Q5. What about the SATs?

The SAT examinations are a barrier test used by many universities to filter out the many thousands of applications which they receive every year.  It is important to understand that they are not a qualification examination, like the HSC. Success in the SATs is the beginning  of the application process, not the end. Please see the information in Question 4 in this FAQ.  For most American universities, SATs, or the equivalent ACTs,  are an essential first step. The value of one or the other test is hotly debated, and there are champions for both.  Read online advice carefully, and make some time to see an advisor at the United States Consulate EducationUSA office in the city. 

What do you need to do?
1. After taking advice, choose between the ACTs and the SATs.
2. The SATs  are run by an organisation called The College Board, while the ACTs are run by 'American College Testing'. Go to the relevant website and register for login and password access, 

• here: https://sat.collegeboard.org/home or 
  
• here: http://www.actstudent.org/?_ga=1.182012005.330353571.1440467388
  

The SAT Test is 3 hours and 45 minutes long and contains the following sections:

• Critical reading, which has sentence completion questions, short paragraphs and long excerpts.
• Writing, which has a short essay(25 minutes) and multiple-choice questions on grammar and writing.
• Mathematics, which has tricky questions in basic arithmetic operations, algebra, geometry, statistics and probability.
• New changes will be implemented in January 2016.  The SAT will still retain some features of the old SAT: details are on the College Board Website.

The ACT has been growing in popularity, and currently has more US-based students sitting its examinations.

3.  While hosting the SATs, The Scots College only acts as an examination site – it does not proctor or facilitate examinations or preparation. TSC also does not advise students what is the right choice for them, and you should take advice carefully before coming to your own decision. When you enrol with the College Board,  you are effectively a student of the College Board or the ACT. On the SAT site, for example you can: 

• Follow SAT on Twitter 
  
• Log in or sign up for an account 
  
• Get familiar with the redesigned SAT 
  
• Find colleges and scholarships 
  
• Learn more about College Application Fee Waivers 
• Practice SAT Examinations (Khan Academy offers a free practice set: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/sat)
• Learn about the various tests which are available.
• Register for a specific test site and date, and make changes to your registrations: https://sat.collegeboard.org/register/registration-changes

4. Look at the various institutions  with which you might wish to enroll,  and find out what the requirements are in terms of SAT testing. Some require only the general test, while others require the specific subject tests. 
5. Go to the information in Q4, and work out what your timetable needs to be to get the results back in time for application to your preferred institutions
6. Prepare for the test - many people spend a year or more preparing for the SATs, which are a particular type of learning parallel to, but often quite different from, the curriculum of the NSW Board of Studies. You may need tutorial assistance for this: the College does not offer this as such, but there are many people 'out there' who are able to help on a private basis.
7. Sit the test - See the SAT Test site for what you need to bring, and for a 'simulator' of a trial test day.
8. Look on the Admissions site of your preferred institutions, and follow their instructions in terms of submission of results.
9. Many people take the SATs more than once. Practice is essential.