On the latest episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Elizabeth Heaton welcomes guests to talk about standardized testing conversion charts, using tax refunds for student loan repayments, and strategies for visiting colleges. Listen to the complete show on the VoiceAmerica network or by searching for Getting In: A College Coach Conversation wherever you get your podcasts.

What is a good SAT score?  It’s a simple question, right? The answer, however, is anything but simple, and depends, according to former Reed College admissions officer Abigail Anderson, on the colleges to which you’re applying. An off-the-charts test score at one school may be only middle-of-the-road at another. In this installment of the College Coach video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert, Abigail explains how to determine what a good SAT score is at the colleges on your list.

If you’ve paid any attention to the world of college admissions over the last couple of years, you’ve likely heard talk of the “old SAT” and the “new SAT.” What exactly do these designations mean, how do you compare scores, and do colleges care which ones you submit? Learn what the old and new SATs mean to you from former Harvard University admissions officer, Rebecca Besthoff, in the latest installment of the College Coach video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert.

With the redesign to the SAT exam that was introduced in 2016, there is no longer a Writing Section to the SAT. Instead, it has been subsumed into the Reading & Writing section. However, there is still an optional Essay section. Given that the SAT essay is optional and not scored on the 200 to 800 score range like the Reading & Writing and Math sections, it appears devalued and many students may choose not to take it.

If you’re a high school junior who just received a copy of your March SAT scores, chances are good that you’re pretty pleased with the results. Students from across the country are reporting higher than expected outcomes on the redesigned SAT exam, in some cases boasting 100+ point improvements from the PSAT to the SAT. All of this sounds like great news, right? Why shouldn’t students be thrilled that their March SATs now put them within range for some of their more competitive “dream” colleges? Unfortunately, it’s not quite so simple. If you really want to know what your March SAT scores mean, you’ll need to check out the newly released SAT Score Converter – a handy little tool that shows exactly how your new scores compare to the “old” SAT scale colleges currently employ. (And for those folks looking for additional information, I advise you to dig into this document from the College Board, which gives a number-by-number comparison for all varieties of SAT scores.)

Over the last half year, there have been major changes in the world of college admissions testing. The SAT returned to the old 1600-point scale, did away with the mandatory writing section, and made it optional instead. The ACT changed the scoring scale for its own optional writing exam and the resulting scores caused an uproar among test-takers that has yet to die down. As an admissions counselor here at College Coach, I’ve had countless students ask me about the importance of the writing score, and I’ve seen a lot of stress over lower-than-anticipated scores on the writing section of these tests. Below is the advice I’ve been giving over these last few months.

Which SAT Colleges Accept, SAT Superscores, and the SAT Writing Test

Quadratic equations…polynomial factors…identifying sentence errors…unrecognizable vocabulary words. If you’re preparing to take the current SAT this fall or winter, you are no doubt consumed with mastering all of these concepts and more, simultaneously asking yourself if the score you hope to earn will be strong enough to help you stand out in an overwhelmingly competitive applicant pool. But if your plan is to take the upcoming October, November, December, or January SAT, before the College Board ceremoniously switches over to the “redesigned” SAT in March 2016, you need to be asking yourself three very important questions.

1. Will colleges accept results from the “current” SAT when I apply for admission next fall?

Guest post by Jason Shao of Revolution Prep

A recent article in Business Insider suggested that students should avoid taking the New SAT for the first three sittings (in March, May, and June of 2016). We thought this was a bold position to take, so we asked our trusted partner Revolution Prep to give us their perspective.

When changes to the SAT were announced last month, we had some initial reactions that focused on the big picture: how the test-prep industry would be affected, and what initial changes would mean for test-takers looking to choose between the SAT and its rival, the ACT. A couple of weeks ago, the College Board released more specific information about the new test, which has given students and educators a better idea of what to expect when the changes drop in a couple of years.

Vocabulary: elimination of so-called “SAT words”

Instead of those challenging fill-in-the-blank questions of the past, students will now be asked to identify the meaning of “relevant words in context.” To see the difference for yourself, I recommend taking a quick exam of your own knowledge. I found that responses to the new questions came much more easily for me, and that I really had to pause and think about what fit in the blanks on the old questions.

If you have a close relative who’s planning on applying to college at some point in the next 10 years, you’ve probably already heard about the announced changes to the SAT. I tweeted last week that the fervor surrounding this announcement is one more reminder that the three biggest letters in college admissions are S-A-T. Here on our blog, we’ve discussed the potential effect of these changes on companies that offer test prep. And if you keep an eye on our Facebook page, you’ll see a handful of other comments and articles related to the new SAT roll-out. There’s a lot to take in.

With so much out there, it’s hard to know the specific ways in which these changes will affect you when it comes time to apply to college. Should you be nervous? Excited? Cautious? Here are a few important points to keep in mind as you assess what the new SAT means for you: