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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
According to the College Board itself, "there is no proven answer to this question." In their article, " Are Private S.A.T. Coaching Courses Warranted?" Cliff & Sami Kramon of Collegiate Choice review ETS research and conclude that, " The worst situation is unquestionably to go in with no preparation at all." Much information useful for preparation is readily available from the College Board and private test prep services. Another option is to prepare on your own. The question to ask yourself is whether you are the kind of student with the time, energy and interest to find and process this information yourself, or whether organized, knowledgeable and focused coaching could better prepare you for the test. Obviously, we believe the time spent preparing for the SAT Reasoning Test in our INTENSIVE WORKSHOPS or ADVANCED STUDY COURSE can benefit any student who wants to get his/her highest possible score.
The SAT Reasoning Test is designed to measure students' critical thinking and problem solving skills in critical reading, writing and mathematics areas. SAT Reasoning Test scores, along with students' grade point averages, are among the more important factors in most college admission processes. The SAT Subject Test is made up of individual subject area tests, including English, math, history, science, and language. The SAT Subject Test in Writing will be eliminated after January 2005, since a writing component has been added to the SAT Reasoning Test. The Subject Tests are required for some colleges and university systems, such as the University of California. Some colleges use Subject Test scores to determine student course placement. Students are encouraged to meet with their high school guidance counselors, as part of their college planning, to determine the need to take the SAT Subject Tests. Team Test Preparation does not offer test preparation for the SAT Subject Tests.
Like the SAT Subject Tests, the ACT is a subject and curriculum-based test. Of the two tests, more students take the SAT Reasoning Test each year than the ACT. Some colleges accept either or both test scores and some prefer one or the other. Check with your chosen college admissions office by phone or online to determine which tests they accept. Our advice is to take both tests once. Most students score very closely on the ACT and SAT. However, there are some students who score significantly higher on the ACT and should use these test scores. Team Test Preparation has chosen to specialize in preparing students for the SAT Reasoning Test.
Students
may choose to take the SAT Reasoning Test any time it is offered;
there is no minimum age or grade requirement. Students may take
the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying
Test) during junior year. Many
students opt to take the PSAT/NMSQT as sophomores, however, and
the SAT in the late fall or spring of their junior
year. The
SAT Reasoning Test must be taken no later than the fall of
the senior year. If
you are going into your senior year, check with college admissions
offices for application deadlines to determine the best time for
you to take either or both the SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject
Tests.
The SAT Reasoning Tests are usually administered seven times a year, normally in October, November, and December and January, March, May and June, but test dates vary. Please see our "Intensive Workshop Dates and Locations" section (Dates/Location Link), or use our link to the College Board website to get test date information (Register For SAT link).
Test registration may be done online, by telephone or via mail to the College Board. Use our College Board link (Register For SAT link) for information on test dates, fees, locations, and to register for the test. You can pick up SAT registration booklets at your high school counseling office.
Familiarity with the test and experience in test taking, as well as increased knowledge in the subject areas, can increase scores, sometimes significantly. Though all scores are reported to the colleges you select, most colleges use the highest score in admissions decisions, so the answer is obviously "yes." Three times is usually the maximum number of times a student should take the SAT Reasoning Test, but there is no limit. Our experience is that students can usually maximize their score by preparing well through guided practice and taking the SAT Reasoning Test at least twice.
Several major changes initiated on the March 2005 SAT Reasoning Test were:
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