SAT tests, what the hell?

What are these other tests you speak of? ACT? Do I have to take that too? Bloody hell.

there were loads of people i went to college w/ that had perfects on one or the other section, and i know about 3 people who had perfect 1600s. a lot of kids do really well on the SATII math test too.

that being said, i don't really know how many people perfomed on the GREs - which was the most stressful test taking experience of my life. mostly because of it being given on the computer, unable to skip questions, and getting your score the second you hit "submit". yikes!

Ally, my comment wasn't directed at you; it was directed at everyone else. Personally, I only took each test once. I could have done better on the SAT had I not been racing a friend to see who could finish first (and he scored 20 points higher than me, the bastard), but it was still good enough to get into a snooty school. I think most schools are looking at SAT scores more than ACT scores, but I'm not sure. Really, I'm the wrong person to ask because I only applied to two places and one of them accepted me without recommendations, standardized test scores, or a transcript, plus I did all of this 12 years ago and don't really remember how it went. I'd say that going through online or computerized practice tests will probably give you enough of a handle on the types of things you'll encounter during the test to do well. Your life experiences are going to help you a lot, though; the stuff you've gone through and done will mark you out as a very interesting person, and that seems to be the deciding factor more than anything else these days.

The SAT I is three hours long, and it takes the entire given time period on a testing day, which is why you can't take SAT IIs on the same day. SAT II tests are specific to certain subjects (I've taken Latin and biology, I'm going to take writing and US history in May, and they offer more subjects) and each test takes an hour, so you can take up to three of those tests in one day.

Does life experience actually matter? Do they care if you're going to a state college anyhow? I really doubt I actually need to take the SATs, now that I'm thinking about it, because I'm just going to transfer my community college and ASU credits, and I've got like 40 of those. I'm curious about the life experience thing, I never thought something like that would make a difference at all. Would it get me a free scholarship to a nice school? ;)

Dustin Hoffman IS Hanley, duh. Theme song by Momus.

Typical Richmond Test Verbal Reasoning Test: WHich of these words is the odd one out: a) Small
b) Large
c) Great
d) Big

(A. Big as it only has three letters).

1. SHAKESPEARE: MICHAELANGELO

a) Schumann: Berlioz b) Schopenhauer: Nietzche c) La Traviata: Tosca d) Barney the Dinosaur: "I Buried Paul"

One of my roommates in college took the MCATs (Medical School Exam), and one of the other test-takers during the session when he took it 'clamped down' at his desk--completely frozen. They had to call the paramedics, and they had to lift the dude out of the class, desk and all! Obviously a GREAT future candidate for performing open- heart surgery... ;)

I thought you were going to Hampshire or something Ally, they don't require standardized tests at these hippie colleges do they?

I'm looking to transfer to an actual art school (Pacific Northwest College of Art, maybe the Art Institute of Chicago), are they going to give a damn about my SAT score (being an art school, and being kinda old, as I took the SATs my soph. year in high school)?

It's not a entrance exam per se. Just an aptitude/skills test, kind of.

You still have to fill out apps, many of which require multiple essays (outside of schools where your entrance is based on scores and high school standing - ie in many Texas state schools, you're automatically admitted if you graduate in the top quarter of your class with an 1100 SAT).

Here, we do exams in year 12 that, well when I did it anyway, were weighted along with an entire years worth of work (assignments etc) to form an entry score out of 500 (I think it changed massively after I left school tho). So your exams counted for much of the final score but so did some other work. Depended on the subject too, eg for art, you had to do a major work that took half the year and was sent to Sydney for judging. For music obv you had to perform in front of examiners, do talks, etc. Other subjects just had essays or tests.

They used to also weight your final result against the kinds of subjects you did too, which I was vehemently opposed to. ie you were punished with a lower score if you did subjects regarded as "easier" like art, home economics and music. I mean wtf!?

I had a panic attack and fainted in my practice biology exam, heh.

Should I take it this year in case I totally bomb the new portion? I got a 1340 or somesuch on the PSAT last year, so hopefully I should get something in the 1300-1500 range if I were to take it this year...

Speaking with supreme authority as a former writing instructor, senior writing tutor, and award-winning ice cream flavor designer, I beg to differ.

I have no useful advice, though, this is at least the second time they've changed the SATs since I took them. But if I were Provost of the universe, you'd have a free ride to Funkiversity.

(aka Camus-reading Goth poets v. Linux-programming roleplaying geeks)