The SAT is offered seven times per year, giving students a chance to take it more than once to try to improve their scores. The PSAT is usually offered once or twice per year and most students take it in October of their junior year. Colleges use SAT scores during the admissions process to help make decisions about which students to accept. The PSAT, on the other hand, is a practice run for the SAT and colleges do not use scores from the PSAT. The PSAT can be important in its own right, however, because students can qualify for a National Merit Scholarship if they achieve a good score on the PSAT.
The SAT runs for three hours and 45 minutes and consists of three sections: reading, math and writing. Reading includes one 20-minute section and two 25-minute sections for a total of 67 questions, of which 48 are multiple choice questions and 19 are sentence completions. Math includes one 20-minute section and two 25-minute sections. Math consists of 54 questions total, of which 44 are multiple choice and 10 are grid-in questions. The writing section includes one 10-minute essay, one 25-minute essay and one 25-minute section. There are 49 multiple choice questions that test grammar, usage and word choice. The PSAT is a shorter version of the SAT and runs for two hours and 10 minutes. The reading portion consists of two 25-minute sections; the math portion consists of two 25-minute sections; and the writing section is a single 30-minute section. Unlike on the SAT, the PSAT does not include an essay as part of the writing section.
The SAT uses a scoring system from 200 to 800 for each of the three tests for a possible maximum total of 2400. The national average is roughly 500 for each section. The PSAT uses a similar scoring system but each section ranges from 20 to 80 points.
Some colleges require that students take a subject test in addition to the standard SAT. More selective colleges want to see students take at least one SAT Subject Test. Tests are available in math, history, literature, foreign language and in the physical sciences. These hour-long tests are multiple-choice only. They can be taken at any time and do not need to be taken on the same day as the standard SAT. The PSAT does not offer practice subject tests as part of the test.