By: Adam Pascuzzi

If you plan on going to college, you might want to sign up for the SAT’S.  The SAT’s are necessary in order to get into any college. They consist of three sections: Critical reading, mathematics, and writing.

There have been some new changes to the SAT test. These changes will take effect sometime in spring this year. The score is now out of 1600, while the old test is was out of 2400. The new SAT test discontinued the ¼ penalty for wrong answers. Also, the essay portion is now optional and will be graded separately with the prompt remaining the same.

The new test should take about three hours, with the optional essay being an extra 50 minutes long. The test will be administered by print and computer. They are making these changes because they feel that the old test is too stressful for test takers and is not making them college-ready students. The Squire interviewed Dominick Giannini on what he thinks of the SAT test.

The Squire: What do you think about the SAT test?

Dominick: It is very long.

TS: What part do you think is the hardest of the SAT’s and why?

DG: The open-ended math section: there is an infinite amount of choices.

TS: What have you done to study for the test?

DG: I have done absolutely nothing to study for the test.

TS: What’s your advice to people who haven’t taken the test yet?

DG: Don’t stress over the test.

These tests are usually early in the morning, so make sure you get enough sleep and eat a good breakfast before going to take it. It is recommended to study for this test. There are many online sites that allow you to study beforehand and we offer semester long SAT prep courses here at Eisenhower. Since there is going to be a new test, many of these sites are free and available for you to take advantage of. Check out collegeboard.com for testing dates and locations.