SAT Goal Setting

On home soil in the US, SAT is like a rite of passage to tertiary education. In faraway Penang SAT is not nearly as widespread. As a SAT specialist here, my two cents’ worth is often sought in regard to the subject. In such instances, I tend to get carried away with long answers to short questions. As such, I shall blog on one that pops up all the time – SAT Goal Setting.

Like many endeavours in life, SAT goal setting is tied to a number of factors. Let’s start with the admission requirements of the colleges or universities. Needless to say, the idea is to achieve a score that meets or exceeds the minimum levels which are stipulated or indicated by them. There will be variations from one institution to another so SAT takers need to set their targets with that in mind.

Choosing schools entails a great deal of considerations: cost, geography, reputation, prestige, employment prospects and so forth. In as far as academics is concerned, the basis should go beyond the schools’ rankings. What the schools can offer in the particular programs or majors of your interest matters more than their public standings. In short, it’s the specific academic fit rather than the overall brand name that should count.

For sure, SAT goal setting and college selecting go hand in hand. Knowing one’s current SAT proficiency level and potential can make the process of one’s search for schools much more streamlined and targeted. The latter is also really dependent on the amount of prep time and efforts one is ready to commit to it. There’s no free lunch in going about SAT.

In essence, SAT goal setting should be holistically shaped and it’s a variable among different folks. In other words, there’s no standard score level or time schedule to follow. The objective is basically about aiming for a certain result in a methodical manner. At the end of the day, it’s ultimately up to the individual. Oh, there’s also SAT II – Subject Tests, but first things first.