University will accept old, new SATs

Prospective applicants to Princeton's Class of 2010 are gearing up for the revamped SAT's debut this weekend, though the University will accept math and verbal scores from both the old and the new versions this fall.

"For juniors, we will accept the highest verbal and the highest math scores, whether for the old or new test," Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye said. "But we will only look at the new SAT writing test, as that is the only place that the new writing score is available."

The new SAT will last almost four hours and will be scored out of a total of 2400 instead of 1600. The most prominent change is the addition of a 25-minute essay section, in which students are asked to write a short essay on a given topic.

The new test also eliminates the analogies in the verbal section and the quantitative comparisons in the math section. The math section will now test students on their higher math skills by including Algebra II in the curriculum.

Studies by the College Board have shown a strong correlation between the old and new math and verbal scores, allowing direct comparison between the two sets of scores, Rapelye said.

Rapelye said she considers the change in the SATs to be a good move.

"I'm glad that there will be a writing component, as that sends a message to schools about what we value — and we value good writing," she said.

The essay section in particular is creating apprehension among high school students.

"It's really weird because it has an essay section, and it doesn't feel like the SAT anymore," said Matt Shields, a junior at Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles, California. "It's added a lot of work because we have to write all these practice essays."

Some students are also worried about the lack of prior knowledge about the tests.

"Nobody really knows what to expect and we don't know what a good score is," said Maggie Burrows, also a junior at Harvard-Westlake. "I don't know how I'm going to do in comparison with other people."

The students, though, have many different opportunities to excel as a result of the non-standardized nature of standardized tests this year.

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"All of our students have decided that this is kind of a free-for-all year, so take every test you can since the schools will probably be willing to mix and match a bit," said Sharon Merrow Cuseo, Upper School Dean and College Counselor at Harvard-Westlake. "They feel like there may be an opportunity to do well in one, they'll take that."

Representatives from the Harvard and Yale admissions offices said that they will also be accepting both the old and new SAT scores for upcoming years.

The transition from the old to the new SAT is only expected to last a few years.

"Starting in March, the old one isn't going to be offered. So, really, this is only going to be something that is an issue for a year or two," Rapelye said.