The SAT is a standardized test that is used as an assessment for college, and almost all teenagers who want to further their education are faced with the task of taking them.

“They are one of several things that colleges look at when determining if they want to offer admission to the student,” Mr. Christopher Bennett said. Although acceptance isn’t solely based on SAT scores, most colleges in the U.S. require applicants to take this test.

There are three sections to the SAT: critical reading, mathematics and writing. Writing is a newer addition to the test, but not all colleges count the score received on the writing portion. Each section of the test is worth up to a total of 800 points, combined together to receive a total of 2400 for a perfect score.

Recently, Senior Jacob Beckey received a very high score on the SAT. The first time taking the test, Beckey earned an 1820 overall. The second time taking the test, Beckey increased his score by 310 points, obtaining a score of 2130: 630 in writing, 700 in mathematics and a perfect 800 in critical reading.

“To prepare for the SATs, I used four resources: Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org), the College Board’s Official SAT Study Guide, Sparknotes and finally the College Board’s SAT Question of the Day app,” Beckey said. There are also many other options available to help prepare for the SATs.

“[It] would do [students] well to practice with full length SAT exams to learn the pacing of the test. Remember the test is four and a half hours long,” Bennett said.

“I invested roughly 100 hours into preparing for the exam,” Beckey said. College Board’s Official Study Guide has ten practice tests in it. He would take a practice test and then grade to see what areas needed the most work.

“I would then spend roughly 15-20 hours over three to four weeks using the above mentioned resources to improve my performance. After preparing for roughly a month, I would take another full length test and repeat the entire process.”

Not all people would put this much time and effort into preparing for the SAT test, but even one question a day can really help improve someone’s score.

“Every single day for nearly a year, I did the SAT question of the day,” Beckey said.

The SAT has three different types of questions: fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice and a short essay. If the fill-in-the-blank questions are answered incorrectly, no points are deducted.

For every correct answer on a multiple choice question, the test taker receives one point, but for every wrong answer, one quarter of a point is deducted from the score. If the test taker chooses to leave a question blank, no points are given or deducted from the score.

Essays are scored and can receive a maximum of 12 points. It’s possible to receive a zero on an essay, but if you try and write about the required topic, you will receive a minimum of two points.

“Keep this in mind: working 100 hours at minimum wage would, after taxes, earn you roughly 700 dollars; however, preparing for the SAT for 100 hours could result in academic scholarships of $30,000 or more,” Beckey said. Earning a high score on the SAT can, not only help someone get into a great college, but give many opportunities for scholarships.

“It is absolutely possible to get a perfect 2400 on the exam. Do not sell yourself short, because with practice anyone can improve their scores,” Beckey said.