Even though you’re living abroad, you may want your children to go to college in the States. If so, they’ll have to take a SAT test.

SAT tests have changed though, and as announced last year, the new digital SAT has now launched for international students a year before it launches for US -based college applicants.

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What are SAT exams?

SAT stands for the Scholastic Assessment test. It is the entrance exam for all US colleges and universities. The system is administered by the College Board, which is a federally administered governmental organization formed in 1899 so that each college didn’t have to create its own exam.

The first SAT tests were taken in 1901, but the format has changed substantially since.

What’s changed in 2023?

The College board decided to modernize the test, and has introduced a number of significant changes.

Primarily, the new SATs are taken online rather than on paper. This change has many advantages, including allowing results to be processed faster, and allowing the difficulty of the second stage of the test to be adapted depending on performance in the first stage.

Dominique Padurano, the President and Head Coach at Crimson Coaching LLC, points out that “the primary disadvantage -- at least for right now -- is the relative scarcity of preparatory materials.  More than ever, getting an experienced test prep coach will be key for students who will need to strategically plan out how they can best utilize the few materials out there in order to maximize their scores.” 

The other significant change is that the test time is being reduced from 3 hours to 2 hours and 14 minutes.

You can take your test on a computer in a testing center and use a calculator in the new SATs. While you could use a calculator before on half of the math test, Dominique Padurano of Crimson Coaching notes that during the digital SAT practice exam she took, calculators were NOT provided. Instead, they were part of the app called Bluebook and took a bit getting used to. 

The new SATs are scored out of 1600 still, as they were previously.

How can your kids sit the new digital SAT?

Expat children can sit the new digital SAT in most countries around the world. The College Board has an online tool that lets you search for your nearest test center.

When you’ve found a test center, you should enroll for the test before the registration deadline. There are three test dates each year for the following academic year, in March, May, and June, with corresponding enrollment deadlines in February, April, and May.

You will also have to pay the international test fees.

Your kids can prepare for the new digital SATs using the study resources and practice tests provided by the College Board and Khan Academy.

Dominique Padurano of Crimson Coaching would like to invite anyone interested to her free March 8th webinar offered in conjunction with American Citizens Abroad, “The Digital SAT: What’s New and How to Prepare”.  You may click here to register.