With the month of November rapidly reaching its end, it’s almost December. December 1st is one of the sessions of the SATs, where juniors and seniors will take this test to determine… what exactly?
The SAT is a “standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States”. The concept dates all the way back to 1926! The SAT is administered by the College Board, and is designed to test student’s readiness for college. It was actually originally designed to not be aligned with what the students were learning in high school, but was changed in 2016. The College Board president, David Coleman said that he wanted the test to reflect on what students were learning in high school.
The current SAT takes three hours to finish, 50 minutes for the essay. The current cost to take the test is $45, ($57 with the optional essay), this excluding late fees. The scores can range from 400 to 1600, and these combine test scores from two 800 point sections: critical reading and writing and mathematics. While taking the SAT or Act is required for many universities and colleges in the United States, there are some colleges that are working with alternatives.
The test is mainly taken by high school juniors and seniors. As stated by the College Board, it measures literacy, numeracy, and writing skills that students will need in college. The test is composed of four sections: Reading, Writing and Language, Math (no calculator), and Math. The College Board states that it analyzes how well the students can analyze problems and solve problems. The time limit is to produce a range of scores.
Seven times a year, this test is offered. It can be taken in August, October, November, December, March, May, and June. The test was taken by 2,316,539 high school graduates in the 2018 class.
This test is talked about often. People may say “To get into a good college, you need to do well on the SATs” but how true is that anymore? How important is the SAT?
Apparently, not very. It’s only a small part of students getting accepted.
Marilyn McGrath, director of the undergraduate admissions at Harvard (number one ranked college) says “Generally speaking, the SAT is not very important… It helps us calibrate a student’s grades.” McGrath also said that at Harvard, they are aware that a standardized test does not give a perfect measure. McGrath says that at Harvard they understand if students cannot perform well at standardized tests. What’s more important is that the students GPAs good, and they take many courses that the school offers.
Jarrid Whitney, the executive director of admissions and financial aid, at the California Institute of Technology (number ten ranked college), says also that they aren’t that important. They are one small part of the entire package. Whitney says that the SAT does not “...drive our decisions”.
Another thing that colleges look for are letters of recommendation and extracurriculars.
So, while yes, the SATs are important, they aren’t as much looked at as they used to be. Back in the day, they were, these days they’re not as important. So don’t fret too much about taking your SAT. Just try your best, because colleges aren’t looking at them that much anymore.
That being said, good luck on your SAT!
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