I’m currently a junior in the oh so fabulous, high school. This means I’ve had tests upon tests shoved in my face. These tests consist of a seemingly never-ending list of multiple choice questions. I’ve taken the SAT, AP tests, and I will take the ACT soon. Now for those of you who have no idea what any of these are, let me elaborate.
But more specifically, let me elaborate on the SAT or rather, the Scholastic Aptitude Test. I’d prefer to refer to it as the Stupid *** Test, but I don’t cuss, so just pretend I never said that.
Now, the SAT is a pure 3 hours and 45 minutes of torture that I endured through for the first time on May 2, 2015. Just a mere 21 days ago. While I SAT (oh my gosh, aren’t I punny?) there for this time, my butt started to cramp up and it just wasn’t the best day of my life.
I’d rather not give you a whole explanation all about this test, but basically it’s essential that you score well on it to get in any decent college. I’m rather hard on myself, and while I took this test, I often found myself running short on time. At the end of the test, I was feeling rather dejected and my expectations were that I didn’t do as well as I could have.
I just got my results for the SAT this morning. But before, I talk more on that, here’s some background.
My mom is, well, rather strict on me. I’ve taken the PSAT twice in the past (which is basically a practice SAT) and I am a National Merit Scholar. In other words, I scored really high on the PSAT. In addition to this, my mother bought a SAT study guide for me and she made me study for the SAT an hour each and every school day.
To be completely honest, I didn’t exactly adhere to her instructions as well as I should have. But the week before the test, I worked hours and hours expanding my vocabulary (A tip for those of you planning to take the SAT: start learning vocabulary words early. At least one a day. Cramming them all in at the end is just a recipe for failure.) because I’ve always scored lower in vocab sections of tests.
So I did study for this test before I took it, unlike most people I know. And this studying payed off. I got a total score of 2080 out of 2400. And the average for this test is 1500. So I got above average. To put this into perspective: 75% of Harvard students scored above 2100 on their SAT.
I’m happy with my score because while I don’t plan on attending Harvard next year, I do want to go to a higher-end college. My expectations for my test were higher before I went in to take the test and then lower after I actually took it. The test turned out more challenging than I expected.
I will be re-taking this test in the fall and I’m sure I’ll score higher. And this time, I’ll know what to expect. I’m prepared for my butt to ache and I’m prepared to run short on time. Maybe I’ll just bring a pillow to sit on and move my #2 pencil (not mechanical) a millisecond faster.
What is your experience with the SAT? Did you meet your expectations? Or the ACT? I’ll be taking the ACT soon, so please share any advice you have.
Ashlyn Taylour 