Chapter 1

What to Expect with the SAT

IN THIS CHAPTER

Choosing between the ACT and the SAT

Seeing what the SAT covers

Scheduling your study time for the SAT

Accommodating for special needs

Doing amazing even if English isn’t your first language

Understanding what the SAT looks for

Getting the SAT scoring

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.

In this chapter, you find the basics of the SAT, including when, where, and how often you should take it. This chapter also tells you what sort of scores you receive, explains how to deal with special needs, and gives you a peek into the structure of the actual exam. If English isn’t your first language, there are tips on getting the edge over your primarily English-speaking competition.

Thinking About the ACT

Most 11th and 12th graders take one of two, or both, giant exams on their way to college. One is the SAT, and the other is the ACT. Most colleges accept both, but you should check with your target schools just to be sure. When you call or email the college admissions office, among your other questions, ask the following:

• Do you require an exam score with my application?
• If so, do you accept both the SAT and the ACT?
• Do you need me to write the exam essay?

You take the ACT as a paper-based test, but at some testing centers, you have the option to take it on the computer. The paper-based and computer-based versions of the ACT are exactly the same in terms of length, types and numbers of questions, difficulty level, and scoring algorithm.

At the time of this writing, the ACT takes between four and five hours, while the SAT has been shortened to just over two hours. It’s possible that in response to the revised SAT, the ACT will change even more, with reduced numbers of questions and shorter reading comp passages. At this time there is no indication of other changes to the ACT, so here’s a rundown of the differences between the current ACT and the recently revised SAT.

The SAT and the ACT are similar in overall difficulty. The math is about 90 percent the same, but SAT math goes more in depth than ACT math, while ACT math covers more topics. (ACT math has logarithms, for example, which SAT math does not.) Some students may find ACT math easier.

The ACT also has a Science Test, which the SAT does not. To compensate, the SAT has science-based questions mixed into the Reading and Writing section, but not to the extent of the ACT Science Test. Students who struggle with science may prefer the SAT.

The ACT also ends with an optional essay question, which the SAT does not.

SAT Reading and Writing covers similar topics to ACT Reading and Writing however, the SAT combines these into a two-part module that runs slightly over an hour, while the ACT separates Reading and Writing into two tests, or three tests with the optional essay, totaling about two hours (or close to three hours with the essay). The SAT doesn’t have an optional essay, so the entire exam is about two and a half hours, while the ACT can run over five hours if you include the essay.

Basically, it sounds like the digital SAT is a better bet, but I would expect the ACT to respond with its own shorter, digital version sometime soon. In the meantime, for more on the ACT overall, pick up ACT Prep 2025/2026 For Dummies with Online Practice by Lisa Zimmer Hatch and Scott A. Hatch (published by Wiley).

Besides contacting your target schools and checking their websites, you can find more on the application requirements by checking a college guide. A college guide is a compendium (thorough collection) of school listings and admission requirements. Many libraries and bookstores carry college guides, and you can also talk with your college counselor, who may also have one.

If college isn’t in your immediate future, you may want to take the SAT just to get it out of the way, while the test topics are still fresh in your head. If your plans include a stint in the armed forces or the Peace Corps before hitting higher education, you can keep your options open by taking the SAT before you go. Then when you’re ready to get back into the classroom, you’ll have some scores to send to the college of your choice. As of this writing, your SAT scores are officially valid for five years, but that could change, or the college you apply to may require newer scores. Just keep that in mind.

So … What’s on the Digital SAT?

What are you getting into here? Well, it’s nothing you can’t handle, but it helps to know what’s coming up. 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 questions.
• Ten-minute break.
• Math section: Two 35-minute modules consisting of 22 questions each, totaling 70 minutes for 44 questions. You’re provided with an on-screen calculator for both modules.

Table 1-1 provides a quick overview of what’s on the exam.

TABLE 1-1 Digital SAT Breakdown by Section

Each section mixes in a few unscored “trial” questions, which are impossible to discern from the actual, scored questions. This is good — it means you don’t get an extra, unscored “trial” module.

Note that the paper-based practice SATs from CollegeBoard.org have more questions in each section (33 questions per Reading and Writing module; 27 questions per Math module), but no stated time limit. These practice SATs are excellent for preparing, but they don’t reflect the actual testing experience.

Working the Online, Adaptive SAT

Within each module, each question counts exactly the same toward your score: The more questions you get right, the higher your score for that module. An easy question is worth the same as a hard question. Because you can move back and forth within each section, one strategy is to skip around and answer all the easy questions first, then go back and work the hard questions. If you like this idea, try it out on a practice test before exam day.

On the computer version of the exam, the second Reading and Writing or Math module becomes easier or harder based on your performance on the first one. For example, if you do extremely well on the first Math module, the SAT thinks you’re good at math, so it makes the second Math module harder. Even if you don’t get as many right answers in the second Math module, your score will be good because the questions were harder. Your score will definitely be higher than the score of someone who bombs the first Math module — so the SAT thinks they’re not good at math — but does great in the second Math module, because the questions were much easier.

Signing Up before Sitting Down: Registering 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.

How to register

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 have to 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...