Have you decided that attending college is something that you want to pursue after high school graduation? If so, start early when checking out requirements by any college you may wish to attend. If you have not already, then you will soon hear a phrase that will continue to be in your head until graduation, and that is "the SATs." Most colleges not only require this standardized test before even considering your application, but they may also have a minimum SAT test score that they are only willing to consider. So, it is a good idea to start preparing for those tests and college.

The SAT consists of three sections: math, critical reading and writing. Scores on each section range from 200 to 800, with scores always being a multiple of 10. For example, 580 or 720, but never something like 645 or 643. The scores for each of the sections are added together for the composite score, with a 2400 being a perfect SAT test score. There is also one more section that does not count toward your score. This extra section is used by College Board administrators as possible test questions for future SATs tests. During the test, students have no idea which section will count or will not count towards their score, so that they will treat all sections as equally important.

Some people are under the mistaken impression that the SAT questions cover certain subjects that you learned in high school. When in reality, the SATs are used to evaluate your overall education and understanding, showing what type of progress has been made during school. In March of 2005, the SATs tests added essay writing and knowledge of Algebra II.

Perhaps one of the most common questions is "How long do I need to prepare?" There is no "set in stone" answer. It is recommended that you take a practice SAT test first to get some idea of your ability. They are great for finding any weak areas as well. Most of this depends on you, so if your vocabulary and test taking skills are strong, then you may only need about 2 months for your SAT test preparation. However, if your vocabulary is weak and you tend to freeze during tests, then you should plan for a minimum of 3 to 4 months and may want to consider taking a SAT preparation course.

You may have known some kids who didn't do very well in high school, yet somehow managed to get a really impressive SAT test score. And there are likely others that did do well in school, but when it came to SATs results, those same kids bombed the test completely. This is because taking the SATs is nothing like taking tests in school. There are some obvious reasons why tests at school rarely lasted more than an hour, whereas you have to remain focused for over three hours for SATs tests. On most school tests, the teachers give more weight to the difficult questions, but all SAT questions are worth the same amount of points. Many times a teacher will give partial credit for partial answers but again, the SAT only has one right answer for each question and no partial credit.