Standardized tests

Given that there are many applicants to colleges, scholarships, etc and all of them come from different backgrounds, there must be some sort of test across the board that everyone takes to gauge an applicants ability relative to everyone else. That is the purpose of standardized tests – everyone takes the same test and they are measured by the same criteria.

By and large, we are not foreign to the concept of standardized testing. PSLE is one example of a standardized test (locally), O and A levels are other examples of such tests. However, the one that you would be most concerned about would probably be the following:

1. Advanced Placements (APs): The American equivalent of the A levels, except that it is not compulsory for them and it is used primarily to skip courses in college rather than for college admissions. Nonetheless, as with any other factor in your portfolio, good AP results will help towards college admissions as it indicates an academic rigour and shows that one is able to handle the demands of college academics.

For the APs, the school will do the registrations for you for most math and science subjects, so there isn’t really any work that you need to do other than study and do well on the APs. Our school curriculum is much more rigorous than that of the APs and you should not have any problems getting a 5.

How does one prepare for it then? I am a stickler for cost-effective methods and I do not see the point in buying guidebooks or anything of that sort. What you really need is practice because you probably already have most of that stuff in your head (if you dont you can go revise your notes), so you can get a lot of practice on the collegeboard website as they upload free-response questions for their AP exams for their past few years. There are 2 sets of AP papers every year (and for some there are 3), so you will have >10 sets of FRQs to spend your time on – should be more than enough practice.

For MCQs, collegeboard releases MCQ sets once every 5 years. Those are not available on their website, but the teachers have them and will definitely give it out as practice in class. If you want even more practice, you can borrow the guidebooks from the library, but bear in mind that these guidebooks often have MCQ questions that are harder than the actual AP test. The questions from the guidebooks are written by teachers or lecturers who are predicting the type of questions that will come out, but nothing beats the questions directly from collegeboard themselves. As such, while the guidebooks may be helpful, do bear in mind that they may not be that definitive.

2. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT): The SAT is required for application to all US colleges. While it is not required for some other countries (such as the UK or local universities) a good score will no doubt help your cause. Much has been said about the SAT (see other blogposts) so I will not go too much into the details other than that you have to apply to take it on your part, so keep track of deadlines and timelines!

3. Others, which comprise:
- BMAT (entrance to Cambridge, Oxford, UCL and Imperial undergrad medical schools), UKCAT (entrance to most other UK medical schools not mentioned above), ISAT (entrance to Monash, Queensland, University of Western Australia and University of Tasmania undergrad medical schools) and PQA (entrance to UAdelaide medical school) for medical school aspirants
- LNAT for those intending to study law in UK
- O Level mother tongue for those taking it
- TSA for those applying to Cambridge or Oxford
- TOEFL for some schools if you are a foreign student (Singaporeans are mostly exempted from taking TOEFL as English is our first language).
[Edited by Chui Yi]

In any case, a good score doesn’t hurt you, a bad score doesnt kill off all your chances of getting into the college that you want. Check out the other posts for more details about the APs and the SATs!