tend to consider the personal profile more heavily, but the SAT is still an important indicator.  These schools use the SAT to weed out applicants who perform under a certain level.  For example, Harvard University will expect at least a 1300 or higher on the SATs in order to judge an applicant on his or her personal profile.  However, even a perfect 1600 does not guarantee you admission!  There are many factors involved, but scoring your personal best on the SAT will at least make you a contender for admission to the school of your choice.  Using CampusPREP to improve your score is an investment in your future.

For average SAT scores at top universities, click here.