Took my first SAT today

[Bosco123]

What a horrible test. None of the problems were hard, but the test was so long. 10 sections of hell to go trough. Any of you young guys like me want to share the experience with me?

[E25280]

Been decades since I took those tests, but I found the ACT much more challenging than the SAT.  This is despite the fact I was well "studied" for the ACT, while I took the SAT on 3 hours sleep with no preparation at all (only to see if I could possibly qualify for an SAT-score-based scholarship). 

Sounds like the SAT hasn't changed.

[sluggish]

I never took one (community college is still college).  I heard the test is set up to score minorities lower.

[Getback]

What a horrible test. None of the problems were hard, but the test was so long. 10 sections of hell to go trough. Any of you young guys like me want to share the experience with me?

Hope it went well Bosco. My daughter took the SAT and did quite well. In the upper 1200's.

Many years ago I took the ACT and did well. I out scored my ex-wife who was a Straight A student in highschool. She hated that since I was a c- student at my highschool. She never let me forget it either.

[Denholm]

I took it. Was the only guy in the classroom with a pencil sharpener.

[Bosco123]

Hope it went well Bosco. My daughter took the SAT and did quite well. In the upper 1200's.

Many years ago I took the ACT and did well. I out scored my ex-wife who was a Straight A student in highschool. She hated that since I was a c- student at my highschool. She never let me forget it either.

That's pretty good. Really, the one thing I want is an ROTC scholorship to get into college, and to get qualified I need at least a 900 on it. To be high up there thoug, you need at least a 1100.

[Getback]

That's pretty good. Really, the one thing I want is an ROTC scholorship to get into college, and to get qualified I need at least a 900 on it. To be high up there thoug, you need at least a 1100.

My daughter got a full Scholarship to a private college. She was also Valedictorian of her highschool and Suma Cum laude of her College. My ex-wife said she got it from her side of the family. I told her I noticed that my genetics didn't interfere.

[AKHog]

I scored 1260 on the SAT and had a 3.6 GPA with high level science and math classes, and was never offered anything close to a scholarship.

I think the closest thing I got was about $500 for my first semester for books. Like any good college kid I ended up buying used books online and blowing the leftover money on booze.

I didn't last long... after my first year I had $35k in student loans and was looking at graduating with about $140k total debt.

My advice:

• Don't rely on financial help.
• Don't think that your test scores or high school grades mean anything.
• Don't think you need to go to a fancy school, for all of the jobs out that that require a degree, 99% of them don't care where you got it.
• Keep a very strict budget from the beginning.
• Eat cheap food, rent a crappy apartment, buy used books from the very beginning, even if you start with money in the bank.
• Learn how to have fun without spending money.
• Get a part time job, even 1 day a week.
• Don't get talked into taking too many credits, especially for the first year.
• Don't ever believe school counselors, high school or college.
• Don't expect to get a degree in 4 years, many school say expect at least 4.5-5.
• Pick a cheap school for the first few years like a community college.
• Transfer into a state school or university with all of your basic credits taken care of.

Going to a fancy school right away is just blowing your (or your parent's) money. You don't need to spend $500+/credit hour for basic classes. Most states have programs where you can go to a community college for 2 years and transfer 100% of the credits into a 4 year university program. Its never too early to start, either. For example my sister got into a program in her high school that allowed her to get credit for community collage courses. This spring she will graduate high school AND get a 2 years associates degree at the same time, and if she keeps it up she'll have a 4 year degree from a state school before she is 20 years old. She'll be able to keep going to school for an advanced degree or start a career job before most people move out of their parents basement. She is WAY ahead of me and she didn't even make 1000 on the SAT's and has about a 3.0 GPA.

Test scores and grades don't mean squat, college is about hard work, experience, and learning how to learn. Once you get your degree nobody will ever ask you again about your grades or test scores, so don't worry about them now.

[Denholm]

...Once you get your degree nobody will ever ask you again about your grades or test scores, so don't worry about them now.

I can't agree with you there. I believe one will have a better time in college if they know how to study, pay attention, and balance work. Otherwise one might look at college as a dungeon designed to test your ability to remember what your instructors asked you to do for homework.

[SmokinLoon]

I never took one (community college is still college).  I heard the test is set up to score minorities lower.

LOL?  Sarcastic or not, this is funny. LOL   

[Getback]

I scored 1260 on the SAT and had a 3.6 GPA with high level science and math classes, and was never offered anything close to a scholarship.

I think the closest thing I got was about $500 for my first semester for books. Like any good college kid I ended up buying used books online and blowing the leftover money on booze.

I didn't last long... after my first year I had $35k in student loans and was looking at graduating with about $140k total debt.

My advice:

• Don't rely on financial help.
• Don't think that your test scores or high school grades mean anything.
• Don't think you need to go to a fancy school, for all of the jobs out that that require a degree, 99% of them don't care where you got it.
• Keep a very strict budget from the beginning.
• Eat cheap food, rent a crappy apartment, buy used books from the very beginning, even if you start with money in the bank.
• Learn how to have fun without spending money.
• Get a part time job, even 1 day a week.
• Don't get talked into taking too many credits, especially for the first year.
• Don't ever believe school counselors, high school or college.
• Don't expect to get a degree in 4 years, many school say expect at least 4.5-5.
• Pick a cheap school for the first few years like a community college.
• Transfer into a state school or university with all of your basic credits taken care of.

Going to a fancy school right away is just blowing your (or your parent's) money. You don't need to spend $500+/credit hour for basic classes. Most states have programs where you can go to a community college for 2 years and transfer 100% of the credits into a 4 year university program. Its never too early to start, either. For example my sister got into a program in her high school that allowed her to get credit for community collage courses. This spring she will graduate high school AND get a 2 years associates degree at the same time, and if she keeps it up she'll have a 4 year degree from a state school before she is 20 years old. She'll be able to keep going to school for an advanced degree or start a career job before most people move out of their parents basement. She is WAY ahead of me and she didn't even make 1000 on the SAT's and has about a 3.0 GPA.

Test scores and grades don't mean squat, college is about hard work, experience, and learning how to learn. Once you get your degree nobody will ever ask you again about your grades or test scores, so don't worry about them now.

Uh, going to a upscale school makes a huge difference. My Daughter graduated from Cornell. When she interviewed the companies flew her all over the country. However, realistically most cannot afford it and no education is a waste. Hard work and determination will yield results no matter where you are.

[AKHog]

I can't agree with you there. I believe one will have a better time in college if they know how to study, pay attention, and balance work. Otherwise one might look at college as a dungeon designed to test your ability to remember what your instructors asked you to do for homework.

When was the last time you were asked what your high school or college grades were in a job interview?

Once you get the degree, thats all that matters.

[AKHog]

Uh, going to a upscale school makes a huge difference. My Daughter graduated from Cornell. When she interviewed the companies flew her all over the country. However, realistically most cannot afford it and no education is a waste. Hard work and determination will yield results no matter where you are.

Yea but my point is all that matters is the final degree. She could have gone to a community college and got probably half of her required credits, then transfered to Cornell or wherever she wanted to go to finish the degree. The end result is exactly the same, but this way would have saved her thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.

Once she has the degree from Cornell, nobody is going to question where she earned every single credit. And for that matter, she'll likely never be asked about her grades or to even see the actual degree she earned.

[eagl]

I took the SAT three times by the time I started 11th grade.  On the third try I got a 1390 and figured that was good enough (660 verbal 730 math).  I found out later I should have taken it one more time, since 1400 was considered a magic cutoff point statistically. 

I took the PSAT once and the ACT once.

[AKHog]

A kid in my graduating class got 1600 on the SAT's along with a 4.0 GPA and just about every honor/advanced class offered. He turned down a full scholarship from Stanford and chose to go to Harvard with no financial help (other than from his parents of course).

I guess wealthy people just make completely different (illogical to the rest of us) decisions when money is no longer a factor.