The SAT test is used to evaluate a candidate’s critical thinking and problem solving skills which would help to measure their overall ability and potential to undertake the bachelor level study program.

SAT is a compulsory test to secure admission in any undergraduate program of any college of USA. This test is developed, managed and administered by College Entrance Examination Board, based in USA. SAT is prepared and scored by the Educational Testing Service. It is an approximately 4 hour long test. There are two types of SAT tests namely, SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject Tests.

Name of the Test	Components of the Test	Duration
SAT Reasoning Test	Verbal, Mathematical and Reasoning skills	3 hours, 20 minutes
SAT Subject Tests	Assesses knowledge of a specific subject	1 hour

SAT Test Format

Section	Type of Questions	Score	Time
Critical Reading	Sentence completions, reading comprehension, and paragraph-length critical reading	200-800	70 minutes (25 +25+20 minutes)
Writing	Grammar, usage, and word choice ( multiple choice and student written essay)	200-800	60 minutes (25+25+10 minutes)
Mathematics	Algebra and functions; statistics, probability, and data analysis; number and operations; geometry	200-800	70 minutes (25 +25+20 minutes)

SAT Subject Test Format

SAT subject test can be divided into 5 general areas – English, History and Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, and Languages. A college may require one or more of the subject tests for the purpose of admission and placement. SAT subject test consists of multiple choice questions. It should be noted that there are some subjects for which questions are asked in a unique pattern.

SAT Eligibility Criteria

There are no eligibility criteria for SAT. You can take it during your Class XI or even after the XII boards. Just keep your college application deadlines in mind as admission decisions are largely dependent on SAT scores (along with GPA, transcript, recommendations, etc.).

SAT Test Fees

Test	Format
SAT Reasoning Test	$43
Writing	Grammar, usage, and word choice ( multiple choice and student written essay)
SAT Subject Tests Basic registration fee Language Tests with Listening (add to basic registration fee)	$20 add $20
All other Subject Tests (add per test to basic registration fee)	add $8

Tips and Strategies for Clearing SAT

The mere thought of cracking the SAT test can be never wrecking for most of the students. However, the test itself is no rocket science. Mentioned below are a few simple guidelines that can help you attain a good SAT score.

• It is essential to start studying well in time for the SAT test. You should consider studying at least 4 months before the SAT exam
• SAT has various questions to test diction and reading comprehension skills in the verbal section. Reading newspapers, novels, watching English movies will prove to be quite beneficial. Make sure to check the dictionary for unfamiliar words
• You should try to incorporate the new learned words in your every day usage
• It is advisable to make a note of every word that you learn along with its meaning in a small diary. Make sentences with those words so as to comprehend their usage better. Keep this diary handy and scan through the pages whenever you get time
• It’s a good idea to learn groups of words in multiples. Learn prefixes, suffixes and root meanings. Take for example the prefix “ex”. It means out or away. Now think of similar words such as exterior, exit, extrinsic or extrapolate. You can easily guess that extrinsic means external to as it is another ex word
• It is important to hone your writing skills for the writing section in the SAT test. The easiest and most reliable way is to maintain a journal
• It is important to work on logic puzzles. SAT is known to test logical reasoning skills of a candidate. You can easily purchase logic puzzle books from bookstores and practice on an everyday basis
• During the course of your SAT preparation if you use calculator frequently, feel free to take the calculator to the exam. However, students who are not well versed with the use of calculator will gain little from its use during the exam

Study the previous SAT test papers well now! The time to learn the test directions is before the paper and not during the paper. Every minute spend reading the instructions is a minute less for solving the answers

Dates and Deadlines

SAT is administered 7 times a year for students in U.S., Puerto Rico, and U.S. Territories. But, for overseas students, the SAT is offered only 6 times each calendar year on designated dates. Dates for 2008-09 are given below:

2008 - 2009 Test Dates	Test	US Registration - Regular	US Registration - Late (a fee applies)	Early (International only)	Regular (International only)
October 4, 2008	SAT & Subject Tests	September 9, 2008	September 16, 2008	August 26, 2008	September 9, 2008
November 1, 2008	SAT & Subject Tests	September 26, 2008	October 10, 2008	September 10, 2008	September 26, 2008
December 6, 2008	SAT & Subject Tests	November 5, 2008	November 18, 2008	October 15, 2008	November 5, 2008
January 24, 2009	SAT & Subject Tests	December 26, 2008	January 6, 2009	December 3, 2008	December 26, 2008
March 14, 2009	SAT only	February 10, 2009	February 24, 2009	N/A	N/A
May 2, 2009	SAT & Subject Tests	March 31, 2009	April 9, 2009	March 11, 2009	March 31, 2009
June 6, 2009	SAT & Subject Tests	May 5, 2009	May 15, 2009	April 15, 2009	May 5, 2009

TOEFL DETAILS

The TOEFL test is the most widely accepted test to evaluate your English-language skills. This test can help you get admission in most of the colleges/universities across the globe.

The TOEFL test is administered by the US-based "Educational Testing Service" (ETS). ETS sets the questions, conducts the test, and sends each examinee the score report. You can take the TOEFL test in either of the two formats; Internet-based test (iBT) or Paper-based test (PBT). The format you take depends on your test center location.

TOEFL Test Format: Internet Based Test

The duration of the test is 4½ hours. It tests your English speaking, listening and comprehending, reading, and writing skills. You can also take notes during the test.

Section	Type of Question	No. of Question	Duration
Reading	3-5 passages; approximately 700 words long; 12-14 questions per passage.	36-70	60-100 minutes
Listening	4-6 lectures, some with classroom discussion; each 3-5 minutes long; 6 questions each. 2-3 conversations; each 3 minutes long; 5 questions each.	34-51	60-90 minutes
Speaking	2 tasks to express an opinion on a familiar topic; 4 tasks to speak based on what is read and listened to.	6 tasks	20 minutes
Writing	1 task to write based on what is read and listened to; 1 task to support an opinion on a topic.	2 tasks	50 minutes
Total score	-	-	-

Test Score

Scores are posted online and mailed approximately 15 business days after your test date. The iBT version of the TOEFL test is scored on a scale of 0 to 120 points and a good score is 90+.

TOEFL Test Format: Paper Based Test

he duration of the test is approximately 3½ hours. It measures your listening, structure (grammar), reading and writing skills. It is a paper based test (using paper and pencil) and you can take it 6 times a year at test centers where TOEFL iBT is not available.

Section	No. of Question	Approx. time	Score Range
Listening Comprehension	50	30-40 minutes	31 to 68
Structure and Written Expression	40	25 minutes	31 to 68
Reading Comprehension	50	55 minutes	31 to 67
Writing (Test of written English)	1 topic	30 minutes	-
Totel	-	-	-

• Listening Comprehension tests your ability to understand North American English.
• Structure and Written Expression tests your ability to identify language that is appropriate for standard written English.
• Reading Comprehension tests your ability to understand non-technical reading material.

TOEFL Test Score

• Scores are mailed to the student as well as to the selected institutions after 5 weeks from the test date. The final PBT score ranges between 310 and 677. Unlike the iBT, the score of the Writing section (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not part of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6 points and a good score is 4+.

Validity of TOEFL scores

The TOEFL score is valid for two years. Colleges and universities usually consider only the most recent score

Tips and Strategies

• Aspiring applicants can undertake an English language training program which will emphasize on communication using all 4 skills as well as provide integrated knowledge pertaining to reading, listening, writing and speaking.
• In order to improve your reading skills you can depend on internet or consider reading lot of books and even newspapers
• While reading scan for information and highlight the key points which are ideally 5 W’s and 1 H i.e. who, what, why, where, when and how. Practice this frequently to increase your speed and become habitual of this exercise
• Increase your diction by learning new words every day and make an attempt at sentence formation using the new learned words
• Try to time yourself using a clock watch. Instead of reading the entire passage with concentration try to skim through the entire passage looking for essential facts
• Build a habit of drawing conclusions and making inferences depending upon the meaning of the passage as a whole
• In order to enhance the listening skills you can watch movies and television
• Additionally, it is also a great idea to listen frequently to a wide spectrum of different types of material in numerous subject areas. Different websites such as www.npr.org and www.bbc.co.uk/radio will help you to grow accustomed to listening to varied accents
• Practice pronunciation, focusing on word stress, pauses and intonation patterns
• Work extensively on tenses so as to ensure correct sentence formation
• Learn to write in an organized and coherent manner by identifying one core idea and other points to support that idea before beginning with the essay
• Study the principles of spelling, punctuation, and layout

TOEFL Registration

You can register for the TOEFL online or by phone or post and make the payment through your credit card or through the bank draft.

TOEFL Test Fees

TOEFL Test Fees: Internet Based Test

Item	Fee
Registration	US$ 150
Late registration	US$ 25
Rescheduling	US$ 50
Reinstatement of canceled TOEFL iBT scores	US$ 20
Additional score reports (per institution or agency)	US$ 17 each
TOEFL iBT Speaking or Writing Section rescore	US$ 60
TOEFL iBT Speaking and Writing Section rescore	US$ 120
Returned personal check (paper or electronic)	US$ 20

TOEFL Test Fees: Paper Based Test

Item	Fee
Registration	US$ 140
Additional score reports (per recipient)	US$ 17 each
TOEFL PBT answer sheet rescore	US$ 25
Test of Written English (TWE) essay rescore	US$ 50
Returned personal check	US$ 20

Dates and Deadlines

The TOEFL takes place all round the year. It is administered from Monday to Friday, twice a day.

TOEFL IBT TEST DATES & PLACE

 

India

New Delhi

Internet-based Test

Sat., Jul 25, 2009 Sun., Aug 30, 2009 Sat., Sep 26, 2009 Sat., Oct 10, 2009 Sun., Oct 18, 200