Block 1

SAT Overview in 20 Minutes

The best and easiest way to reduce your anxiety and own the SAT is to become familiar with it. Knowing what to expect means you can plan for it, so nothing on exam day is a surprise.

This block covers SAT basics, including what’s on the test; how it’s structured; and when, where, and how often you should take it. You also find out how to prepare for the exam and how to interpret your score.

Signing Up for the SAT

The SAT is given at multiple times at select high schools and testing centers throughout the United States and in English-speaking schools in many other countries. This section explains how and when to register for an exam and the acceptable methods of payment.

Choosing when to take and retake the test

The SAT is typically offered seven times a year, and you can take it as often as you like. Ideally, you take it two or three times, but the door is open if you want another chance. Most high schoolers follow this pattern.

• Start in the fall of your sophomore year: Take the PSAT/NMSQT, which stands for Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, and is sort of a junior SAT. For you as a 10th grader, this exam doesn’t count for much other than a practice run and eye-opener of the series of exams to come.
• Continue in the fall of your junior year: Take the PSAT/NMSQT again, only this time it counts. If you do well, it opens the door to many scholarship opportunities and special programs.
• In the spring of your junior year: Take the SAT as a practice test, though you can send in your scores if you’re pleased with them. Note that you can also take an unscored practice exam, but this experience isn’t quite the same as the real thing. Some juniors take the SAT twice during the spring.
• In the fall of your senior year: Take the SAT again for real. This time you’re ready, and you should do well enough to use these scores for your application. If you’re an early decision candidate, take the test in October or November.
• In the winter of your senior year: You have one more chance to get it right, or if you did get it right, you have one more chance to get that scholarship. By now you’re a pro, so success is just one last test away.

The SAT is typically given on a Saturday, but exceptions are made for those who can’t test on Saturday for religious reasons. If you fall into that category, your SAT may be on a Sunday or a Wednesday following a Saturday SAT day. Get a letter from your religious leader on letterhead and mail it in with your registration form.

Register early to select a test site. When you register, you may request a test site, but if it’s filled, you get an alternate. So don’t delay — send in the form or register online as soon as you know when and where you want to take the exam. You’ll probably want to test at your own high school, if possible, where the campus setting is familiar to you.

Requesting accommodations

Like many products and services, the SAT stresses fairness and equal access for all students, including those with special needs. Even if you think you don’t belong in this category, skim this section. You may discover an option that will help you gain a test-taking advantage.

Learning disabilities

If you have a learning disability, you may be allowed to take the SAT under special conditions. The first step is to get an Eligibility Form from your school counselor. (Homeschoolers, call a local high school.) You may also want to ask your college counseling or guidance office for a copy of the College Board Services for Students with Disabilities brochure. If your school doesn’t have one, contact the College Board directly or check the testing agency’s website (https://accommodations.collegeboard.org).

Once you’re certified for accommodations on any College Board test (an AP, an SAT Subject Test, or the PSAT/NMSQT), you’re certified for all College Board tests, unless your need for accommodation arises from something temporary.

File the form well in advance of when you expect to take the test. If the College Board grants you the accommodation, you’ll be eligible for extra time on the SAT, which could mean an extra 50 percent of time for each test. So, if a regular test-taker has 32 minutes per verbal module, for example, an extended-timer gets 48 minutes.

Physical issues

At no additional charge, the SAT also provides wheelchair accessibility, large-print tests, and other accommodations for students who need them. Be sure to submit your Eligibility Form early so that the College Board can request documentation and prepare your accommodations. You can send paper documentation or file an Eligibility Form online. Check out https://accommodations.collegeboard.org for details.

If a physical issue (say, a broken arm) occurs shortly before your scheduled SAT and you can’t easily take the exam later, call College Board Customer Service, explain the situation, and have your physician fill out the forms requesting whatever accommodation you need.

Questions about special needs? Your high school’s counselor or principal can help, or you can check the preceding link or email the College Board (ssd@info.collegeboard.org).

Getting financial help to cover fees

If you need financial help, you can apply for a fee waiver, available to low-income high school juniors and seniors who live in the United States, Puerto Rico, and other American territories. (United States citizens living in other countries may also be eligible for fee waivers.) The College Board also gives you four extra score reports for free, along with four request forms for college application fee waivers. The College Board does what it can.

You can also check with your school counselor for fee-waiver applications. (As with everything SAT, if you’re a homeschooler, call a local high school for a form.) And be careful to avoid additional fees when you can. You run into extra charges for late or changed registration and for some extras — super-speedy scores, an analysis of your performance, and the like.

Registering for the test

You can register for the SAT online, by mail, or, if you’ve taken the SAT before, by phone.

Online registration is simple: Go to www.sat.collegeboard.org/register to create an account, sign up, and choose a test center and date. You need to have a credit card or PayPal account and a digital photo of yourself ready to upload. Be sure the photo meets the College Board’s standards: a headshot where your whole face is visible and you’re the only one in the photo. Head coverings are okay if they’re religious in nature.

You can also register by mail. At the time of this writing, you must register by mail if you’re younger than 13 or older than 21 or if you need to take the exam on a Sunday for religious reasons.

You can also ask your school guidance counselor for a registration form. If you’re homeschooled, call the nearest public or private high school, or call the College Board Customer Service Center for help. If you register by mail, you’ll have to attach a photo and enclose registration payment (credit card number, a check from a United States bank, or a bank draft).

The College Board Customer Service line within the U.S. is 866-756-7346 and outside the U.S. is 212-713-7789. Hearing-impaired test-takers can call the TTY Customer Service number, which within the U.S. is 888-857-2477 and outside the U.S. is 609-882-4118. You can also contact the College Board by mail at this address: College Board SSD Program, P.O. Box 8060, Mount Vernon, IL 62864-0060.

However you register, you’ll be asked whether you want to sign up for the Student Search Service. Answer yes and fill out the questionnaire. Colleges, universities, and some scholarship-granting organizations receive information about you from this service. Expect lots of emails and letters — a little annoying, perhaps, but it’s good to know that the schools are interested in you. You may also discover a school or scholarship that you weren’t aware of but that meets your needs perfectly.

Scammers are interested in you, too. Don’t send personal or financial information to any organization unless you know it’s legitimate. You know this, of course, but exam registration and college application is a new game. Not sure something is legit? Call the College Board Customer Service line to check.

Knowing What to Expect on the SAT

What are you getting into here? Well, it’s nothing you can’t handle, but knowing what’s on the test and the knowledge and skills required to score well will help you to prepare more effectively and feel less anxious on test day. In this section, I explain what the test covers and how it’s structured, point out a key difference between the paper and computer versions of the exam, and provide insight into the knowledge and abilities you will and will not be tested on.

What’s on the SAT

Here is the digital SAT testing experience, in this order:

• Reading and Writing section: Two 32-minute modules consisting of 27 questions each, totaling 64 minutes for 54...