***March 2016 SAT (US Only) Thread*** |New Redesigned SAT Discussion Thread

@profdad2021 It’s probably a link to copyrighted material that is banned from this forum. If not, then you might have to email the owner to request permission to access the document.

Let’s keep in mind, as always, that we are not allowed to share actual questions or other test content on this forum. But talking about our scores and percentiles is completely fine.

Also, for @3rdgen and other students who might be intimidated by reading the scores and percentiles on this thread: remember that students who did well on the SAT are much more likely to share their scores than are those who didn’t perform as well. Not everyone got a 1400+.

We are also taking people at their word here. High school students (and their parents!) have been known to fib about SAT scores, the list of colleges to which they have applied and secured admission, merit and athletic scholarships awarded, grants and financial aid, etc… I assume that most people on this forum are honest (with anonymity there is no reason not be honest), but I also assume that others aren’t entirely so truthful, because that’s just how some people are.

Bottom line: yes, you could do better, and yes, both SAT scores and SAT percentiles have been inflated for the new SAT, which means that a 1260/1600 isn’t quite what it used to be. But a 1260 is still far better than average. And the lower your initial SAT score is, the more room you have for improvement.

I only missed 3 on reading. Read actively. Get into it, and have fun with the passages. Underline the passages to help you pay attention. Skim through the questions asked to look for the main idea/general questions. I usually answer these first.

@ZBlue17 How do you make yourself enjoy passages that are boring? This is mainly cuz I usually do good on Science related passages because they’re interesting while not too good on historical ones cuz they often bore me out, not saying that all of them do, but some do.

@YoohooAddict I personally enjoy reading, so it might be easier for me. I make myself enjoy it by reading actively (underlining) and making connections while reading. I think enjoying what I’m reading helps with comprehension

Anybody know if there is a discussion for the April School Day SAT.

I got a 1410: 720 math, 690 reading, and on the essay I got a 5|5|5, which is weirdly low. I need to lift the math score–and probably reading too–for Carnegie Mellon SCS, but overall I’m pretty happy with what I got.

When are May SAT results coming out ? heard was little bit easy than March one

@cvanderloo Nice score! Plenty of students struggled with the new essay format.

Most colleges (and nearly all of the best colleges) do require the essay, so it’s wise to take the SAT with essay at least once, but for those of you who really struggle with it, it’s important to note that the new SAT is now essay-optional, and that many other schools will accept your SAT scores without the essay (same goes for the ACT).

I would say that the keys to scoring well on the new SAT essay are understanding what’s expected in the new format, writing at least 2-3 official practice essays beforehand, and making full use of the 50 minutes allotted.

Does anybody know if we can view the actual questions we got wrong?

Oh, and don’t forget to read the sample perfect-score essays in the Official SAT Study Guide, 2016 Edition (pages 214-200). They are listed in the book as “4/4/4” essays, but they are in fact perfect-score essays of 8/8/8, because each essay is read by two readers, and thus is effectively scored from 2-8 in each area.

The scoring system is a bit esoteric. Two graders from 1-4 in 3 areas (Reading, Analysis, Writing) means that the composite (all scores added together) essay score ranges from a low of 6 to a high of 24. Your composite score of 15/24 leaves plenty of room for improvement, yes, but is probably a roughly average essay score, seeing that the mean (average) of 6 and 24 is exactly 15, and that the mean of 2 and 8 is 5.

We don’t have any percentiles at the moment, but I believe this to be a reasonable conclusion. Think of the sub-scores this way:

2 = Bad
3 = Poor
4 = Below Average
5 = Average
6 = Above Average
7 = Very Good
8 = Excellent

@orangeandgreen No you can’t view the questions you missed unless you ordered the Q and A service, in which case they’ll send you the questions and answers 6-8 weeks from now.

@Mimic17 They will be available to you starting June 15th as per the college board website.

hey @lorigood, even though I didn’t take the April school day sat, I took the the March, may, psat, and all practice exams. March was DEFINITELY the hardest. I thought the May one was the easiest of all maybe because I practiced a lot. hopefully the June test will bring us good results!

Really? Was March the hardest and May the easiest? Why did I take the March and not the May test? This is so stupid

So already 1 school thinks SAT scores for the new SAT are lower than old SAT. School is Texas A&M. They are treating a 1300 old SAT as equivalent to a 1270 new SAT.

@cvanderloo Some users have taken issue with my characterization that “most colleges” require the SAT essay.

What I meant was “most of the top 50 colleges.”

For more information, check out this document from the College Board that lists SAT essay policies by university: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/professionals/sat-score-use-practices-participating-institutions.pdf

@itsgettingreal17, would you by any chance have a link for that? I’d love to check it out, and Google was unhelpful. Thanks a lot.

“So already 1 school thinks SAT scores for the new SAT are lower than old SAT. School is Texas A&M. They are treating a 1300 old SAT as equivalent to a 1270 new SAT.”

tsgettingreal17, where did you hear that? If that is true, that’s very insightful!