Students Prepare for the New SAT

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By Ariel Barbera, Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Students have been continuously studying and preparing for the upcoming SAT.  This redesigned version of the SAT will take place at Susquehannock at 7:30 a.m. on March 5.

College Board, the administrators of the SAT, have tried to ease students into taking the test by modifying the old version of it.  This new test gives students an optional essay choice and uses vocabulary that students will be familiar with in school.

Posters around the school tell students what they will need on test day. Photo by: Ariel Barbera
Posters around the school tell students what they will need on test day. Photo by: Ariel Barbera

Junior Alix Ullery has taken a previous SAT and is determined to improve her scores.

“I think I’ll do fairly well on it.  I took the ACT, and that wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” said Ullery.  “The ACT is usually harder than the SAT.”

Junior Rachel Sergent is ready for the new test and is determined to earn a high score.

“I am prepared because people have told me that if you pay attention in school you will gain some of the skills required for the test, like math and English,” said Sergent.  “The PSAT showed that I did pretty well, so I’m going to go with that and hope I’ll do pretty well [for the SAT].”

Students study for the SATs in different ways.  Some students buy special SAT textbooks while others use different apps and education sites such as Khan Academy.

“I’ve gotten one of the SAT books you can order online,” said Ullery.  “Most of the time, SAT and ACT tests have practice questions for free online.”

College Board teamed up with Khan Academy to offer students a great opportunity to study for the SATs with their official practice app.  The app is available on the App Store and GooglePlay, while Khan Academy offers practice tests and video lessons for the SAT.

The guidance office has packets and calendars for upcoming SATs. Photo by: Ariel Barbera
The guidance office has packets and calendars for upcoming SATs. Photo by: Ariel Barbera

Junior Amber Manuel is ready for the upcoming test and believes she will do well in the areas she’s strongest in.

“I think I”ll be stronger in the English section, but I might struggle in the math part,” said Manuel.  “I’m not too good in geometry, so if that’s in the test I might be weaker in that area.”

The redesigned SAT removed the essay from the test but gave students the option to take the essay if they are looking at a specific college that requires it.