<p>I am much more comfortable writing with these pencils (Paper-Mate</a> Sharp Writer Twist Pencil, HB No. 2 (0.7 mm) , 5 Pencils) and they are #2 lead and HB. I figured I could use them on the SAT, but called up college board to make sure, to which they said I could not use a mechanical pencil. Does anyone have any experience using them on the SAT?</p>
<p>I’ve used them on state standardized exams…no problems.</p>
<p>You can’t use mechanical pencils on the SAT. See:
[SAT</a> Reasoning Test - Tips for Your Students](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/sat-reasoning/test-day/tips]SAT”>On SAT Test Day – SAT Suite | College Board)
and look under the heading “What to bring to the test center”</p>
<p>I share your feeling that the mechanical pencils are more comfortable to use, especially for the essay. However, they are prohibited, not because the marks cannot be read, but [apparently] because someone once came to an SAT center with a camera inside a mechanical pencil, to take pictures of the exam questions.</p>
<p>I agree that mechanical pencils are preferable. However, rules are rules and it isn’t really worth it. What I did was I bought a pack of 12 wooden pencils, sharpened all of them, and brought it in with a rubber band. For the essay, I just kept switching out pencils so that I always had a sharp one. For the bubbles, it’s actually better to have dull, wooden pencils since they fill in just a bit faster.</p>
<p>Actually, I brought in 16 pencils and two erasers to the SAT. Yeah…</p>
<p>Actually, there really isn’t a rule on this. I used mechanical pencils. My proctor said that although it isn’t recommended, you can use them. The reason for this is that they tend to rip the pages in the test booklet, which are thin and printed cheaply.</p>
<p>Well, the official SAT site that I linked above says “no pens or mechanical pencils” in bold-face type. If you are going to take a mechanical pencil, you probably ought to take some regular ones in case you have a different type of proctor. What does the information that you get with registration say about it?</p>
<p>Mechanical pencils aren’t allowed, but it’s not a rule that’s strictly enforced. Take from that what you will. I have a special bag of number two woodens simply for standarized testing.</p>
<p>@toystoryfan</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s not true at all. Between the website, the admission ticket, the instructions read by the proctor, and the instructions written on the test booklet and answer sheet, I was told at least 20 times that mechanical pencils are not permitted. Scanning the classroom of 20 test-takers, I could see that nobody was using an obviously mechanical pencil. From what I understand, some (if not many) proctors don’t care about mechanical pencils, including my high school’s six guidance counselors who administered the PSAT in October, but I’m sure there are plenty with a sour disposition who wouldn’t hesitate to confiscate your pencils or even threaten to cancel your scores. If I were to retake the test, I would use a mechanical pencil (one that isn’t ostentatious in color or shape, preferably) for the essay, but moderately sharp wooden pencils for the MC; it’s not worth the risk, just to fill in bubbles.</p>
<p>The rules technically say that you cannot mark on your answer sheet with a mechanical pencil so you could do your work in the test booklet with a mechanical one. But they really aren’t going to know if you used one and if your proctor doesn’t care use it.</p>
<p>It depends on the proctor. A girl in my testing room used a mechanical pencil. It doesn’t affect the essay grading at all; I’m not sure about the multiple choice part though.</p>
<p>personally, i used a mechanical pencil for the essay just because i was comfortable with using one. but for the mc i stuck with a number 2 pencil because i didn’t want to risk it with the scantrons… but i am pretty sure people would have used their mechanical pencils throughout the whole test and would have done fine without jeopardizing their scoress…</p>