The Scholastic Aptitude Test, SAT, is a test conducted by the College Board in United States for the admission purpose of the foreign students. Most of the US universities and colleges are taking the foreign students based on the SAT score and getting a good score will increase the chance of getting admission. The students got high score is also offered to different scholarship programs, which support the financial needs of the course.

Structure of SAT

SAT is of two types, SAT and Subject test (SAT II), SAT consist of mainly three sections covering topics of Mathematics, Writing and Critical reading.

Each section carries a score 200-800 and the 225 minutes. The subjective test is of 60 minutes and in a multiple choice objective mode.

Syllabus

SAT I

• The Critical Reading
• Reading comprehension: 25 min
• Sentence completions: 25 min
• Paragraph-length critical reading: 20 min.
• Math section
• Algebra and functions: 25 min
• Geometry Statistics: 20 min
• Probability and Data analysis: 20 min
• The Writing
• Essay section: 25 min,
• Multiple choice sections: 25 minutes and 10 minutes

SAT II

SAT II is the subjective test measures candidates’ knowledge in particular subject and domain. The General subject includes,

• English
• History
• Mathematics
• Science
• Languages

Eligibility Criteria

SAT is conducted for the school pass-out. In Indian scenario the candidates who pass the plus two courses from the recognized board is eligibility to take the exam. There are no minimum mark requirements, age specification for applying the test. Any student who qualified the board exam with the aspiration to pursue their higher studies in US universities can apply for the test.

How to Apply?

The candidates who wish to take the test can register their entry in the College Board website http://sat.collegeboard.org/. One can also mail their request to the College Board and there is a facility of registering by phoning to the Customer Service Center. But online registration is the widely accepted and popular way of registering to the test. The student should register for the test three weeks before the test date. The exam will take $71 for the SAT and $50(registration) + $9/paper for the subjective test.

Important Dates

The SAT exam will perform seven times in a year

• Test Date: First Week of October, 2011/2012
• Registration Deadline: First Week of September, 2011/2012
• Test Date: First Week of November, 2011/2012
• Registration Deadline: Last Week of September, 2011/2012
• Test Date: First Week of December, 2011/2012
• Registration Deadline: Last Week of October, 2011/2012
• Test Date: First Week of January, 2012
• Registration Deadline: Last Week of December, 2011/2012
• Test Date: First Week of April, 2012
• Test Date: First Week of May, 2012
• Registration Deadline: First Week of April, 2012
• Test Date: First Week of June, 2012
• Registration Deadline: Last Week of April, 2012

List of Major SAT centers in India

• Bangalore
• Calcutta
• Chennai
• Cochin
• Hyderabad
• Kodaikanal
• Mumbai
• Mumbai
• Mussoorie
• New Delhi
• New Delhi
• Pune

Contact Address for the SAT

• College Board SAT Program, P.O. Box 8056, Mount Vernon, IL 62864-0208
• Website: http://sat.collegeboard.org/

Reference Books for SAT

• 10 SATS: The Actual and Complete Scholastic Aptitude Test Plus Advice from the College Board on How to Prepare for It by College Board
• Barron’s basic tips on the SAT, scholastic aptitude test by Samuel C. Brownstein
• Barron’s basic tips on the scholastic aptitude test, SAT by Samuel C. Brownstein
• Basic tips on the scholastic aptitude test, SAT by Samuel C. Brownstein
• Cliffs: Scholastic Aptitude Test/Preparation Guide by Jerry Bobrow, William A. Covino, Bernard V. Zandy and Bill Bobrow
• Gruber’s Complete Preparation for the New SAT
• How to Prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude Test by Morton Selub and Doris Selub
• How to Prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude Test: Sat by Samuel C. Brownstein, Mitchel Weiner and Sharon Weiner Green
• Kaplan Writing Power: Score Higher on the SAT, GRE, and Other Standardized Tests
• Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test and National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test: Preparation Guide by Jerry Bobrow and William A. Covino
• Preparation for the Sat, Scholastic Aptitude Test  by Gabriel P. Freedman and Edward J. Deptula
• SAT Vocabulary Express: Word Puzzles Designed to Decode the New SAT
• Simon’s Saga for the SAT I Verbal
• The Offical Study Guide For *All* SAT Subject Tests
• Up your S.A.T. score: The underground guide to psyching out the scholastic aptitude test by Larry Berger
• Verbal Review and Workbook for the Scholastic Aptitude Test by John W. Amberg and Robert S. Boone

Coaching Centers for SAT

• Achievers Point Knowledge Systems Pvt. Ltd.
• B. Shakthi Academy
• Career Forum
• Competition Cell
• EDStar
• Edvantage Education Private Ltd
• Jamboree Education Center
• Jeeva’s Educational Academy
• Manya Education Private Limited
• PaceSetter
• Touchstone Educationals (P.) Ltd.
• Trump and Gates
• Wisdom Mart

Study Plan

The test is an international exam so the competitive nature of the test is high. If you want to get admission into the desired college/university you must score well in each paper. Reading the Journals, newspapers etc. not only update you with the current happening g it also improve your reading and comprehension part. You have to develop your writing skill, so select any topic and try to develop content for that. Your reading habit will also contribute to the writing part.

For the subjective part the students must have a through knowledge in their domain and they have to cover the topics as prescribed in the higher secondary curriculum. Practice is the way to improve your chances for admission. Refer the previous year questions and mock test help you to practice well.

How and Where To Get the Results?

The students can get the score by visiting the official web portal of SAT. The score will also send to your personal email ID. One can also get the score by calling to the customer service center of SAT. Your exam score will also send to your selected colleges by the exam body after one month of the exam.

Cutoff

Different universities have different cut off so as the departments. Score above 47% or 1440(ACT composite score 20) is considered to be an average score for getting admission into the prominent institute.

Score Validity

The SAT score are valid for the period of five years, if there are no changes in the criteria of the exam. The conducting body is authorized to take any change in the exam format at any given point of time.