What is the SAT?
Simply said, the SAT is a very important test taken during high school, that is important for getting accepted to a college.
Although there are other tests which are used as part of the college admissions process (such as the act), the SAT is the most used test in the United States. The SAT is taken during high school, most students usually take the test at least a few times throughout their sophomore, junior, and senior years. However, these days anyone over the age of 12 can take the SAT. The maximum amount of times a student takes the sat is usually three times. The reason most students decide to take the test more than once is because some schools just use the best scores that a student receives in each section. There are 3 sections on the test (writing, critical reading, math). So if on his first attempt at the sat a student receives:
800=writing
600=math
550=critical reading
And on his/her next attempt he/she receives:
500=writing
750=math
760=critical reading
So, for the above student some colleges will count the students SAT score as
800=writing
750=math
150=critical reading
The college will just take the highest scores from both tests, and for this reason many people take the SAT three times.
How important is taking the SAT?
Taking the SAT is very important for almost all high school students who want to attend a college. This is because many colleges require students to take the SAT before even applying (some colleges also allow students to take the ACT as an alternative). The SAT is also sometimes important for scholarships. This is because some colleges will grant scholarships to students with a minimum SAT scores and certain GPA.
So, in layman’s terms, “the SAT is basically just a really important test for college.”