The SAT & ACT

For the most up-to-date information, you can use the tool on this page of the official College Board website to find test centers offering the SAT on different test dates.

There are two SAT sections: 

• Math

• Evidence-based Reading and Writing

The digital SAT is about 2 hours long. (The paper-based SAT was 3 hours long.)

Each section of the SAT is scored on a 200 to 800 point scale. Your total SAT score is the sum of your section scores. The highest possible SAT score is 1600.

CollegeBoard will release the test dates at this link. All SYE students will be notified of when they will be taking the SAT; this is often in October of each year. 

We recommend that you take the SAT in September, October, or November. This will give you the opportunity to retake them in December if your scores are not as high as you wanted them to be (though unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that we will financially cover retakes).  

Many U.S. schools are test optional. However, we still recommend that all SYE students take the SAT if it is offered in your country of residence, because a small number of schools still do require the standardized test, and you want to give yourself the option of applying to these schools. Even if a school is test optional, we still recommend submitting your test scores if within or above the average, as they are proof of your English language abilities and of your ability to perform in line with native English speakers. 

When registering, students can indicate four universities to which they would like their scores sent. These four score reports are included in the cost of registration. You may or may not have created a finalized college list by the time that you register for the SAT. When registering, we ask you to add schools that you are confident you will end up applying to. In theory, if you want to submit scores to more than four universities, you will either need to self report your scores, or pay $12 each to send the scores. If self reporting is an option, you MUST follow the steps to do so. Most years SYE can cover the cost if it is not possible for it to be waived. See the section on "Sending your Application" to learn more about the score sending process. 

This section has focused on the SAT -- the oldest and most widely accepted standardized test used for U.S. colleges and universities. However, it is also worth mentioning the ACT, another standardized test that is accepted by most schools. The ACT, like the SAT, is a multiple-choice, pencil-and-paper test. There are two significant differences between these tests: (1) timing, and (2) content and section breakdown. First, the time given to students on the ACT is slightly shorter than the time given for the SAT, even though the ACT includes more questions (the SAT features 154 questions, while the ACT features 215 questions). For this reason, quick test-takers may fare better on the ACT. Second, while the SAT includes just three main components (reading, math, and writing), the ACT includes four (reading, English, math, and science). The SAT does test scientific skills throughout, but it does not have an entire section dedicated to science like the ACT. In addition, the specific content tested in the reading and math sections varies in key ways. (Please see this article for more information on this last point, and College Essay Guy’s post on how to decide between these two tests). 

*Please note that there are fewer freely available resources for the ACT, and fewer testing locations abroad. If you are seriously considering this option, please speak to your SYE mentor and/or the SYE staff.