Has any one done the USA SAT TESTS?

I'm wondering what they're like and how difficult are they in general and compared with A levels in the UK?

SAT isn't that hard. Maths is usually algebra, geometry/trigonometry, and some pre-calculus. This can be drilled.

Verbal is mostly reading comprehension and grammar. I always found this a bit more difficult since there must be a right answer no matter what. There are prep books and online websites providing tips for this area.

Reply 2

KarenL

SAT itself isn't too hard, but SAT II's (subject tests) are quite hard, especially in the sciences. You have to do ranging from 50 to 80 multiple choice questions in an hour. They're like A-levels, but with less depth but a much broader spectrum so for example in biology you usually cover most (or more than) the AS and A2 topics. SAT is just GCSE maths and a bit of English. You only do trig in SAT II Math Level 1 and precalc in Math Level 2.

Reply 3

username738914

Original post by Kira Yagami

I'm wondering what they're like and how difficult are they in general and compared with A levels in the UK?

Yeah, got 2250 which managed to get me into a selective high school summer scheme at MIT.

Best advice is buy the blue book + some of the other prep books like kaplan and barron's, then churn through practice papers at least 8 weeks in advance. Try to compartmentalise your time during the test because every second counts.

The tests aren't difficult per se, but they are very time sensitive.

If you're applying to the US, choose between either the ACT or SAT I then do 2-3 SAT II subject tests (preferably in the A-levels you're sitting as it makes it easier content wise).

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 4

Sabertooth

Original post by Princepieman

got 2250

Nice, well done! :five:

Reply 5

rissanicole14

The SAT is very feasible through practice and familiarity with the format!

The math section of the SAT only tests up to Algebra II. For the reading portion, the best advice I can give is just to make sure your answer choice is clearly backed up in the text it is asking about - if the answer is not concretely mentioned somewhere in the text, it is probably wrong. IF you are stuck between two answer choices that sound good, the less "harsh" or absolute sounding one is probably the correct answer.

I second all the recommendations and other information of the replies above - I also highly recommend completing practice tests and doing test corrections for the questions that were incorrect and focusing more on those questions. I never purchased a blue book but I had access to old SAT tests so I took a seemingly endless amount of them and focused in on the type of questions I continually did more poorly on which helped save time and energy.

As for subject tests, I can only speak for the ones I have done already (Literature and US History, 720). Literature is extremely similar to the reading portion of the SAT; the only difference is that it tests knowledge of literary devices so just brush up on those. The history subject tests are very straightforward and memory based; the type of questions you either know or you don't.

I received a 2170 (800 on writing, 730 on critical reading, and a pitiful 640 on math but thankfully my intended degree is not math related :colondollar:

)

Reply 6

♥Samantha♥

Did it last weekend with 0 prep. Tbh I don't think I did that well bc the reading section really confuses me, like I swear either always multiple options seem legitimate or none of them do...

The Math subject tests are A LOT easier than AS Maths meaning that you can probably go in and get an 800 without much prep, other than the fact that there are 1 or 2 topics not on the AS syllabus but you don't even notice. Nothing I hadn't done or couldn't understand without having learnt it came up on my Math 2. The scaling is also in your favour you can get as low as 43/50 and still get 800.

English subject test is similar to the reading portion of the SAT, so you don't have to learn anything beforehand it's just about analysing what they give you. But I'm terrible at that but if you're not do that.

The sciences (at least chemistry) look very difficult there are like 80 questions in one hour, while maths has like 50 questions, and the questions extend further than the AS syllabus. Also the scaling is not in your favour, to get 800 you need 100% and dropping a few marks knocks quite a bit of your score. I think it is different for Physics and Biology however.