The SAT is a test used by colleges as part of the admissions selection process. You may choose to call it a lot of other names, but suffice to say it's a big piece of the puzzle for getting into the college of your choice. Since it's something you can measurably improve, you can take advantage of it to improve your chances for admittance.

DO I NEED TO TAKE IT?

Some schools will accept the ACT, but the SAT is still pretty much the primary test for admission. Therefore, in the case of most colleges....yes, you do have to take it.

WHEN SHOULD I TAKE IT?

Most of our students take the SAT in the spring of their junior year and then again in the fall of their senior year. The majority take it twice.

SHOULD I PREPARE FOR IT?

Naturally, that's up to you. Your PSAT score can be a valuable gauge here. If the colleges you are looking at require scores in line with you PSAT score, then you probably don't have to. If you need the score to improve, if you want to enlarge the range of college choices, if you want to control the situation more, or if you simply want to do the best you can.....yes.

HOW & WHERE?

There are a multitude of places. You can find books, software, internet sites, and places like The Study Hall. You need to look for test preparation businesses and evaluate all of them critically. If you can't find a suitable situation, then buy the book "8 Real SAT's" and take the tests in the book. They are actual recent SAT's and the answers are in the book.

WHAT DOES THE SCORE MEAN?

First of all, the test is not a test of how smart you are. it's not a test of how well educated you are. It is a test of how well you can take the SAT. Nonetheless, the score shows how well you can solve puzzles, how well you can handle an adversarial test, how well you can focus intently for 3 hours, how well you read analytically, and how expansive your vocabulary is.

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