SAT in under 48 hours!!

2014hopeful · 11-05-2009, 02:14 PM

Can anyone help? I'm taking the reasoning test(s) on Saturday but am starting to panic a little. I'm applying as an international student and with no guidance counsellors/anyone with even a vague understanding of the US college system in the small area in which I live, I have been studying for the test alone.

1. Is it common for international applicants to be matching the flawless scores of US high school students? Or do the admissions team tend to tolerate lower scores?

2. I have read that colleges look more closely at the CR and Math sections than any other; is this true? In particular, for Yale?

3. The main section I am worrying about is the CR section. All the extended vocabulary is so unusual

I have been using the College Board practice test mainly as I assumed that these would be the most appropriate. Do the tests themselves tend to fare a little easier than the practices??... this seems to be the case more often than not over here so I suppose this is really just wishful thinking

Thanks all! x

Eiffel · 11-05-2009, 04:13 PM

Well, for your last question, I'm not 100% sure but before I took the SAT for the first time, I took the collegeboard practice test and got a 510 on math section. But the VERY next day (without any further studying after the practice test) when I took the SAT, I got a 600. So it's quite possible the real tests are easier than the practice. But I really wouldn't be sure, and actually, I'd love if someone else could verify or negate the claim since I'm too retaking the SAT on Saturday and would like to know.

christiansoldier · 11-05-2009, 08:30 PM

Actually, colleges like Yale expect higher scores from internationals than US students. I understand that the test might be more difficult for you, especially if English is not your first language. However, Yale's education is all in English (except of course the foreign language departments), and they will actually be looking at your scores even harder to make sure your reading and writing in English is exceptional even among native speakers. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's harder in every way for international students to get in.