<p>Titles says it all. I'm going to be taking it for the first time next semester, and I want to know what kind of stuff to expect.</p>
<p>Algebra I would say is the key skill. Also geometry, coordinate geometry, some probablility. Get any prep book and they will summarize the question types. </p>
<p>You probably already have most of the math concepts you will need. A lot of the SAT is learning to use some techniques to get answers quickly and minimize your mistakes.</p>
<p>Alg I, Geom, and 6-8 questions from Alg II. (No trig.)</p>
<p>do they provide a majority of the needed formulas, or will you need to memorize them?</p>
<p>They do provide some basic geometry formulas at the beginning of the math sections, but if you already know them, you won’t waste time looking back at them during the test. Go to the College Board website and sign up for the SAT question of the day. Then you can see what types of questions they ask. Some of the questions are even PRE-Algebra. Many are more like brain-teasers. They do not involve higher math–you just need to use logic to figure them out. They are testing how “clever” you are, not how much math you know. Almost all of the questions that look complicated have shortcuts for solving them. But you need to recognize the shortcuts. There are certain concepts that you need to know, and these are covered in study guides that you can buy for about $20 and do at home. Get the College Board’s Official Guide to the SAT (“blue book”) and go through the workbook section and do the practice tests. There many other test prep books (I recommend Kaplan) that are helpful and offer even more practice tests. If you go through these books, you will be well-prepared.</p>
<p>Why don’t you find a practice one and do it?</p>