Five Widespread Myths About the SAT Exam

Myth #1: If you took the PSAT as a sophomore, there’s no need to take it as a junior.
Students who take the PSAT as sophomores, or even freshmen, are doing so strictly for practice.  These scores cannot be used for any purpose, other than to indicate in which areas you need more practice.  The junior year PSAT is also called the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Exam (NMSQE) and all National Merit scholarships and recognitions are based on this test.  Junior year PSAT scores are also shared with colleges who use the information for recruiting purposes.

Myth #2: Colleges know how many times you’ve taken the SAT.
No, they don’t.  College Board records all of your SAT scores, and when you are ready to apply to colleges you log into your College Board account and literally check off which scores to send.  You can choose to send your scores from only one test date or from several.  But until you pay College Board to send your scores ($12 per college), colleges have no idea of any of your scores or test dates.

Myth #3: Since many colleges “superscore,” you can focus your efforts on math on one SAT, trying to maximize your score, and then concentrate on reading/writing on another.
Students frequently misinterpret “superscoring.”  You cannot send just the math score from one SAT to colleges, along with just the reading/writing score from another SAT.  Any time you submit SAT scores, it will include the scores from all test sections on that particular test date. So students need to exert their best effort on every section of the SAT each time they take the test.

Myth #4: The sole purpose of the SAT is to get accepted to your college of choice.
While SAT scores play a significant role in the admission process, they also play a key role in determining how much scholarship money will be awarded.  So, even if your scores are high enough to likely get you accepted to your college of choice, taking the SAT another time or two (and getting even higher scores) will likely substantially increase your scholarship award.  Whatever money is offered for the first year is typically renewed for the next three years.  So, if you increase your already good SAT scores by 100 points and get offered an additional $10,000 for your freshman year, that will turn into $40,000 as long as you maintain an acceptable GPA. 

Myth #5: The SAT and ACT are interchangeable, so it doesn’t matter which one you take.
While almost every college in the country will accept either SAT or ACT scores, the tests vary substantially. Both have a reading, english and math section.  But the SAT has a second math section while the ACT has a science section.  Also, the ACT includes 30% more questions than the SAT, while providing five minutes less time to complete the test.

Susan Alaimo is the founder of SAT Smart. For the past 25 years, SAT Smart’s Ivy League educated tutors have prepared students for the PSAT, SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, AP courses, and all high school subjects. Visit www.SATsmart.com or call 908-369-5362.