The City University of New York (CUNY) college system is composed of several colleges in the city of New York, New York, including Hunter College, Brooklyn College, New York City College of Technology, and LaGuardia Community College. Students can earn a technical certificate, associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctorate, depending on which college and program they choose to attend.

The CUNY Assessment tests (CAT) are part of CUNY’s application package, mainly for first-time college attendees. The CAT tests are available to students interested in applying to a CUNY college as an alternative for meeting admission requirements. When you apply to most colleges, you are asked to take the ACT exam or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). These exams are designed to test your abilities and readiness to perform college coursework. If you are planning to attend a four-year college in the state of New York, you may also take the New York State Regents tests, which do the same thing. CUNY offers you an additional option; you can take their CAT tests as a substitute for the ACT, SAT, or New York State Regents tests. The CAT or other college entrance exams may not be required if you are applying for a certificate or associate’s degree program.

What are the benefits of taking the CAT tests?

There are a few very good reasons for taking the CAT tests rather than the ACT, SAT, or New York State Regents tests. Keep in mind though, that your specific program may require you to take one of the CAT tests in addition to the ACT or SAT, especially if your score is low in one area of the test. For example, if your math ACT score is below the score accepted by the CUNY college you’re applying to, you may be required to take the math CAT and score at a certain level in order to be accepted.

Otherwise, one good reason to take the CAT tests is that there is no additional fee for taking them; the assessment test fee is included in your application fee. If you are on a very tight budget and you are only applying to CUNY schools, then taking the CAT tests may be a great option for you.

Another good reason to take one or more of the CAT tests is if your ACT, SAT, or New York State Regents scores are not as high as you hoped they’d be, but they’re still above the acceptable number. As already mentioned, if your scores are below the accepted number but your high school grades are good and the college is interested in accepting you, you may be asked or required to take the CAT tests in order to be accepted.

The CAT tests are comparable in difficulty and material covered to the ACT, SAT, and other college entrance exams, so don’t think that taking it will be easier than the other exams. You will still need to prepare for the CAT tests just as you would the other entrance exams.

To make the decision about which entrance exam to take, you should visit the web site of the CUNY college you’re applying to and read about its admission requirements. You should also visit the CUNY web site that provides a great deal of information about the CAT tests, so you have a very good understanding of what you will be tested on. You can also ask your student advisor which one would be the best choice for you. If you are applying to attend a school outside the CUNY system and the state of New York, you may have to take the ACT, SAT, or both.

Study Materials for the CUNY Assessment Tests

If you’re applying to a City University of New York (CUNY) college, chances are good that you’ll be required to take one or all of the CUNY Assessment tests (CAT). These tests are part of CUNY’s application package, mainly for first-time college attendees or transfer students. The CAT tests are available as an alternative for meeting admission requirements. When you apply to most colleges, you are asked to take the ACT or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). These exams are designed to test your abilities and readiness to perform college coursework. If you are planning to attend a four-year college in the state of New York, you may also take the New York State Regents tests, which do the same thing. CUNY offers you an additional option; you can take their CAT tests as a substitute for the ACT, SAT, or New York State Regents tests. The CUNY system uses these tests to ensure that you are proficient in the basic skills needed to take college courses. CUNY also uses these tests to determine which level of college classes you should register for first.

There are three CAT tests, one for reading, one for writing, and one for math. It’s important to take the time to prepare for the test, just as you would any other exam. There are many different study tools and resources you can use to help you prepare for your CAT assessment. Here’s an overview of the materials that are available.

CUNY-Provided Material

If you are on a limited budget it’s good to know that CUNY provides you with a lot of material you can use to prepare for the assessment. For example, in the CAT in Writing, a sample writing test along with the scoring guide and sample papers for each score point and some tips on taking the CAT in Writing is included in the CUNY Student Handbook. Most students preparing for this CAT assessment find this information very helpful. You will also discover that each college in the university has a testing information center with resources to help incoming and continuing students prepare for the CATs. You can visit the testing information center at the college you’ve applied to, to get the information you need about your assessments.

In addition, the CUNY system offers two vey important resources online for each CAT test: a test guide and a practice test. Since all of this material is free, you should plan to use it even if you also plan to purchase other study guides and materials.

Other Study Guides and Tools

Each study tool you use will help you in a slightly different way. For example, a practice test will help you determine which areas are your weakest so you can focus on them. Without this information you may not spend as much time studying those topics. Flashcards help you memorize key terms, formulas, and other items that appear on the assessment tests. Without spending time to memorize these items, you may not be able to answer some of the questions. That’s why it’s important to use a combination of different study tools when preparing for the CAT assessments. You can find study guides, flashcards, practice tests, and similar material online through reputable educational publishing companies. However, there are some companies that produce material that isn’t up to par. You will need to do your research to make sure the tools you purchase contain up to date assessment information and will provide you with the benefits you’re looking for. One way to do this is to ask other students who have taken and passed the assessments what tools they used. Be sure to include the CUNY-provided material, as it is guaranteed to contain the information you need.

If You Don’t Pass the CUNY CAT Test

The CUNY Assessment tests (CAT) are part of the City University of New York’s (CUNY) application package, mainly for first-time college attendees or transfer students. The CAT tests are available to students interested in applying to a CUNY college as an alternative for meeting admission requirements. When you apply to most colleges, you are asked to take the ACT exam or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). These exams are designed to test your abilities and readiness to perform college coursework. If you are planning to attend a four-year college in the state of New York, you may also take the New York State Regents tests, which do the same thing. CUNY offers you an additional option; you can take their CAT tests as a substitute for the ACT, SAT, or New York State Regents tests. The CUNY system uses these tests to ensure that you are proficient in the basic skills needed to take college courses. The CAT or other college entrance exams may not be required if you are applying for a certificate or associate’s degree program.

Each college and program has its own bottom line when it comes to the CAT score it accepts as proof that you’re proficient and ready to take college level courses. If your score is below that number, there are a few consequences that could result. If the rest of your application package is not strong, in other words your grades are low, scores are low on other tests you’ve taken, etc., you may not be accepted into the CUNY college you’ve applied to. However, it’s more likely that you will be accepted, but you will need to take extra, remedial, or other classes. For example, if your test score in writing and reading is low and you are an ESL student, you will be required to take an ESL class. You may be asked to retest after taking the class. In fact, all students who take the ESL or remedial classes will be required to take and pass the CAT assessment in that area before they will be placed in the first college level course in that subject. You will need to retake the test until you pass it. At that time, you’ll be expected to register for the college level course.

The good news is, that since the CAT tests do not cost anything to take, you can take them as many times as you need to until you are able to pass them. However, you must wait until you’ve had at least 20 hours of instruction before you can retake the test and you can not retake the test more than two times in one semester.

You will be placed in a specific math class based on your CAT math assessment score. There is no requirement to retake the math test if you earn a low score. You may need to take a remedial math class, but once you’ve successfully completed the class you will be able to take the next level math class.

If you’re a transfer student, and you’ve earned at least a C in a 3-credit level English class from an accredited college or university, you are considered proficient in English and will not be required to take the CAT assessment in reading or writing. The same holds true for math. Otherwise, you will be required to take the CAT and if you do not earn the acceptable score, you may have to take one of the remedial or immersion classes and possibly retake the CAT assessment upon completion.

What do the CAT Assessment Tests Cover?

The CUNY Assessment tests (CAT) are part of the City University of New York’s (CUNY) application package, mainly for first-time college attendees or transfer students. The CAT tests are available as an alternative for meeting admission requirements to students interested in applying to a CUNY college. When you apply to most colleges, you are asked to take the ACT or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). These exams are designed to test your abilities and readiness to perform college coursework. If you are planning to attend a four-year college in the state of New York, you may also take the New York State Regents tests, which do the same thing. CUNY offers you an additional option; you can take their CAT tests as a substitute for the ACT, SAT, or New York State Regents tests. The CUNY system uses these tests to ensure that you are proficient in the basic skills needed to take college courses.

There are three CAT assessment tests: Reading, Writing, and Math. Each one is designed to determine your proficiency level in each of these subjects. The CAT in Reading test is an untimed, computerized reading test. It consists of multiple choice questions and tests your reading comprehension abilities. You will be provided with several readings. Some of them are from textbooks or other sources, while some come from fiction stories and books. The multiple choice questions will ask you what the passage explicitly said, as well as what meanings, conclusions, and generalizations you can infer from it. To demonstrate proficiency in this subject you’ll need to score a 70 or higher.

The CAT in Writing test is similar to a test that most freshmen in college would encounter and it assesses your ability to perform college-level writing. You will be asked to respond to a reading passage of about 250-350 words in length. You will be given the reading passage as well as writing instructions, so you will know specifically what you are to write about for the assessment. You will need to complete the essay in 90 minutes. You are permitted to bring a non-electric dictionary with you to the CAT in Writing assessment, including a bilingual dictionary if needed. The CUNY system has also provided you with some additional help when it comes to understanding this assessment and preparing for it. A sample writing test along with the scoring guide and sample papers for each score point and some tips on taking the CAT in Writing is included in the CUNY Student Handbook. If you have been asked or are required to take this assessment, it would be a good idea to access the handbook and look over the information CUNY has provided. To demonstrate proficiency in this subject you’ll need to score a 56 or higher.

Your knowledge of a number of math topics is assessed in the CAT in Math exam. The assessment is composed of four segments: numerical skills/pre-algebra, algebra, college algebra, and trigonometry. Numerical skills/pre-algebra refers to basic math skills and concepts such as integers, decimals, and fractions. The algebra section assesses your knowledge of basic algebra concepts such as equations, formula manipulations, and algebraic expressions. In the college algebra section you will be required to perform operations with functions, exponents, matrices, and factorials. And in the trigonometry section, you will answer questions about trigonometric functions and identities, right-triangle trigonometry, and graphs of trigonometric functions. This test will provide the college with the information it needs in order to place you in the appropriate math level class. That means that if you perform very well, you may not have to take some of the beginning math classes. The proficiency score for each CUNY college is different. You can find out what score you college requires by visiting its web site.

How the CAT Assessments Affect Your Admission to a CUNY College

If you’re hoping to attend a City University of New York (CUNY) college, chances are good that you’ll be required to take one or all of the CUNY Assessment tests (CAT). These tests are part of CUNY’s application package, mainly for first-time college attendees or transfer students. The CAT tests are available as an alternative for meeting admission requirements. When you apply to most colleges, you are asked to take the ACT or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). These exams are designed to test your abilities and readiness to perform college coursework. If you are planning to attend a four-year college in the state of New York, you may also take the New York State Regents tests, which do the same thing. CUNY offers you an additional option; you can take their CAT tests as a substitute for the ACT, SAT, or New York State Regents tests. The CUNY system uses these tests to ensure that you are proficient in the basic skills needed to take college courses. CUNY also uses these tests to determine which level of college classes you should register for first.

How the CAT Assessments impact you as a student will depend on your status. For example, if you’re a new freshman applying to a CUNY college, you must show that you are proficient in reading, writing and math to be admitted. As an incoming freshman, if your test scores do not prove your proficiency in one or more of these areas, you have a few options open to you. First, if you are an ESL student, you can enroll in an immersion program at the senior college. The immersion program is a 25-hour academic English class that will help you become proficient with writing, reading, and speaking English. If you are not an ESL student and your scores don’t prove your proficiency you can enroll in remedial courses at a CUNY community college, at one of CUNY’s associate’s programs, or at a comprehensive college.

There are three types of students that may be admitted to a bachelor’s program even though they haven’t achieved the acceptable scores on the CAT assessments. The first student is one who already possesses a bachelor’s or advanced degree from an accredited college. If you fall into this category but you are an ESL student, you may still be asked by your college to take a placement test in reading and writing to assess your English language skills.

A second type of student who may be admitted without acceptable CAT assessment scores is one who meets the college’s proficiency requirement in math, the University’s definition of an ESL student, and who meets all other admissions requirements. If you fall into this category, you will need to pass the CUNY Assessment Tests in reading and writing within two years of your initial enrollment.

The third category of students is those who qualify for CUNY’s SEEK program. SEEK stands for “Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge,” and it’s a program developed by the State of New York to help incoming college freshmen who are economically disadvantaged and academically unprepared. If you qualify for the CUNY’s SEEK program, you will need to meet the college’s proficiency requirement in mathematics within two years of your initial enrollment.

Associate Programs

According to CUNY, candidates for freshman admission to an associate program do not have to show they are proficient to be admitted. However, entering students who are not proficient based on the SAT, ACT, or Regents tests must take the appropriate CUNY Assessment tests. After you are enrolled in an associate program, you will have to take one or more remedial courses to build your skills in those areas that you are not proficient. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to begin a full schedule of college-level work until you’ve proven your proficiency in reading, writing, and math.