The SAT

The SAT is the most-frequently taken college admissions test on the West Coast. It is given seven times during the school year. Though Shorewood is usually a testing site, the SAT is administered by the College Board. 

Registration

Students will register for the SAT online through the College Board. If students took the PSAT in 10th and/ or 11th grade, then they have a College Board account. 

Registration will take a while--the College Board asks lots of questions--and you will need a photo of yourself that you can upload. 

If you qualify for free & reduced lunch, you will be eligible for a fee waiver to help pay for the test. See your counselor or Mrs. Roma. 

If you are requesting testing accommodations, you must register even earlier than the standard deadline. There is a limit to the number of seats for students with accommodations, so you must register very early to get your requested test date and site. 

School Day SAT March 6, 2019

A FREE SAT for all Shorewood Juniors will be administered March 6, 2019. See FAQ on the College & Career main page. 

Sections

(links lead to the College Board's pages describing that section)

Reading Test with five passages (one passages is a pair of related passages) 

Writing and Language Test which tests your editing and revising skills

Math Test which is really two sections, one taken with a calculator and and one taken without a calculator

SAT Essay* (optional) please read below for information on who should and who should not take the SAT Essay

How Colleges Get the Scores

Shorewood does not send test scores. When students sign up for the SAT, they may request free test reports be sent to particular colleges.

If students wish to see their test scores before sending them, they should take the test early enough to do so. 

When students apply to colleges, they must have the scores sent via the testing agencies--the College Board for the SAT and ACT.org for the ACT--unless they requested the scores when they signed up. 

Fee waivers can be used if students are on Free & Reduced Lunch. Talk to your counselor. 

Test Prep 

Come into the Career Center to check out a College Board SAT Prep book. These books were donated to us by the EQC, a committee of the Shorewood PTSA. You will check the book out just like a library book. Please do not write in it and return it in good condition. 

SAT Essay

Fewer and fewer schools require the SAT Essay. As of 7.14.2018, only 19 colleges, which includes 9 UC schools, require the essay, and that number is expected to drop. Consequently, we no longer uniformly recommend that all students pay extra for the essay portion. However, if you are taking the free School Day SAT, all students will take the SAT with Essay, so you will have an SAT Essay score from the free administration just in case you need the essay score later. 

See SAT Writing Requirements Compass Prep for a list of college policies. Almost all of the fewer than 20 institutions that require the essay are University of California schools. 

Also see why fewer colleges are requiring the essay, which also means that you need not fret if your essay score seems low compared to your section scores:  Pencils Down:  Major Colleges Stop Requiring the Essay for Admission  Washington Post 7.10.2018.

About the SAT