by Anthony-James Green
The SAT or the ACT: Which One Should You Take?
Everyone knows the importance of high test scores when it comes to college
admissions. Depending on where you live and which school your child attends, there’s
almost always a “default” test that everyone takes. In the Northeast, it seems like the
SAT is synonymous with college, and in the Midwest, the ACT is the name of the game.
The reasons for these regional preferences are unimportant – but the potential risks of
these preferences are very real.
Every student is practically born to take one test or the other.While the SAT and
ACT serve the same purpose, and are similar in many ways, they are not created equal.
Randomly picking one of them based on what “everyone else is doing” could be
disastrous for your college applications. Fortunately, it’s easy to figure out which test
you should take, and once you do, you’ll have a much better chance of getting into the
school(s) of your choice.
What’s The Difference?
Both tests are mostly multiple choice, test your math, grammatical, and reading
aptitude, include an essay, and run around four hours. Both exams (supposedly) test
the material that you learn in middle school in high school. While the material on both
tests is remarkably similar (the SAT tests more vocab, the ACT tests a bit more math
and has a “science” section that has nothing to do with science), the styles of these
tests are incredibly different.
The SAT is great for students who like to ponder questions deeply, take their time, look
for root causes, solve puzzles, and use their logical reasoning. It is horrible for students
who aren’t good at logical reasoning games, or who need more straightforward
directions.
The ACT is great for students who are focused, can work for long stretches without a
break, and who have their ABCs of math, grammar, and sentence composition down. It
is horriblefor students who get stressed or distracted easily, or who aren’t good under
time pressure.
To make an analogy: The ACT is a sprint, and the SAT is a chess game. If the wrong
type of person takes the wrong test, they’re cooked. If they switch to the right test, they’ll
see an enormous comparative improvement in their results.
Obviously, there’s more to it than this, but understanding this basic “feel” will let you
understand the critical difference between these two tests (and the critical nature of
making sure you take the right one).
How do you decide between the two?
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Understand something critically important: colleges DO NOT favor one test over the
other.The ACT and the SAT are taken equally as seriously, so the only thing that
matters is which test gives you a better score. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to do
this. If you already have PSAT and PLAN, or pre-existing SAT and ACT scores, just use
the following “concordance table” to compare scores:
http://www.act.org/solutions/college-career-readiness/compare-act-sat/
Whichever test gives you a better overall score is the one you should study for. If you
only have one PSAT/SAT, or PLAN/ACT, or if you have nothing, here’s what you do:
Get the official testing booklets for both tests. Get The Official College Board SAT
Manual and The Real ACT. They contain real tests with real grading rubrics that you
can take at home.
Leaf through both tests to get a feel for the material, rules, formatting, etc. in each
test. Make sure that you understand what to expect and what the rules are before you
launch in.
Set aside two 4-hour chunks in two consecutive weekends to take BOTH tests (or
one, if you have the other test score already). You’ll want to take them under the
same sleep, diet, and scheduling conditions to make sure it’s as “controlled” of an
experiment as possible. Don’t worry about the essays.
Grade the test(s), then compare your scores using the concordance table. For
now,leave out the science grade in the ACT and just average your math, English, and
reading scores. It’s very easy to prep for, but weird at first, and it’ll affect your score
unrealistically. Also, for the SAT, assume you got a 10 on your essay (your essay grade
will affect your numerical writing score).
Whichever test gives you the best score is the one you should study for. Plain and
simple. It is very, very rare to see a student get the same level of score on both tests.
If your scores ARE similar, go with the test you liked taking more. Maybe 1/30
students get similar scores on both tests. But they usually HATE one, and don’t mind
the other. Stick with the one you don’t mind.
That’s all there is to it! By using real tests, getting objective grades, and comparing them
using the concordance table, you’ll know exactly which test to study for. You’ll end up
getting a better grade by putting in the same amount of effort, just because you’ll be
taking the test that’s more geared toward your learning and neural style. Well worth it!
What’s Next?
Once you figure out which test to take, it’s time to prep! I usually recommend using an
online, self-guided course and supplementing the course with one-on-one tutoring if you
need some fine tuning. Before you do anything else, be sure to find the right test for
you! It’ll make the entire process much simpler, much easier, and much more
successful!