In high school, your grades speak volumes about your overall performance. As you begin the process of searching for the right college, you will take one of the most important tests of your educational career: the SAT.

Hard Workers: Don’t stress

Take comfort in your hard work a high school student. According to Tom Weede, vice president of enrollment management at Butler University, “One of the most important factors to colleges and universities consider is the curriculum the potential student is seeking, their grade point average and then their standardized test scores.” The most popular standardized test is the SAT. The test score is calculated by combining results from three 800-point sections- critical reading, writing and math- with other subsections scored separately. A variety of testing methods provide an academic snapshot of your high school success and interests to the colleges and universities on your wish list. “We review and consider not only the standardized test scorer and GPA, but also the courses taken during high school,” said Luann Brames, director of enrollment at Marian College in Indianapolis.

Section Snapshots

• The critical reading section lasts 70 minutes and tests reading comprehension, sentence completions and paragraph-length critical reading.
• The writing section is 60 minutes long. It includes multiple-choice questions and an essay. This section tests grammar, usage, word choice, syntax and ability to develop and support a main idea.
• The mathematics section is 70 minutes long. This section of the SAT covers operations, algebra, and functions, geometry, statistics, probability and data analysis. Students can use a four-function scientific or graphing calculator.

How to do your best

Make sure you get a good night’s sleep before the test. Eat breakfast and pack a few snacks. Bring your ID along with your SAT admissions ticket. Bring two No. 2 pencils and a good eraser; no mechanical pencils or pens are allowed. Bring a calculator with fresh batteries. “Other than some of the vocabulary words, there wasn’t anything on there I wasn’t prepared for,” said Evan Graves, a Noblesville High School Senior. “The math section was the most familiar.” If you plan to attend college, determination and hard work are your recipe for success. Without these two disciplines, the SAT may stress you out; with them, it will be a test of topics you’ve already studied.

2009 SAT dated and times

• Arrive at your test center by 7:45 a.m; should be complete between 12:30 and 1 p.m
• Upcoming test dates: May 2 (registration deadline is March 31) June 6 (registration deadline is May 5) 

2008 testing fees

• SAT Reasoning Test, $45
• SAT Subject Tests, $20 (ass $20 for language tests with listening and $8 per subject test) 

Other Fees

• Register by phone, $12.50
• Change fee, $22.
• Late fee, $23
• Standby fee, $38
• International processing fee, $26
• Receiving your scores: free online and by mail, $12.50 per call by phone
• Rush reporting service, $36.50 

       Source: http://collegeapps.about.com/od/sat/f/goodsatscore.htm