The Mathematics section of the SAT is widely known as the Quantitative Section or Calculation Section. The mathematics section consists of three scored sections. There are two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section, as follows:
One of the 25-minute sections is entirely multiple choice, with 20 questions.
The other 25-minute section contains 8 multiple choice questions and 10 grid-in questions. The 10 grid-in questions have no penalty for incorrect answers because the student guessing isn't limited.

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The 20-minute section is all multiple choice, with 16 questions.
Notably, the SAT has done away with quantitative comparison questions on the math section, leaving only questions with symbolic or numerical answers.
New topics include Algebra II and scatter plots. These recent changes have resulted in a shorter, more quantitative exam requiring higher level mathematics courses relative to the previous exam.
With the recent changes to the content of the SAT math section, the need to save time while maintaining accuracy of calculations has led some to use calculator programs during the test. These programs allow students to complete problems faster than would normally be possible when making calculations manually.

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The SAT (Tes Potensi Akademik or TPA) Reasoning Test (formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test, pronounced as three separate letters) is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a not-for-profit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still administers the exam. The test is intended to assess a student's readiness for college. It was first introduced in 1901, and its name and scoring have changed several times.

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The current SAT Reasoning Test, introduced in 2005, takes three hours and forty-five minutes, and costs $47 ($75 International), excluding late fees. The College Board states that the SAT measures literacy and writing skills that are needed for academic success in college. They state that the SAT assesses how well the test takers analyze and solve problems—skills they learned in school that they will need in college. The SAT is typically taken by high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. Various studies conducted over the lifetime of the SAT show a statistically significant increase in correlation of high school grades and freshman grades when the SAT is factored in.
There are substantial differences in funding, curricula, grading, and difficulty among U.S. secondary schools due to American federalism, local control, and the prevalence of private, distance, and home schooled students. SAT (and ACT) scores are intended to supplement the secondary school record and help admission officers put local data—such as course work, grades, and class rank—in a national perspective.
Historically, the SAT has been more popular among colleges on the coasts and the ACT more popular in the Midwest and South. There are some colleges that require the ACT to be taken for college course placement, and a few schools that formerly did not accept the SAT at all. Nearly all colleges accept the test.
Certain high IQ societies, like Mensa, the Prometheus Society and the Triple Nine Society, use scores from certain years as one of their admission tests. For instance, the Triple Nine Society accepts scores of 1450 on tests taken before April 1995, and scores of at least 1520 on tests taken between April 1995 and February 2005.
The SAT is sometimes given to students younger than 13 by organizations such as the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth, who use the results to select, study and mentor students of exceptional ability.
SAT consists of three major sections: Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing. Each section receives a score on the scale of 200–800. All scores are multiples of 10. Total scores are calculated by adding up scores of the three sections. Each major section is divided into three parts. There are 10 sub-sections, including an additional 25-minute experimental or "equating" section that may be in any of the three major sections. The experimental section is used to normalize questions for future administrations of the SAT and does not count toward the final score. The test contains 3 hours and 45 minutes of actual timed sections, although most administrations, including orientation, distribution of materials, completion of biographical sections, and eleven minutes of timed breaks, run about four and a half hours long. The questions range from easy, medium, and hard depending on the scoring from the experimental sections. Easier questions typically appear closer to the beginning of the section while harder questions are towards the end in certain sections. This is not true for every section but it is the rule of thumb mainly for math and sentence completions and vocabulary.

The Critical Reading (formerly Verbal) section of the SAT is made up of three scored sections: two 25-minute sections and one 20-minute section, with varying types of questions, including sentence completions and questions about short and long reading passages. Critical Reading sections normally begin with 5 to 8 sentence completion questions; the remainder of the questions are focused on the reading passages. Sentence completions generally test the student's vocabulary and understanding of sentence structure and organization by requiring the student to select one or two words that best complete a given sentence. The bulk of the Critical Reading section is made up of questions regarding reading passages, in which students read short excerpts on social sciences, humanities, physical sciences, or personal narratives and answer questions based on the passage. Certain sections contain passages asking the student to compare two related passages; generally, these consist of shorter reading passages. The number of questions about each passage is proportional to the length of the passage. Unlike in the Mathematics section, where questions go in the order of difficulty, questions in the Critical Reading section go in the order of the passage. Overall, question sets towards the beginning of the section are easier, and question sets towards the end of the section are harder.

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A big part of making smart career choices and gaining control over your career lies in understanding yourself. That means having a good sense of how your personality, abilities, and values work together to impact the type of career that is ideal for you.

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Career and Personality Match
Ensuring a good career and personality match is an important step in building a satisfying and fruitful career, while a poor career and personality match can hold you back in your career success and happiness.
Imagine the difference between a sales professional who is extroverted and agreeable and one who is introverted and indifferent. Sales jobs tend to require an extroverted, agreeable personality profile, so that person would be more inclined to be a top performer on his or her team and truly enjoy the work. On the other hand, the introverted and indifferent individual would more likely struggle with inferior job performance, job dissatisfaction and possibly even career burnout.
A simple and effective strategy for understanding the ways your career choices and personality interact is through a valid personality assessment. Unlike simplistic, just-for-fun tests you may see in popular magazines, valid personality assessments are developed through vast amounts of objective scientific testing and volumes of psychological research to ensure they are a truly accurate measure of your personality and career options.
Match Your Career Choices with Your Natural Talents
An aptitude test can be used to assess your capacity to learn a variety of different skills. Depending on the test that is used, aptitude tests can be used to assess everything from spatial perception to verbal ability to finger and manual dexterity. Most commonly, aptitude tests are used to assess general learning ability (your overall ability to learn and understand), verbal ability (language) and numerical ability (math).
A career aptitude test does not rely on skills that you have learned in the past. Although skills and aptitudes are related, your skills are things you have learned to do in the past. Your aptitudes are things that you have the ability to learn. So, even if you have not studied math at an advanced level, an aptitude test could still predict that you have the ability to learn math without undue difficulty.
Like interest tests, good aptitude assessments are developed using extensive objective scientific testing and research. A valid career assessment can provide useful information if you are considering training for a new career. The test will help to show areas of strength and forewarn you of areas where learning new skills may be more challenging.
If you do decide to take a career assessment test, it can help you to build a career around your strengths. Match Your Career Choices with Your Values
Matching values and career choices is an often overlooked aspect of career planning. Considering that the leading cause of job burnout is a mismatch between your personal values and the realities of your job, it's important to assess your values and the ways they will be expressed in your career decisions.
It can be easy to slip into pursuing career rewards that do not fit with your own value system. Society tells us to value prestige, power and a high income. If those career accomplishments are within your own personal set of values, then pursuing those things will likely contribute to your happiness and career satisfaction.
However, if you value family friendly flexibility in your work schedule, creativity and helping others, then you'll find more career satisfaction in pursuing those career goals. That doesn't mean that you're destined to be unhappy in a high paying job if high income is not one of your core values. If you decide you use a values inventory test to help you think through your important work values, keep in mind that, unlike interest and aptitude assessments, a values inventory is not a formal tool that has been validated through objective research. However, a values inventory is a great brainstorming tool to help you to assess things that motivate you and your needs as they are related to your career choices.
Often people struggle to state what they want out of their work (beyond an income), so a values inventory can help by prompting you to think through many possible work related values.
Matching your career choices and your personality, aptitudes and values is a smart step towards your career success and satisfaction.

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Psychological tests are used for assessment and evaluation of the test taker by a competent examiner. That is why it is also called psychological assessment. A competent psychologist is generally the interpreter of these psychological tests. But it should be noted that psychological tests are advantageous only in certain situations. Free psychological tests circulated through the internet are usually bests for entertainment purposes.
So what are some useful types of psychological tests? Tests that measure your knowledge about a certain specific topic, or capacity for certain skills are called achievement and aptitude tests. Intelligence tests would say about your general ability to know the world around you. It also assesses how you use the intelligence to adapt to the world, and in what manner you apply this general ability.

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Therefore, we can say that the focus of intelligence tests is potential. Neuropsychological tests measure loss in functions of cognitive ability. Occupational tests are used to match your interests with the interests involving a certain career or occupation. Personality tests try to determine the style of your personality usually for clinical or forensic purposes. Specific clinical tests refer to tests that measure certain specific levels within a person in terms of his or her state of mind, like depression or anxiety.
One great advantage for using or taking psychological tests is that it is quite difficult to lie. For example, the Rorschach test does not offer any clue for the test taker about what would be a healthy response or an unhealthy response to the questions asked by the test. For instance, when it comes to legal situations, these tests can be more helpful than interviews. And last but not the least; information can be more easily taken from tests instead of interviews. Both psychologists and clients can compromise the reliability of clinical interviews.
However, sometimes tests do not really measure what they are supposed to measure. Therefore always remember the following guidelines:
• Always identify the purpose of testing.
• Identify the names and rationales of the tests.
• Always get the results of the tests.
Remember these guidelines, and always refer to a psychologist you trust.

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The night before I took the SAT, I could barely fall asleep. There was one word to describe my state of emotional wreckage: anxious. In reality, I had no reason to fear an epic fail. I had prepared well, and the following day I performed excellently.
While the SAT can seem like a very intimidating test, there are several straight-forward approaches that can boost your confidence and your scores. Whether you're frantically searching the Internet for a few tips the night before you take the test or you're currently in the middle of a multi-month preparation effort, this article can give you a few ideas for how to take a successful test.

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One of the most important things to keep in mind is the strict time limits. Even if I am capable of finding the answer to every problem in a section, I may fail to achieve a high score without the proper time management.
Fortunately, there are several slick techniques that will help you make use of every second you've got.
Skip Insanely Hard Questions
If you don't know the answer to a question, put a star beside it and move on. You can always come back later to the questions you've marked if you have the time. Skipping questions allows you to spend your time showing what you DO know instead of wasting it on a question where the odds of getting it right are about as good as getting you-know-who to go out with you. Wait to Fill in the Circles
One of the biggest surprises the first time I took the SAT was how long it took me to fill in the circles on my answer sheet (I know... I sound like a loser). Eventually, I learned a technique that helped me reduce errors and save time. Rather than marking my answer sheet right away, I started circling my answers on my test booklet and then transferring them to the answer sheet every five questions or so. It doesn't seem like this would save much time, but it really works (just like magic... okay, that was really cheesy). Filling in five answers at a time reduces how often you have to break your focus from solving problems. It's especially helpful on small desks when you don't have room to place your answer sheet beside your booklet. It also makes you less likely to fill in a circle in the wrong row if you skip a question. Just make sure that you don't run out of time to fill in the circles. During the last five minutes of a section, I usually go straight to filling in the circles each time I pick an answer. How badly would it stink to figure out the answer but not get credit!?
Use That Calculator
Make sure to bring a good calculator for the math sections. While it's not essential, it saves lots of precious time. I used a TI-83 Plus, and it worked great. A bunch of fancy features are useless if they just confuse you. However, if you have time to learn a new calculator, the graphing functions can be really helpful for a few of the problems.
Cut Corners!
Mastering the SAT is more like playing a game than learning history: strategy is the key, not a comprehensive knowledge of the questions. Since most problems are multiple choice, work the system. You don't actually have to solve equations... just plug in the possible answers and see what works. Let's say the problem is:
"What is the value of x if 5 = (1+x)² - 2x? Your Mom"
Your math teacher might be slightly ticked that you didn't use your algebra, but the SAT graders won't care. If you're getting short on time in the critical reading section, you can skip reading the passage and jump straight to the questions. Usually you can get these questions right just by reading a few sentences above and below the one they identified. Other questions about the overall point of the passage can often be answered by skimming the first and last paragraphs as well as the first sentence of every other paragraph.
Take a Lucky Guess: Be a Leprechaun
While you lose one fifth of a point every time you get a question wrong, you shouldn't be afraid to guess. Please don't just start filling in random circles. Instead make an educated guess. Cross out all the answers in your booklet that look messed up, and then pick one of the answers that is left. Basic probabilities tell us that it's good to guess as long as you've eliminated at least one answer on a problem.
Remember that unless your some sort of lucky uber-genius, you're not going to ace the test. Answer as many questions as you can as quickly as you can as accurately as you can. Most of the time this means that you won't attempt every question. It always means that you stop thinking up schemes to get all the cute peeps' numbers as soon as the test is over.

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Are you having trouble focusing on your SAT preparation? Are you being cowed by the clock? Do seeming unanswerable questions trap you down? In order to keep the stress at bay you need to keep a balanced approach towards test taking. Even if you study, prepare and organize well, the anxiety of taking the actual test can be actually overwhelming. You need additional grounding to deal with it and the simplest way to manage your anxiety is to identify what exactly stresses you and then focus on the problem systematically.
Here are some simple mind tricks to keep your mind clear as you approach the SAT taking day.

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1) Managing your Time: If it is the clock that intimidates you, you need have a better time management practice in place. To do this, use your SAT practice tests. Set the timer with each allotted practice paper and tackle one section at a time. Remember that every question is worth the same amount. It makes no sense to spend more time on a question that you would probably get wrong. In any case, you can still score high even if some questions you don't get right. Hence move ahead and don't get jammed, this will prepare you mind to think quicker and manage your time more efficiently with each subsequent Practice Test.
2) JUST DO IT!: is a powerful tool for self suggestion. Self suggestion is the closest tool of things happening your way. Think of SAT as just another cool test. Approach it in a confident manner and do not overwhelm yourself with a larger than life depiction of it. It is easy. 3) Pranayama, the Art of Breathing Deep and Slow, executed as a popular exercise in Yoga to relax your tense brain muscles. It acts as the life-force that pervades the body. Because it is connected on one side with the body and on the other side with the mind it helps develops a steady mind, strong will-power, and sound judgment. So don't forget to breathe. Focus on taking slow deep breaths and give your mind time to recuperate.
4) It is not a Do or Die Situation Too many students approach the SAT with this gigantic burden on their backs. Yes, this is an important test. Yes, it will partially determine if your get into a good college.But this is not a "do or die" situation that has approached to doom you into lifelong misery.
5) Counseling centers are a good source for help with test anxiety. Closer home, you can talk to your parents, friends you can confide into. Therapy, as in group or individual has shown to be very effective in aiding students who need help taking these exams. If you are interested in counseling, your guidance counselor should be able to point you in the right direction.
6) No Last Minute Cramming: Last minute cramming for any exam only increases anxiety and can lead to a general brain freeze. 7) Reward Yourself So the SAT Test is tomorrow, you've worked hard, prepared and would give your best on the day. So spare the moment, go out for a movie, prepare a nice meal, watch TV, have a little fun...and simple unwind.The key to success on any test, and in life, is to break your goals down to smaller undertakings and then reward yourself for each step you take. And when the remarkable scores are achieved and the university letters of acceptance start coming in the mail, then you can celebrate more.

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Yes, it's true...standardized tests are a pain in the butt! However, your score on these exams will play a large role in the college admissions process. The key to performing well on the SAT is being adequately prepared. You just have to pick the best study method for you. In this article, we'll discuss some SAT tips that will get you prepared for the big exam day.
First, you should take the PSAT or preliminary SAT. This exam is essentially an SAT pre-test. You'll be placed in a real live testing environment and the questions on this exam will be very similar to the ones that you'll receive on the real SAT exam. Similar to the SAT, the PSAT will include the following subject areas: reading, math, and writing.

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Colleges won't be taking your PSAT score into consideration when evaluating whether or not they should accept you, but it is in your best interest to take this exam seriously. In addition to helping you prepare for the real SAT, this exam will also qualify you for the National Merit Scholarship program. What's the National Merit Scholarship Program? This program awards scholarships to students who earn the highest scores on the PSAT. You can learn more about this process by visiting the National Merit Scholarship Corporation's website.
Second, you should continue to prepare for the SAT exam after you have taken the PSAT. There are a lot of various resources available, including live SAT prep course classes, free online resources, and books that you can purchase from your local bookstore. The method of study that each student selects will vary based on their learning style. As for live courses, some schools may offer these for free. If not, the following companies offer live SAT prep courses: Kaplan, The Princeton Review, and Sylvan Learning Center. You should visit their websites to find out more information about specific prep courses that are being offered in your area. In addition, there are a lot of free online resources. You can download free practice questions on the College Board website. Lastly, you can also head down to your local bookstore and ask the people behind the counter to point you in the direction of SAT review materials. I can guarantee that there is a section committed to standardized exams. If you purchase your own book, you can create your own study plan as opposed to being committed to attending a live class on specific dates and times.
You can register for the exam on the College Board website. It's a good idea to pick your exam date a couple months in advance of the application deadlines for the colleges that you intend on applying to. If you follow these SAT tips, you'll feel confident and ready to go when exam day rolls around. Remember to get enough sleep the night before the exam and to each breakfast on the morning before the exam. Good luck!

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1. Start Preparing Early
To get the most out of SAT prep, you should start early. Don't start wondering whether or not third-order polynomials will be included in the math section the week before. Create a plan! If you need more structure or guidance, consider SAT prep classes, private tutoring, or an online course.
2. Dress Well
Think about this: the thermostat at the testing center on the morning of the test is likely to be set by someone just as groggy as you. You don't want to trust them with your comfort-and shivering while you bubble is a sure way to "make a stray mark." Avoid this by dressing in layers of comfortable clothing so you can adjust to your surroundings easily.

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3. Be On Time
The College Board is not happy when you're late to an SAT. To them, late is showing up after they've closed the doors to the testing rooms-between 8:30 and 9:00 am. In fact, their official policy states that late students will not be admitted to the testing center and will have to reschedule to take the test. Of course, there is a $24 fee for that. It's fine if you don't want to reschedule, but the fee you paid to take the test is nonrefundable. That's $47 gone to waste. Show up before 7:45 am, as the College Board recommends. A few days before the test, map out a route to your testing center and make sure you're familiar with it. If you're particularly bad with directions, you might want to practice getting there-just think of it as another thing to study.
4. You Are Getting Very Sleepy...
Falling asleep during the SAT: fail. You could nap during one of the five-minute breaks you get, but we doubt it would do you any good. Instead, be sure to get a good night's sleep before the SAT. Caffeine in the morning-be it coffee or an energy drink-might be a good idea, but if you should avoid it if you aren't accustomed to it. Too much caffeine can lead to jitters and, ironically enough, difficulty concentrating.
5. Oops! If you mess up, don't worry: In 2009, the College Board introduced Score Choice, which allows you to select which test scores you want to send to a college on your score report. It is an optional service; if you do not elect to use it, all of your scores will be included on your score reports. Though it allows you to not disclose poor scores to the schools when applying, you should check your institution's policy on SAT score reporting-often it is helpful to report all of your scores.

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The SAT is a challenging experience. Read this article to find 5 great tips to help you prepare for the SAT!
1. Don't Cram
Alright, so it's Friday night and you're taking the SAT tomorrow: it's time to get an energy drink and crack open the prep book you bought four months ago, right? Studies have shown that cramming is not an effective way of preparing. Not only will you end up groggy and unhappy while you're taking the SAT, odds are you won't be able to remember what you studied last night. Lots of practice is also the best way to beat test anxiety. Begin preparing well in advance and practice a lot!

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2. Practice Like It's the Real Thing
While reviewing the material that will be on the SAT is definitely helpful, you want to remember to take real, timed SATs for practice as well. Doing so will help you get a sense for how the SAT is laid out and how much time you need per section. You will also become more accustomed to performing well under pressure. The College Board offers a book, The Official SAT Study Guide, 2nd edition, which contains ten official SAT exams for you to practice on. To get the most out of your practice, you should have access to detailed solutions, like the ones found in Test Masters Complete Solutions to the SAT Study Guide. These solutions are not available in the College Board's book and help you pinpoint your weaknesses to prepare better for the SAT.
3. Are We There Yet?
The week leading up to the SAT is stressful, but you should take time to map out a route to your testing center ahead of time. This helps ensure you get to your test on time and with a minimum of stress. Remember that construction and other changes don't always show up on most online maps.
4. License and Registration, Please
Remember that you must take valid identification with you the morning of the SAT. According to the College Board, your ID must be current, have a photo of you, have your name on it in English, and match the name on your Admission Ticket. This includes driver's licenses, state-issued IDs, school IDs, valid passports, or a student ID form prepared by your school. They will not accept social security cards, credit cards, birth certificates, expired passports, or a yearbook. You should organize all the stuff you're taking to the test the night before and enjoy a stress-free morning before the test.
5. Know the Section Instructions
When do you think the right time to read the SAT instructions are? Is it in a chilly classroom at an uncomfortable desk with the clock ticking? Nope! You should have the instructions understood before you even set foot in a testing center. Review them when you take practice tests and soon they'll be second nature. The reward for your efforts? More time to spend actually answering questions.

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Originally known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, SAT is now formally called the SAT Reasoning Test. It is a standard examination for college admissions in the United States. Although this test was not originally designed for measuring a students academic achievement, it has now become the main gateway for admissions in most major colleges and universities across the country. Here are some tips for preparing SAT.

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When you consider the intense competition, it is vitally important for the student to prepare and study hard for the Reasoning Test in advance. In more recent times new sections have been added which include one for writing. Therefore, students must really be consistently good in vocabulary, math, grammar and have good writing skills.
The applicant will be tested on all sections which is why it is vitally important to study and prepare well for all of them, because generally speaking you cannot excel in one and do poorly in another and expect to pass. The test will measure your performance over all three sections. There are institutions that can offer SAT coaching classes which could really be helpful to ensure that you are ready and you will know what to expect.
The subject matter is pretty straightforward for most people coming out of high school. For example the mathematics test will cover geometry and algebra, but does not cover trigonometry or calculus or other more advanced mathematical subjects. So if you are proficient in these areas then you should do well with the mathematics part of the testing.
The reading test is quite important and the passages will be at a standard high school reading level. Another section is the writing test which will include a timed essay and will focus on some common grammatical errors and will not go much into punctuation or conventional expressions. In other words most high school seniors will be pretty well prepared for the SAT as far as the subject matter, as they have studied these extensively already in school.
The SAT is a very logical test that is not really as hard as it may seem. It will test the students mind in a number of ways, but with the proper guidance and preparation, along with good study habits the student can get through it without a lot of difficulty. It would be a wise decision to start studying and preparing about a year before the actual test is taken.
There are many different sources for information on how to study and pass the SAT, and lot of people go online for more resources and to find different study guides and articles which will help them become more prepared. Others may attend classes that are being offered in their community. Whichever method you decide on the key is to start early and work hard.

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The labyrinthine halls of language are bedecked with silken tapestries of syntax, strewn with the careless sprays of simile and sprinkled with gentle confetti frostings of style. Yet the granite pillars of the linguistic arts are words. Words are the spring from which Scrabble springs...and a good score on the SAT Verbal section. This will be a lacuna in this raconteur's raucous Scrabble ravings. Running the entire eclectic gamut from the esoteric to the mundane, SAT vocabulary ranks right up there with the other Kafkaesque, phantasmagoric nightmares such as public speaking and African killer bees. But before you swathe yourself in a straitjacket, know that this looming, leering leviathan of the SAT Verbal section can be conquered!

In spite of my rich, lustrous, language, please don't be misled. A plethora of pomposity, postulated by a posturing panjandrum will not endear you to the reader/marker. However, what will make you utterly appealing are the simple fruits of focus. I obtained an 800 on my SAT Verbal but only an 11/12 on my SAT essay. Your first sentence must be a rich weave of logic and words that sucks the reader into the abyss of your essay.
* Be organized and clear. An intriguing sentence in the essay must be supplemented by a clear logical train of thought. Progress from thesis to opening paragraph. If your essay deals with innovation don't go straight to talking about a fictional character. Talk about a factual character, move to his or her abstract characteristics, tie that to a fictional character and then move back to fact.
* Be Original. Everyone has written on To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye or Walden. Use characters from works of similar literary merit, but not as well known. I believe suitable books would be Lord of the Flies, A Clockwork Orange or A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch. A competent writer aims to communicate while distinguishing himself from the motley mob.
* Be succinct. An eight paragraph epistle in which one attempts to stuff with knowledge will result in a stifling essay and poor time management. Think out your essay before you write; it will result in a compact essay of about 4 or 5 paragraphs in which you fully develop your thoughts.
* Read. Spend the summer reading anything from newspapers to high tech magazines.

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The letters SAT stand for Scholastic Aptitude Test. It is a paper-based standardized test required for application to most colleges and universities in the US. High SAT scores will increase your chances of securing admission. You may also get scholarship offers.
There are two SAT tests: SAT I and SAT II. SAT II subject tests are not usually required by colleges.

Who should take SAT?

SAT is taken by high school students who wish to pursue higher education in the US. SAT scores also determine a student's eligibility to receive academic scholarships.
The SAT I tests a student's skills in critical reading, mathematics, and writing. SAT isn't necessarily a test of your knowledge. It tests your academic skills which are developed over the years you spent in school. Any one can have high SAT scores if they appear for the test with enough preparation.
The Critical Reading Sections
The SAT I contains three critical reading sections: Reading comprehension, Sentence completions and Paragraph-length critical reading. Two of these sections take 25 minutes, and the other takes 20 minutes. In the reading comprehension test, there will be lots of passages followed by questions. You have to answer these questions using the information given in the passages. The sentence completion problems will require you to fill in the blanks with appropriate word or words. To secure good scores, you must have a strong vocabulary and the ability to understand complicated sentences.

Math section
The SAT contains three Math sections: Algebra and functions, Geometry Statistics, Probability and Data analysis. There will be 54 questions in all. 44 of them are multiple-choice. For the remaining ten questions, you will have to find answers on your own. The SAT math will have questions from algebra, geometry, statistics and mathematical operations. There will also be questions that test your ability to interpret graphical and tabular data.

The Writing Sections
The SAT writing has three sections: One 25-minute essay section, and two multiple choice sections lasting 25 minutes and 10 minutes. The SAT writing sections will assess your ability to improve writing samples, identify writing errors, and produce your own clear, coherent essay.

How Long is the SAT?
The test takes 3 hours and 45 minutes overall. That includes three critical reading sections, three math sections, three writing sections including an essay section, and an experimental section that may resemble any of the aforementioned sections. No section lasts more than 25 minutes.

How Long Do I Need to Prepare?
That depends on your test taking skills. If you have a strong vocabulary, you may only need two months of preparation or less. But if your vocabulary is weak and your test-taking skills aren't great, plan for at least 3-4 months of regular preparation. During the preparation you must try to build vocabulary, improve test-taking strategies, and review mathematics.


Preparing for the SAT can be a daunting task and most people aren't sure where to start.

#1 - Buy a Study Guide
An inexpensive way to prepare for the SAT is to buy a study guide from your nearby bookstore or you can purchase one online. There are many different types of study guides but the best one for the money is probably the study guide put out by the College Board. They make the test so their practice tests are the real McCoy.
#2 - Form a Study Group
Another fairly inexpensive method for preparing is to form a study group. You can invite a few of your friends, who also need to prepare, over to discuss the reading sections and work the make problems together.everyone should have the same study guide so that you are all doing the same problems. It wouldn't hurt to have some pizza on hand too.
#3 - Hire a Tutor
If you have the money hiring a tutor can be very beneficial. A tutor usually specializes in the SAT and the ACT and can help you with testing strategies, problem solving techniques and how to best prepare. Tutors can range from $25 per hour to $125 per session and remember you get what you pay usually. Always ask your prospective tutor for references and a consultation to determine your needs. #3.5 - Take a Prep Course
Another choice available to you is an SAT Prep Course. If you want be sure that you are prepared for how to take the test a prep course might be just the ticket. In a prep course you are usually given several tests over a period of weeks under the same conditions as the actual test. Then you grade the test and determine what you could have done to prepare better. The prep course is much like hiring a tutor except there are quite a few more people. The cost of a prep course will be from $750 to $1250 per course.
Any of the above paths can successfully prepare you for the SAT. Which one will work best for you depends on your personality, discipline and determination. If you need pushing than the study route might not be the right fit for you. If you are easily distracted then the study group or prep course might not fit either.

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