1. Register online at The College Board’s website:
www.collegeboard.com.
2. Get the SAT Registration Bulletin from your high
school guidance office. The Bulletin contains a reg-
istration form and other important information
about the exam. If you are retaking the exam, you
can also register by phone at 800-SAT-SCORE.
H o w L o n g I s t h e S AT ? The SAT takes three hours and 45 minutes. In addition
to the testing time, you will get two or three five- to ten-
minute breaks between sections of the exam. You will
also spend up to an additional hour filling out forms.
Overall, you can expect to be at the testing location for
about four and a half hours.
W h a t I s Te s t e d o n t h e S AT ? The SAT has approximately 160 questions divided into
eight test sections:
■
three critical reading sections
■
two 25-minute sections
■
one 20-minute section
■
three math sections
■
two 25-minute sections
■
one 20-minute section
■
two writing sections
■
one 35-minute multiple-choice section
■
one 25-minute essay
Your scores on these eight sections make up your
SAT scores.
In addition to the core eight sections, there is one
unscored “variable,” or “equating,” section that the test
writers use to evaluate new questions before including
them on future SATs. Thus, you will actually complete
a total of nine sections on test day. But it will be impos-
sible for you to tell which section is the variable section:
It can be critical reading, multiple-choice writing, or
math, and it can appear in any place on the exam. So
although the variable section does not affect your SAT
score, you must treat each section as if it counts.
I n W h a t O r d e r A r e t h e S e c t i o n s Te s t e d ? The writing essay is always the first section of the SAT.
The multiple-choice writing section is always the last
section. The remaining sections can appear in any
order.
