The Scholastic Aptitude Test – SAT Hong Kong is the most often taken admission test by Hong Kong students who wish to attend US universities and colleges. The SAT began life as an IQ test but has undergone many changes and reforms since its beginning. The SAT is now known as the SAT Reasoning Test.

The SAT can be attempted by any person over 12 years of age who is planning on studying in the USA. The test is mostly undertaken by students in the last two years of their secondary education. For many students this is when they are currently studying the IB or the UK or Hong Kong A levels. The test may be attempted as many times as a student likes. The results from the test are sent to the universities and colleges as part of the application process. ITS can help students prepare for the test and can advise students on other aspects of their US University application.

The SAT Reasoning test is broken into 3 main parts. These are writing, critical reading and mathematics. Each section of the test is marked on a scale of 200 to 800 marks. The overall score is calculated by adding together the scores from each section of the course. The test takes approximately four hours to complete in total.

ITS supports both native English speakers and second language speakers studying for this test. For Chinese parents wishing to learn more about the courses that ITS can offer their children ITS provides a Chinese language section of their website. Information in Chinese can be found here 香港SAT課程與小班補習課程.

The logic behind the SAT test is that a combination of SAT scores and high school grades is a better indicator of students’ abilities than the school grades alone in showing the students’ potential to succeed at the tertiary level.

In recent times taking the ACT in Hong Kong has become much more popular than it once was. The ACT (originally known as the American College Testing Program but now is simply the ACT) is another standardized achievement examination for college admission in the United States. The ACT is also administered by the College Board. The test involves sections in English, Math, Reading, and Science reasoning and an optional section in writing. Some students who perform poorly on the SAT find that they perform better on the ACT and vice versa. ITS can provide support for students who wish to undertake this test in Hong Kong.