SAT Test Scores

Make a Difference

If your dreams include going to college, then your SAT test scores will count towards your college application. The SAT measures your verbal and mathematical reasoning skills in a 4 hour test. How you score will make a difference to whether the schools of your choice accept you for admission into their graduate programs or not.

Your scores will range from between 200 to 800, and there are additional points for the essays of between 2 to 12, and multiple choice questions from 20 to 80. What college admissions staff want to see is how well you did compared to everyone else who took the SAT.

Your test scores capture that moment in time, and if you took the test over and over again your SAT test score will most likely change every time you take it.Graduate schools look at your test scores to work out whether you will fit into their graduate program or not.

While your SAT test scores are important, you are not assessed solely on your scores. A panel assesses each student based on these along with their community involvement, interviews, high school grade point average, essays, and recommendations.While this is the case, having high SAT test scores will give you a better chance of acceptance.

What are the Average Test Scores?

The SAT has three sections that all have a separate score:

• writing – 200 to 800 (average score is 510)

• maths – 200 to 800 (average score is 520)

• critical reasoning – 200 to 800 (average score is 508)

The average total score is around 1538 and most universities and colleges accept an average score for admission. If you aspire to go to one of the top schools, you will need a SAT test score of at least 2100. If you score at this level, it puts you into the 90 percentile which means you scored better than 90 percent of all other test takers.

What is a Perfect SAT Test Score?

Is it possible to get a perfect SAT test score? Yes, but it is rare. A perfect test score is 2400 and only about 20 in one million test takers get a perfect score.

Tips to Boost your Test Scores

With your SAT looming fast on the horizon, take some time out to prepare. Use these tips to boost your SAT test score:

2. Use real SAT tests and questions to practice.

3. Plan to take your SAT in the spring and fall of your junior high school year to alleviate some of the stress of sitting the SAT for the first time.

4. Review your maths to refresh your skills. Review the work you have learnt throughout school so far.

5. Understand and create strategies to sit the SAT.

SAT Question Format

The SAT is a timed test and you have a set time for each section:

• maths – 75 minutes

• verbal – 75 minutes

• equating – 30 minutes

The questions are different in each section. Some are multiple choice questions and some are not.

The maths section is divided into three parts and covers different fields of maths including geometry, algebra, probabilities, and estimations. One section is multiple choice with 35 questions, and five answers to choose from. Another section is also multiple choice, with a choice of four answers to 15 questions. The last section has 10 questions in which you have to generate the answer.

In the SAT verbal section, critical reasoning has 40 passages, 19 analogy questions, and 19 questions where you have to complete the sentences. The verbal section is designed to measure your reading and reasoning skills.

Average SAT Test Scores for Acceptance

Here is an example of the average SAT test scores for students accepted for admission:

Auburn (Main Campus):

• Critical Reading: 520 - 620

• Mathematics: 550 - 650

• Writing: 520 - 620

Carleton

• Critical Reading: 670 - 750

• Mathematics: 660 - 740

• Writing: 640 - 740

Harvard

• Critical Reading: 690 - 800

• Mathematics: 700 - 790

• Writing: 690 - 780

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

• Critical Reading: 660 - 760

• Mathematics: 720 - 800

• Writing: 660 - 750

Middlebury

• Critical Reading: 630 - 740

• Mathematics: 640 - 740

• Writing: 630 - 740