Desk lined up in perfect rows. Deafening silence.  The sound of nerves trembling with anticipation of the future.   A lot rides on the SATs and many juniors got on board May 5.

In the opinion of college admission offices across the country, this test is an important component in college readiness. As a result, a good score on this test is an important factor in getting into a choice school.

“I think I did pretty well because I took prep classes and they prepared me well,” junior Natalia Paschoalim said.

Testing students in Critical Reading, Math, and Writing respectively, the SAT seeks to even the playing field nationally for college readiness by being a single exam everyone must take. Each of these three subject areas is graded on a scale from 0 to 800 making the highest possible score on the test a 2400.

The test was what junior Samantha Matos was expecting, “it was just like the test prep.”

The SAT is not only a challenging test for its academic acumen, but its structure as well. One can’t just zip through it in any set amount of time but instead one have to take a certain amount of time for each section; when on one section, the test taker can’t go back to another. The SAT has 9 sections which last on average about 3 hours, making it a mental endurance test.

“It was easier than people made it sound, but the pacing is the hardest part,” junior Natalie Silva said.