The sat in exam 3 potx

Who Makes the SAT?

The College Board is an association of colleges and

schools that makes the exam. It retains the Educational

Testing Service (ETS®) to develop and administer the

SAT. You may already be familiar with ETS; they also

write and administer the Advanced Placement (AP®)

tests as well as the PSAT/NMSQT® you may have taken

as a junior and/or sophomore. The ETS has a distinc￾tive style of writing five-choice (or multiple-choice) and

grid-in questions, which makes it easy to describe and

analyze the kinds of questions you are likely to see on

the SAT. However, the essay portion of the Writing

section will require a different type of preparation than

the other kinds of questions. This book will prepare you

for all types of SAT questions.

What Is the SAT?

The SAT is one of the main standardized tests colleges

use to evaluate reading, writing, and mathematical

skills in prospective students. Another test, the Amer￾ican College Testing (ACT) Program Assessment, is

designed primarily to measure what you’ve learned in

various academic subjects, while the SAT aims prima￾rily to measure the critical thinking skills you will find

useful in your academic career. Naturally, members of

the College Board (and others) believe that possessing

these skills will help you perform better in your higher

education. That’s why you’re smart to be using this

book. You are developing your intellectual assets, mak￾ing yourself look more attractive to the colleges you’re

interested in, and giving yourself a head start on your

college career.

You may also be planning to take one or more of

the SAT II™ subject tests. These exams test your knowl￾edge of specific subjects, such as history, the sciences,

and languages, and are based on what you have learned

in school rather than on your test-taking skills.

What Is the SAT Used For?

Colleges use your SAT scores as part of an evaluation

process to decide whether you will be a good addition

to their student body. Look at the preceding sentence

again. What word leaps out at you? It’s the word part.

What other things do colleges look at? The short

answer is everything. The good news for students who

don’t have perfect grade point averages and who may

not have perfect SAT scores is that colleges look at indi￾viduals, not just at scores and grades. Are you an ath￾lete? Of course colleges consider that. Are you a

performer—a dancer or an actor? Colleges want peo￾ple who can contribute to campus cultural life. Are

you active in your community as a volunteer? Colleges

know that high school students who contribute to their

communities also are positive members of college com￾munities. Do you love literature but can’t bring your￾self to study anything else? College admissions

committees know that even Einstein flunked a math

course or two.

The important thing is for you to present yourself

as a strong candidate for admission by letting your best

qualities shine through in your application. Think of a

photographer shooting a still-life scene, arranging all

the different elements of the picture to make them look

as interesting as possible and adjusting the light to

bring out the best in the objects she captures on film.

When presenting yourself to colleges, show yourself in

the best possible light, and don’t forget to highlight all

the qualities that make you who you are. They are

looking for all kinds of people to make up a diverse stu￾dent body. So, don’t sweat the SAT. Getting nervous

about it won’t help you anyway. As long as you follow

through with your plan to prepare for it, your score can

help you become an attractive candidate.

–INTRODUCTION TO THE SAT–

2

5658 SAT2006[01](fin).qx 11/21/05 6:41 PM Page 2