By: Brian Burnsed
They're the three letters that strike fear into the hearts of nearly every high school student: SAT. The Scholastic Aptitude Test generally takes high school students about four hours to complete on sleepy Saturday mornings, and it plays a significant role in the college application process. To lessen the stress, it's important to get a handle on how this 170-question behemoth is structured.
The test is comprised of three primary components—writing, critical reading, and math. Each component is graded on a 200-to-800-point scale. The writing section consists of a 25-minute essay and 49 multiple-choice questions that are split between one 25-minute section and one 10-minute section. The critical reading component, which measures a student's ability to assimilate and analyze what they read, consists of three separate sections. Sixty-seven total questions are asked over two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section. Like the critical reading component, the math on the test is broken down into two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section. There are 44 total multiple-choice questions and 10 questions in which the student must solve the problem without the aid of multiple choice.
Use these nine tips to help decide if the SAT is the right test for you and to earn the best score you can:
They're the three letters that strike fear into the hearts of nearly every high school student: SAT. The Scholastic Aptitude Test generally takes high school students about four hours to complete on sleepy Saturday mornings, and it plays a significant role in the college application process. To lessen the stress, it's important to get a handle on how this 170-question behemoth is structured.
The test is comprised of three primary components—writing, critical reading, and math. Each component is graded on a 200-to-800-point scale. The writing section consists of a 25-minute essay and 49 multiple-choice questions that are split between one 25-minute section and one 10-minute section. The critical reading component, which measures a student's ability to assimilate and analyze what they read, consists of three separate sections. Sixty-seven total questions are asked over two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section. Like the critical reading component, the math on the test is broken down into two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section. There are 44 total multiple-choice questions and 10 questions in which the student must solve the problem without the aid of multiple choice.
Use these nine tips to help decide if the SAT is the right test for you and to earn the best score you can: