Tests for College Applications

After taking the decision to study in the US, you will have to get ready to take a few tests in order to apply for College.

The SAT is mandatory for anyone who would like to go to College in the US, any student (American or International) graduating from High School has to take that test to get admitted. As for the TOEFL or TOEIC, only International students have to take it to prove that their English is good enough to follow in class.

Here is a description of each test. Read it thoroughly and start training for the test as soon as possible!

SAT

The SAT is a recognized college admission test that shows colleges your knowledge of reading, writing and math. Most students take the SAT during their junior or senior year of high school, and almost all colleges and universities use the SAT to make admission decisions.

The SAT tests the skills you’re learning in school: reading, writing and math. Your knowledge and skills in these subjects are important for success in college.

It is a three-hour and 45 minute test. Only three hours and twenty minutes of the test count toward your score-- the experimental section is not scored. There are three sections in the test.

The critical reading section includes reading passages and sentence completions.

The writing section includes a short essay and multiple-choice questions on identifying errors and improving grammar and usage.

The mathematics section includes questions on arithmetic operations, algebra, geometry, statistics and probability.

Section	Type of Questions	Length
Critical Reading	19 Sentence Completions
	48 Reading Comprehension
	67 Total Questions	70 mins
Writing	49 Grammar
	1 Essay
	49 Total Questions + Essay	60 mins
Math	44 Multiple-choice
	10 Grid-ins
	54 Total Questions	70 mins
Experimental	Reading, Writing, or Math	25 mins

The experimental section, which is not scored, can be a reading section, a writing section, or a math section. You won't know which section is experimental. You will know which type of section it is, though, since there will be an extra one of that type.

The best way to get ready for the SAT is to study hard, read and write in and outside of the classroom and not to neglect Writing or Math (because they are sometimes ahead of us).

Here is a list of books that Sidwell Friends School recommends, reading them would only get you better prepared: http://www.sidwell.edu/upper-school/library/favorite-senior-books/index.aspx

It is also a good idea for you to start studying for it in 1ere and become familiar and comfortable with the test format and question types. The best SAT practice is the PSAT, which covers the same subjects under timed conditions. You can practice with prep books or online material.

Since each SAT section (Critical Reading, Writing, and Mathematics) is worth between 200 and 800 points, your SAT score can range anywhere from 600 to 2400. The average score for each section is roughly 500, so the average total score is about 1500, however every school requires a different score range.

There are 11 test centers in France but there aren’t many dates throughout the year. Here is the list of test centers with the dates they offer. 

Dates du test	01/10/11	05/11/11	03/12/11	28/01/12	05/05/12	02/06/12
Date limite d’inscription	09/09/11	07/10/11	08/11/11	30/12/11	06/04/12	08/05/12	Centres d'examen
	x	x	x	x	x	x	Aix en Provence,Int’l Bilingual School
						x	Colomiers, Int’l School of Toulouse
	x					x	Clermont Ferrand, Ecole Bilingue Int'le
	x		x	x			Lyon, Cité Scolaire Int’l de Lyon
	x	x	x	x	x	x	Nice, Int’l School of Nice
	x	x		x		x	Paris, EAB, Jeannine Manuel
			x			x	Paris, EAB International
	x	x		x	x		Rennes, School Year Abroad
	x	x	x	x	x	x	St. Cloud, American School of Paris
		x	x	x			Strasbourg,Accueil Universitaire
	x	x					Villeseque des Corbiere,Southern France Youth Institute

Upcoming dates for 2012-2013:

The SAT itself costs about $78, but there may be extra fee depending on the situation and requirements. 


The SAT Subject Test base fee is $51 +  $22 extra for Language Tests with listening tests (per test) and + $11(per test) for all other subjects.

http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/sat-reasoning/register/test-dates

TOEFL TEST

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a test that measures the ability of nonnative speakers of English to use and understand North American English as it is spoken, written and heard in universities. The test is required for international students by any US university or college, so it is mainly taken by people who are planning to study at colleges and universities where instruction is in English, but sometimes government agencies, scholarship programs, and licensing/certification agencies use TOEFL scores to evaluate English proficiency.

The test comes in two formats: paper-based (PBT) or computer-based (iBT). The iBT is the most common test today but it is not yet available at every test center (if it is though, you will have to do it. You can’t choose which one you’d prefer to take). You can take the test all year round at a test center in your country and you can register online at http://www.ets.org/bin/getprogram.cgi?test=toefl

The price for the test varies in each country, ranging from $160 to $240

The TOEFL test has four sections: reading, listening, speaking and writing.

-       The reading part includes 3 to 5 passages that have 12 to 14 questions each. There are three basic categories of academic texts:  Exposition, Argumentation and Historical biographical/event narrative. You will have 60 to 100 minutes to complete this section.

-       The listening part includes 4 to 6 lectures with 6 questions each and 2 or 3 conversations with 5 questions each. It will include academic lectures and long conversations in which the speech sounds very natural for basic and pragmatic comprehension as well as connecting and synthesizing information. You will have 60 to 90 minutes to complete this section

-       For the speaking section, you will be asked 6 tasks, 2 independent and 2 integrated and will have 20 minutes.

-       The writing part lasts 50 minutes and you will have 2 essays to write: one independent, one integrated.

The test is graded out of 120, minimum score requirement varies depending on Universities but it is usually around 80-90. Unlike the TOEIC test that has not limit of validity, the TOEFL exam is only valid for 2 years. After that, you will have to take it all over again if you are asked for your score.

You can practice online or buy a specialized book. Anyone who wants to take the test should practice and be aware of what the test will be like.

TOEIC

The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) is used by organizations to determine whether an employee is suitable for a particular task. It is a standardized, paper-and-pencil test given to non-native English speakers and the questions are based on real-life work settings in an international environment (meetings, travel, telephone conversations, etc).

The traditional TOEIC only tests two skills: Listening and Reading. However, a speaking and a writing part have been added. So technically, you should be prepared to showcase all four skills in English.

The Listening and Reading test is a paper and pencil test that takes 2.5 hours while the Speaking and Writing test is an online test that takes 90 minutes.

The listening section is divided in 4 parts:

-       The first part includes 10 photographs. For each photo you will hear four statements, only once, and you will have to choose the correct one.

-       In the second part you will first hear a statement or a question and then 3 possible answers. You will have to choose the correct answer. There will be 30 questions.

In these two sections all the statements, questions and answer are only spoken, nothing is written down

-       The third part includes 10 talks. You will hear a conversation between two people and you will then be asked 3 questions about the dialogue. The 3 questions should be written down. Not the conversation.

-       The 4^th part is similar to the third one but in this section idioms and vocabulary in context are tested extensively. You will hear 10 conversations between two people talking about office issues, or individuals giving a news report or other information and then be asked 3 questions. The possible answers will be printed out.

The Reading section is divided in 3 parts:

-       In the first part you will have 40 incomplete sentences, and you will have to choose the correct word or phrase to fill in the blank

-       The 2^nd part consists in reading 10 short texts with 4 underlined words or phrases each. One of these is incorrect or needs to be re-written

-       In the 3^rd part you will read some reading passages, each with 2-5 questions. For each question, you will need to choose the answer which you think fits best according to the text.

The Speaking test is to be taken online and you will have to do the following tasks: 

read a paragaraph aloud (tests pronunciation), describe a picture (tests vocabulary/grammar), respond to recorded questions (tests fluency/extended discourse), propose a solution and express an opinion. You will have 20 minutes.

The writing test is also an online test and will require that you: 

write sentences about pictures, Write an email response and Write an essay. You will have 60 minutes.

The TOEIC Reading and Listening gives a score between 10 and 990:

905 - 990 International Proficiency

785 – 900 Working Proficiency Plus

605 – 780 Limited Working Proficiency

405 – 600 Elementary Proficiency Plus

255 – 400 Elementary Proficiency

185 – 250 Memorised Proficiency

10 – 180 No Useful Proficiency

The Speaking and Writing gives a score between 0 and 400, and you'll also get a proficiency level. Anywhere from a 350-400 (or a level 8 or 9 proficiency) is considered excellent.

The cost for the TOEIC test may vary as fees are set by test centers but you can expect to pay around $85.

There are centers everywhere in France where you can take the test at least once a month (but they usually offer 2 dates per month), here is the list of test centers http://www.fr.toeic.eu/toeic/fr/toeic-test-centres/

You can register online.

Good luck and don’t waste any time!