NationStates Jolt Archive


The SAT and other tests

Chandelier
16-02-2007, 22:19
I just found out my SAT scores online yesterday morning. I got 760 on the reading, 650 on the math, and 710 on the writing. That's 1410/1600 the way it used to be (which I think is still used in determining scholarships, at least here), and 2120/2400 the new way.

So, how did you do on the SAT, the ACT, or other similar tests, if you took them? What do you think of such tests?

I think that the SAT is a pretty long test. I got there at 7:40 and left around 12:40, and we about 12 minutes for breaks total throughout the whole test. The ACT didn't take quite as long.
Potarius
16-02-2007, 22:20
I won't be taking the SAT, since it's a completely laughable "test" of one's abilities.

Sorry, but that's all you're getting in my first post here. :p
Buristan
16-02-2007, 22:30
I haven't taken the SAT yet, just the PSAT, on which I earned a 75 on the reading, 79 on the math and a 73 on the math
Luporum
16-02-2007, 22:31
620 Verbal
600 Math

I really expected to get higher as I breezed through it, but that's why I usually get some wrong. 35/5 = 6 :3
Maraque
16-02-2007, 22:32
I forgot the test I took, but I got a 98 on reading, 81 on comprehension, 12 on algebra, and 24 on math, for a grand total of... You-Suck-At-Everything-Except-Reading-And-Comprehension.
Rameria
16-02-2007, 22:34
Hey, congrats Chandy, that's great. :)

I didn't take the ACT, only the SAT. Actually, I don't think I know anyone who took the ACT. Strange, I wonder why that is...
Rameria
16-02-2007, 22:34
I forgot the test I took, but I got a 98 on reading, 81 on comprehension, 12 on algebra, and 24 on math, for a grand total of... You-Suck-At-Everything-Except-Reading-And-Comprehension.
Uhh... algebra wasn't part of the math section?
Chandelier
16-02-2007, 22:35
Hey, congrats Chandy, that's great. :)

I didn't take the ACT, only the SAT. Actually, I don't think I know anyone who took the ACT. Strange, I wonder why that is...

Thanks.:)

I took the ACT, too. I got a 31 on that (36 is the highest possible score).
Maraque
16-02-2007, 22:35
Uhh... algebra wasn't part of the math section?It was it's own section... I was like :confused:
Buristan
16-02-2007, 22:39
I haven't taken the SAT yet, just the PSAT, on which I earned a 75 on the reading, 79 on the math and a 73 on the math

is that good?
Rameria
16-02-2007, 22:42
is that good?
No clue, it's been too long since I took them. Sorry.
Chandelier
16-02-2007, 22:49
is that good?

Yes, it's superb.:) Top 1%, I'm sure. My scores were in the top 1%, but I think yours were higher than mine. I can't remember my exact scores, but the total was 217, and your total was 227. I'm not sure, but I think I got a 76 in reading, a 68 in math, and a 73 in reading. I need to work on math. I take the hardest math courses available to me, and they're never really a challenge, but I think I'm too slow at the math to ever really finish the math sections (I finished it on the ACT, but I didn't finish the math sections on the SAT.)
Deus Malum
16-02-2007, 22:52
1440

Though my writing PSAT was a 780...

Needed that little self esteem boost...
Myralon
16-02-2007, 22:55
680 Math
750 Verbal

And found out today my little sister did better than me :(
Deus Malum
16-02-2007, 22:56
680 Math
750 Verbal

And found out today my little sister did better than me :(

Mine's going to, when she takes it.

She's an F-ing genius.
Myralon
16-02-2007, 22:59
Her test score jumped nearly a hundred points between last spring and now. Little bitch.

As long as she doesn't get accepted here (UPenn) or any of the Ivies, I'll feel secure in my smartness. :D
Ifreann
16-02-2007, 22:59
It was it's own section... I was like :confused:

That seems rather ridiculous.
Grape-eaters
16-02-2007, 23:00
I got a...2040, I want to say, new SAT.

Which is immaterial, because I wasn't even a high school senior when I took it, nor was I intending to graduate High School, and indeed I did not, but rather took the California High School Proficiency Examination (www.chspe.net (http://www.chspe.net)). So no more high school. Cause fuck High school. Pretty much the worst.
Intangelon
16-02-2007, 23:30
Yeah, the SAT blows. I get really distracted and psyched out by the timed aspect of it. In 1988, they didn't have the untimed version of the SAT to petition for, so I was screwed. I knew the answers, but I read slowly, so my verbal score wasn't nearly what it should have been.

Topping that, my first score, taken without benefit of any preparation, was 1210: 630 Verbal, 580 Math. I took an SAT prep course offered by my high school and returned a whopping 1200. Yup, I LOST 10 points with the preparation. I wanna go back and take an untimed one, dammit.

Ironically, I did a few months' work as a scorer for the new SAT writing section. You wanna weep for the future, folks, land that gig and look at the entries. Yikes.
Cyrian space
16-02-2007, 23:31
I got a 760 on the english portion and a 520 on the math portion, giving me a 1280 overall. It about reflects my skills in those two areas, and got me a nice $2000 scholarship (Which I now have to work my ass off to retain through next year.)
Rameria
16-02-2007, 23:49
I got a...2040, I want to say, new SAT.

Which is immaterial, because I wasn't even a high school senior when I took it, nor was I intending to graduate High School, and indeed I did not, but rather took the California High School Proficiency Examination (www.chspe.net (http://www.chspe.net)). So no more high school. Cause fuck High school. Pretty much the worst.
How is that test different from the GED?
Congo--Kinshasa
16-02-2007, 23:53
Never took it. Never plan to take it.
Rameria
17-02-2007, 00:06
Thanks.:)

I took the ACT, too. I got a 31 on that (36 is the highest possible score).
Out of curiosity, why'd you take both?
New Granada
17-02-2007, 00:13
800 verbal 710 math
Johnny B Goode
17-02-2007, 00:41
I just found out my SAT scores online yesterday morning. I got 760 on the reading, 650 on the math, and 710 on the writing. That's 1410/1600 the way it used to be (which I think is still used in determining scholarships, at least here), and 2120/2400 the new way.

So, how did you do on the SAT, the ACT, or other similar tests, if you took them? What do you think of such tests?

I think that the SAT is a pretty long test. I got there at 7:40 and left around 12:40, and we about 12 minutes for breaks total throughout the whole test. The ACT didn't take quite as long.

I haven't taken them yet. I'm only 13. But they sound scary/ominous/onerous.
MrWho
17-02-2007, 00:54
I got a 1950 on the new SAT. I don't think its too bad since I never really cared for it. Actually for the college that I go to now, an SAT score wasn't even required to be eligible if I had a 3.0 gpa or above and I think I had a 3.4.
Chandelier
17-02-2007, 00:59
Out of curiosity, why'd you take both?

I felt like taking both. I wanted to see how well I could do and I wanted to be able to compare them. I don't think I'll be able to send my ACT score to the college I want to go to, though. I think they only accept it with the writing, and I don't want to retake it for the writing when I have an SAT score that's well above most of the scores they get.

I haven't taken them yet. I'm only 13. But they sound scary/ominous/onerous.

They're not as bad as they may seem. Not scary or ominous, but onerous.

You still have a while before you have to worry about any of these tests, though.:)
Rameria
17-02-2007, 01:08
I felt like taking both. I wanted to see how well I could do and I wanted to be able to compare them. I don't think I'll be able to send my ACT score to the college I want to go to, though. I think they only accept it with the writing, and I don't want to retake it for the writing when I have an SAT score that's well above most of the scores they get.
Ah, okay. Although, a 31 from a possible 36 doesn't exactly sound bad. Are the tests very different?
Chandelier
17-02-2007, 01:49
Ah, okay. Although, a 31 from a possible 36 doesn't exactly sound bad. Are the tests very different?

Sort of. I thought the ACT was a bit easier, because the SAT is divided into about 10 different sections and the ACT isn't. The ACT also has science, and that's pretty easy, too. No, 31 isn't bad. It's at the 99th percentile for my state and the 98th percentile nationally.

I'm just a little bit sad right now, because I got a pamphlet from the University of Pennsylvania about a summer program and it offered a course in Nanotechnology as one of the choices...and it costs way too much money for it to be an option, but it sounds so great.:(
Zilam
17-02-2007, 02:04
Too bad one's ability to take a standardized tests doesn't determine their ability to have common sense, or something more useful. I don't understand how one can have their intelligence measured by a test.
Rameria
17-02-2007, 02:14
Sort of. I thought the ACT was a bit easier, because the SAT is divided into about 10 different sections and the ACT isn't. The ACT also has science, and that's pretty easy, too. No, 31 isn't bad. It's at the 99th percentile for my state and the 98th percentile nationally.

I'm just a little bit sad right now, because I got a pamphlet from the University of Pennsylvania about a summer program and it offered a course in Nanotechnology as one of the choices...and it costs way too much money for it to be an option, but it sounds so great.:(
Wait, but you said that you didn't take the writing portion of the ACT? Or did I misunderstand that? And I know what you mean, back when I was in high school I got all kinds of cool stuff in the mail about summer institutes and stuff, but they were all super expensive. I did get to do a two week thing one summer though, which was kinda cool

Too bad one's ability to take a standardized tests doesn't determine their ability to have common sense, or something more useful. I don't understand how one can have their intelligence measured by a test.
Some of the smartest people I know don't have any common sense. I have a friend who does management consulting for Fortune 500 companies, yet somehow when he started college he didn't know the difference between a skirt and a dress. People are funny like that. :p
Pepe Dominguez
17-02-2007, 02:17
I didn't take the ACT, only the SAT. Actually, I don't think I know anyone who took the ACT. Strange, I wonder why that is...

You just live on the wrong side of the country. In Illinois we had the ACT and only the ACT unless you were planning on applying to a west coast school, or some private college that demanded it. All of the mandatory test-prep my school did was ACT.

As for my score, I had a 29 and a 30 on re-testing. Meh. Wasn't my year.
Zilam
17-02-2007, 02:20
Some of the smartest people I know don't have any common sense. I have a friend who does management consulting for Fortune 500 companies, yet somehow when he started college he didn't know the difference between a skirt and a dress. People are funny like that. :p

Yeah I know. Some people just can't be good like me :p
Rameria
17-02-2007, 02:22
You just live on the wrong side of the country. In Illinois we had the ACT and only the ACT unless you were planning on applying to a west coast school, or some private college that demanded it. All of the mandatory test-prep my school did was ACT.

As for my score, I had a 29 and a 30 on re-testing. Meh. Wasn't my year.
I guess that could be it. I wasn't in the US for high school though. And my university accepted both the SAT and ACT, but I can't think of a single person there who took the ACT.

And, your school had mandatory test prep??
Chandelier
17-02-2007, 02:28
Wait, but you said that you didn't take the writing portion of the ACT? Or did I misunderstand that? And I know what you mean, back when I was in high school I got all kinds of cool stuff in the mail about summer institutes and stuff, but they were all super expensive. I did get to do a two week thing one summer though, which was kinda cool


Well, I took the "English" portion, but I didn't write the essay. The essay is optional and costs a bunch of extra money.
The South Islands
17-02-2007, 02:30
I got a 31 when I first took the ACTs. I studied more, and got a 33 the next time I took it.

I never took the SATs. One of my friends (whos really really smart) did terribly on the SATs, but did fantastic on the ACTs. Go figure.
Pepe Dominguez
17-02-2007, 02:32
I guess that could be it. I wasn't in the US for high school though. And my university accepted both the SAT and ACT, but I can't think of a single person there who took the ACT.

And, your school had mandatory test prep??

Yes, my high school math and english classes had ACT prep days where we took a practice exam or two and went over the answers. They weren't mandatory to graduate or pass the class or anything, so if you missed class that day you wouldn't have to make up the work, but they were graded and the teachers were required to spend a certain number of hours on test prep.

In any case, I wound up in California and my school here accepted both ACT and SAT. But then again, my school accepts basically anyone.. the CSU system is like that.
Rameria
17-02-2007, 02:50
Well, I took the "English" portion, but I didn't write the essay. The essay is optional and costs a bunch of extra money.
Weird. I suppose that just means that not all schools that accept the ACT require their applicants to have taken the essay portion?

Yes, my high school math and english classes had ACT prep days where we took a practice exam or two and went over the answers. They weren't mandatory to graduate or pass the class or anything, so if you missed class that day you wouldn't have to make up the work, but they were graded and the teachers were required to spend a certain number of hours on test prep.
Huh. Interesting, I've never heard of a school doing that. Did a lot of people stick around on the test prep days? Do you think it helped your score?
Chandelier
17-02-2007, 02:52
Weird. I suppose that just means that not all schools that accept the ACT require their applicants to have taken the essay portion?


No, not all of them require it.
Pepe Dominguez
17-02-2007, 02:53
Huh. Interesting, I've never heard of a school doing that. Did a lot of people stick around on the test prep days? Do you think it helped your score?

Attendance was mandatory without a sick note of some kind, so yeah, people participated. It was a regular part of class, not announced beforehand. So, you'd show up to your regular class as scheduled and just do exam prep. It's the only prep I did, so whether it helped or not, I'm not sure.
N Y C
17-02-2007, 03:12
720 English
530 Math
This was for a talent search thing, so I didn't sweat too much about it. Also, by crummy coincidence, I had to take it on my 13th birthday. And there was a blizzard.
Holyawesomeness
17-02-2007, 03:24
Let's see, I got 800 on math 770 on verbal and 710 on writing for my SAT and I got a 34 on my ACT so I guess I did alright.
Kiryu-shi
17-02-2007, 04:05
I just re-looked it up yesterday, so I really should know my scores, but I don't really remember. I think it was around a 2100... I know a few people at my old school who got strait 800s. I remember getting really hungry during the test, it was freaking long.
Layarteb
17-02-2007, 04:08
I just found out my SAT scores online yesterday morning. I got 760 on the reading, 650 on the math, and 710 on the writing. That's 1410/1600 the way it used to be (which I think is still used in determining scholarships, at least here), and 2120/2400 the new way.

So, how did you do on the SAT, the ACT, or other similar tests, if you took them? What do you think of such tests?

I think that the SAT is a pretty long test. I got there at 7:40 and left around 12:40, and we about 12 minutes for breaks total throughout the whole test. The ACT didn't take quite as long.

Congratulations. I got a 610 and 610 on both (I took them before they added the writing). A 1410 is pretty damn good and yes they still use the old way to determine what is what. However, people that got lower scores than I did got more $ than me so SAT scores isn't the only criteria.
Middle Snu
17-02-2007, 07:26
I just checked my scores online and I got a 2160 (1470 old system). That's bad compared to most of the practice tests I took; I was hoping to score above a 2250. I put my failure down to the 4 hours of sleep I got the day before the test (too nervous to sleep.) Has anyone else had problems with anxiety before the SATs?
Kinda Sensible people
17-02-2007, 09:36
2140

I got an 800 on the verbal and a 690 on the math. I wasn't too happy with the score, since I was hoping for a 2200, but I was REALLY sick the day of the SATs, and some other stuff threw me off for the writing section, so I only got a 650 there, when that should have easily been above 700. It didn't hurt that the prompt was totally idiotic and left little room for real development.

But meh, a 2140 will get me in anywhere I want to go, with my extra-curricular stuff, my application essays, my SAT IIs, and my course difficulty, so I'm not too stressed over it.

Besides which, I beat all my friends and didn't study at all, so it really doesn't matter.
Extreme Ironing
17-02-2007, 11:46
Perhaps we should add a European element to this thread? A-level/IB scores anyone? Though I think its nice that the American system just gives you straight numbers rather than grade ranges.
Pure Metal
17-02-2007, 12:15
i got 280 UCAS points at A-level, minus AS scores (which would have made it 400 iirc)

not too good, but it got me into my uni of choice :) (20 points short but they took me anyway)



don't really do the same numerical system for GCSE, but if we did Glitzi would beat the pants off all of you ;)


Amsterdam is lovely btw :D
IL Ruffino
17-02-2007, 12:38
You don't need SATs for art school, so..
IL Ruffino
17-02-2007, 12:39
i got 280 UCAS points at A-level, minus AS scores (which would have made it 400 iirc)

not too good, but it got me into my uni of choice :) (20 points short but they took me anyway)



don't really do the same numerical system for GCSE, but if we did Glitzi would beat the pants off all of you ;)


Amsterdam is lovely btw :D

So, is it StarTrek, then coffee shop, or the other way around?

EDIT: Don't you dare come back to NSG if you don't get me pics of bikes! :mad:
Extreme Ironing
17-02-2007, 13:07
i got 280 UCAS points at A-level, minus AS scores (which would have made it 400 iirc)

not too good, but it got me into my uni of choice :) (20 points short but they took me anyway)



don't really do the same numerical system for GCSE, but if we did Glitzi would beat the pants off all of you ;)


Amsterdam is lovely btw :D

So we're comparing UCAS points, eh? Ok, well I got 4*120 from A levels plus 130 from music exams (I think they were counted, or maybe only one of them: then subtract 55), giving me a total of 610. Lol, I'd never bothered counting it up before.
Chandelier
17-02-2007, 14:10
I just checked my scores online and I got a 2160 (1470 old system). That's bad compared to most of the practice tests I took; I was hoping to score above a 2250. I put my failure down to the 4 hours of sleep I got the day before the test (too nervous to sleep.) Has anyone else had problems with anxiety before the SATs?

I got about the same as I did on the one practice test I took. When I practiced I got 800 on the reading, 600 on the math, and 700 on the writing, which would be 1400 or 2100. On the real test my score was 40 points lower on the reading, 50 points higher on the math, and 10 points higher on the writing. I was a bit anxious before the test, but that probably only affected the essay. I calmed down after that. I was a bit nervous because I was in the same room as my genius friend. I'm almost certain he'll get a higher score than me. He definitely will at the math, though I might beat him at the reading and possibly the writing. I don't know, but it made me nervous for some reason. He finished so much quicker than I did on the math (well, I didn't finish every section.)

Well, my score is definitely good enough for the 100% scholarship that Florida offers, so I'm happy about that.

Perhaps we should add a European element to this thread? A-level/IB scores anyone? Though I think its nice that the American system just gives you straight numbers rather than grade ranges.

That's probably because there's not really a class that accompanies the SAT usually. I thought that those were classes. I know IB is, because I could have gone there (except it was in the least safe area of the city and is so far away that I wouldn't have been able to do extracurricular activities.) We have AP scores, too, and I'm going to be taking 5 AP exams in May. I took one in 9th grade and got a 4 on it (it's out of five, and four is supposed to mean that if you were in college taking the course right now you know enough to get a B, or something like that. 3 is passing. The one I took was AP Human Geography.)
Imperial isa
17-02-2007, 14:13
good to hear you did well
Chandelier
17-02-2007, 14:25
good to hear you did well

Thanks.:)
Imperial isa
17-02-2007, 14:48
Thanks.:)

your welcame
Kisyla
17-02-2007, 14:52
I have yet to take the SAT for college scores, but I got an 840 in seventh grade. Not as well as I had hoped to do, but a lot of public universities would probably accept it on the 1600 scale.