Know your admission exams

As part of your application to various countries for various programmes, you may have to include scores from one or more admission tests. The common ones are:
U.S. Admission Tests
SAT - Scholastic Assessment Test
SAT® - Reasoning test: A mandatory requirement for majority of the college admissions in the U.S. It is scored out of 1,600, divided equally between two sections of Evidence-Based Reading and Writing, and Math. 
ACT:  This is an alternative to SAT where the scores are reported on a 1 to 36 scale. The composite score is the average of each of the four subject area scores. Taking SAT® or ACT will satisfy admission criteria. Please note there are a number of universities in the U.S. that are test optional. For the full list of test optional universities, visit www.fairtest.org
SAT (S) - Subject test - Not many universities require students to complete subject tests, even though including these scores will strengthen your application. Some colleges specify the subjects that are to be taken, while others give students the freedom to choose.
U.K. Medical Aptitude Tests
UKCAT - U.K. Clinical Aptitude Test
This test is used for admission to medicine and dental degree programmes and assesses your suitability/aptitude for the healthcare profession. It does not contain any subject content. You can take the test only once during each application cycle and are required to complete it before the application submission date, which is October 15. It is a two-hour computer-based test consisting of five separately timed subject areas. The total score is out of 3,600. For more information, visit www.ukcat.ac.uk
BMAT - BioMedical Admissions Test
This test is used as part of the admission process to medicine, dentistry and certain biomedical sciences programmes in the U.K.  It is a two-hour pen-and-paper-based test consisting of three sections testing the student's subject knowledge. The test happens only once in a year, mostly early November and all the students should take it on the same day. The test is scored on a 1 to 9 scale. For more information, visit www.admissionstestingservice.org/for-test-takers/bmat
U.K. Law Admissions Test
LNAT - National Admissions Test for Law
This test does not assess your knowledge about law. It helps universities evaluate your aptitude for the skills required to study law. A group of U.K. universities use this test as their criteria for law school admissions in addition to academics. The test is scored out of 42 with two parts, a set of multiple choice questions based on passages of text, and an essay. You could sit for the test only once during each application cycle. For more information, visit www.lnat.ac.uk
Australia Medicine Admission Test
ISAT -  International Student Admissions Test
This test is for international students applying for medicine, dentistry, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy courses at a selection of universities in Australia. It is a three-hour computer-based multiple choice questions test, designed to test the student's intellectual skills and abilities. The test takes place all throughout the year, but the student can appear for it only once during each application cycle. The overall score, which is an average of Critical Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning where each section score ranges between 100 and 200. For more information, visit https://isat.acer.org
Shyamala Elango is the Director, Educational Services, at Inner Universe. She can be reached at elango.shyamala@inneruniverse.org