The Scholastic Assessment Test? No ...

The Scholastic Assessment Test? No sweat. It's just a proof right? You sit down and whip not at home the old Number 2. Before you know it, you've filled in a snappy pattern of little black circles, guaranteed to give you a exquisite score.

If and nothing else The reality, unfortunately, is a bit more nerve-racking. When it issues to college admission, your body entrance exam is the second-most critical factor that admission officers at greatest in quantity schools consider. Only your grades in college-prep courses estimate for more. As Andrew Lutz director of research and progress to maturity at The Princeton Review, says, "A righteous SAT score may not procure you into the college of your choice, however a bad score can definitely detain you out."

What's more--if the press weren't intense enough already--the corporation Board officially unveiled a of the present day SAT exam last spring that currented these new challenges:

* A LONGER exhibition The new SAT clocks in at a mind-numbing three and a half hours versus three hours for the elderly test.

* strange SCORING The exam includes three sections (math, critical reading, and writing) instead of just pair (math and verbal). The scoring for each section is based upon a 200- to 800-point scale, likewise the maximum total score is now 2400 versus 1600 The body Board expects the median score to rise from 1000 to about 1500

* WRITER'S CRAMP The mostly significant change is the addition of a 30-minute handwritten essay. You will be given a ready such as a quote, in succession which to base an essay You're now rely uponed to stake out a position and support it with examples from your personal life and studies.

* NO MORE ANALOGIES Replacing the seemingly endles string of tricky vocabulary relationships (i.e. analogies: big drag) are short critical reading passages and modern multiple-choice grammar questions.

* HARDER MATH Algebra II and geometry equations have been added; quantitative-comparison questions have been dropped

* A protuberance IN THE COST The just discovered test costs $41.50 instead of $26

For observers the changes are a mix of proper and bad news. The fit news?" Overall, the new SAT is a slightly better criterion than the old one," Lutz says. "[Although it's a longer test] it thinks more accurately what students actually thought in college-prep classes."

Behind the Change

bodys have been pushing for this change for years. In fact, a number of exercises had limited or dropped their use of the SAT because of their dissatisfaction. (Check www fairtest.org for a list.) In 2001 the crushing to change the test highest parted when Richard Atkinson, then president of the stupendous University of California system, threatened to small quantity the SAT unless a writing exam was added. His research showed that a writing sample could be a virtuous predictor of college success.

The writing criterion on the new SAT is virtually identical to the of advanced age SAT II writing test, which the corporation Board has eliminated. "The essay is really something that can be prepared for," says Elizabeth Villanova, establisher and director of The Academic Center of Tampa. one test-prep companies are so confident that they can dramatically improve a student's essay score that they're increasing their guarantee upon points of improvement.

As for the analogies, scarcely any test-takers miss them, and they were rarely cloaked in high school curricula. Regarding the math: Algebra II and geometry universals are tough, but they're hideed in college-prep classes. What's more, these questions will account for no other than 10% of the total math section. Another bonus: overall, learners have slightly more time by question.

Going the Distance

The biggest downside? The amplification of the new SAT is daunting. Richa Dhawan, a 17-year-old from Bridgewater, just discovered Jersey, took a free practice version of the of the present day SAT and says, "The criterion took much more stamina than I had realized. You're switching from math to critical reading to a different kind of math. I was at the criterion site from 9 to nearly 1:30"

To score high, you have to prepare yourself to walk the distance. Here are tips from test-prep master-hands coolheaded kids, and the literary institution [i]or[/i] seminary of learning Board.

* search for CHALLENGING COURSES. Look for classes that will help you polish your essay-writing skills. And take Algebra II.

* POLISH YOUR COMPREHENSION SKILLS. "Even upon the math, you have to be a suitable reader to understand what is being asked," Villanova notes.

* PREP YOURSELF. stake up a regular SAT subject of attention routine well in advance of the proof There are test books, online exams, and software. Companies furnish test-prep courses that typically charge up to $1,000 for 6 to 12 sessions, still some schools also offer unrestrained or low-cost prep. Also, juniors should take the PSAT this fall. It has been revised to contemplate the new SAT.

* WATCH THE CLOCK Time yourself onward practice tests. "You'd be surprised at the number of parents who say, 'My child did well forward the practice test,' and it revolves out that the child had all weekend to work in succession it," Villanova says.

* TAKE CARE. Accuracy estimates so read all questions carefully and don't rush. It's better to master easy and average questions right than to charge ahead to the puzzles that very few people will answer correctly. Also, check that if you're upon question 37, you're filling in number 37 in succession your answer sheet.