I Am Scared Of The Sat Should I be scared?

[CinnamorollTK 0]

For the longest, I took the FCAT (in Florida) and most of the time scored in the 80%-90% of the state. (I currenctly have a 4.0 but I don't really know if that means anything) I was given the idea that the SAT and the FCAT were the same except that the SAT was just a bit tougher. Now that I took that practice test, I realized that I only got around 66% of the questions right on math and reading. I am not yet done with high school so I don't know if I'll improve.Mainly I am worried that I wont get a high enough score to get into college.Also, I was wondering if some of you could post your "percent" of correct answers. What I mean is if the highest total score is 1500 and you received a 1200, then post an 80% and how easy/hard it was for you to get into college and get scholarships.

[BordaForx 0]

Well, with a 4.0 GPA, I wouldn't be so scared. If you're taking the SAT now, the highest possible score (A little FYI here) just changed to 2,400 because of Creative Writing and an essay. You shouldn't be scared. If you mess up, you can just retake it again, again, and again, until you're satisfied with the grade. During my time, the highest score you could get was a 1,600 (WHICH I ACED, YEAH!) Also, write more! My brother said he didn't do too well on the writing. *sigh*. Seriously, relax, study (even if they tell you not to), and you'll do well. When I took the SAT, I was surprised I learned all of the questions they gave us, we all learned in 6-11th grade. I'm not kidding. They're just...easy questions like: BEGINNING ALGEBRA hidden behind a barrier of words. There are now: Critical Reading, Math, and Writing. If you score an 800 in all of them, you'll get a perfect score. I hope that gave you a better understanding of the SAT, which might "calm you down".

[Milk 0]

Yeah...the SAT shouldn't be terribly hard. With the new 2400 SAT, they changed the math portion to have algebra two and trig, instead of the previous algebra I and geometry. Like, now, it has algebra 1, 2, geometry, and trig. But it's not that bad. I personally thought the math was extremely easy....And you're right, having a 4.0 GPA doesn't really mean anything unless all you take are AP classes or Honors, especially since curriculum and difficulty varies from state to state and then from school to school.I remember when I first took the PSAT, I did absolutely horrible. The problem was that I was a stuck up little kid and thought that I was unbelievably smart and that the Standardized tests were stupid...well, because of that conceitedness, I ended up getting like...about the same as you, around 70% right on the PSAT and my reading was the worst. Like, for the reading, you really have to read the passages and really understand them in order to get the maximum amount right. I retook the PSAT a year later and I got up to 90%. If that even means anything.I think that as long as you can manage a 1700+, you can get into most of your first choice colleges. If you've got a lot of extracurricular activities and maintain your 4.0 (or even get higher), and take lots of honors/ap courses, you shouldn't worry. The one thing you should worry about, is money heh.Because remember, colleges don't judge a prospective student based on their SAT's...my friend has a 3.9 GPA and TONS of extra curricular activities and also lots of honors/AP courses, but she got a 990 on the SAT...and she got into one of the best colleges in my state, where the average SAT score was around 1300-1400. I think the key is to not stress out, and you'll be fine.

[glassCAt 0]

Definitely don't stress out.I took SATs about three years ago and I don't exactly remember what I got but I'm sure it was a low score. It didn't affect me that much though because I had a high GPA and I was still accepted into four out of six universites I applied to.Take some time doing the practice tests, review the subjects that are still fuzzy to you but don't stress out. Stress can make you screw the whole thing up.

[grnjd 0]

Theres nothing to be scared of. If you think that you're going to do bad on the sats, then just cancel your score and retake it. You can retake your sats next year in 10 or 11 or 12 (months). It doesn't really matter if you go to a good or bad college in your first 2 years of college. Just transfer and you'll save a bunch of money, so transfer your credits.

[Kim 0]

The key is to practice everyday. That is why people who take test prep courses can be so successful. There is a way to improve your score, because it's not an IQ test. So just set out a "SAT studying period" and sit down and practice. To get better on the verbal part I recommend getting your hands on scholarly articles and classics. Reading definitely improves your grade on the verbal part. For math, just practicing the problem and reviewing key concepts is extremely helpful. And remember, the SAT is coachable. That's why test prep companies are successful. But you don't have to pay if you just practice on your own.EDIT: if you have followed the news lately, ETS has been making a bunch of mistakes on students' SAT scores, making most of the score 100 points lower. They're trying to fix it, but in some cases it is probably too late. So I think you should be scared.

Edited April 17, 2006 by Kim (see edit history)