Should I take the ACT or the SAT

Should I take the SAT or the ACT?

I’m frequently asked by students whether they should take the SAT or ACT. Here is my answer to this question, which can be broken into 2 parts.

1) Do some schools prefer the SAT or the ACT?

There used to be some schools that accepted only the SAT, but there no longer are such schools (The last school to accept the ACT was Harvey Mudd in 2007). Also, there used to be a rumor that certain schools like Ivy League schools preferred the SATs, but I’ve seen no one who has worked as an admissions officer confirmed this rumor. There are lots of books and articles by former admissions officers about the admissions process (for example, A is for Admission), but none of them mention this rumor. Since some of these books and articles reveal specific details like how candidates are given an approximate score by some schools, I think it’s unlikely there is actually a preference for the SAT if no former admissions officer has spoken about it. Therefore, I think schools do not prefer the SAT over the SAT.

2) What’s the difference between the SAT and ACT? Which one might suit your strengths?

First, there are many similarities between the SAT and ACT. Most of my students have taken only one of the SAT or ACT. The students who prepared for and took both usually scored only slightly higher on one of the tests. For example, there was someone who scored 1400 on the SAT, and 32 on the ACT, which at that time was maybe 1430-1450 on the SAT.

Second, inasmuch as there are differences, the best way is to take full-length practice tests of either. If I had to describe them, I would list the differences as

A) The ACT has a writing sample/essay, but about two thirds of colleges don’t require the essay score, and those who do seem to interpret it in light of other writing samples you provide, like your personal statement.

B) The ACT has a science section, whereas the SAT has science passages in the reading section.

a. Most of the ACT science passages require you to analyze data as if you were a scientist conducting the experiment, whereas the SAT science passages are articles from popular magazines or books about science.

b. The ACT science passages can be challenging in that they put you in a position of writing a lab report about a topic you haven’t studied before. Sometimes the passage gives you a new equation to use to interpret the data.

c. The SAT science passages can be challenging in that they’re sometimes not structured like a clear textbook and are more like a New Yorker article. Sometimes the question involves what could be described as logic tricks.

d. Here are links to a representative ACT science passage and and a representative SAT science passage so that you can compare them. I've made them somewhat harder than average to give you a sense of how the ACT and SAT are difficult in different ways.

C) Now let’s discuss the ACT reading section and the non-science passages of the SAT reading section. I’d say there is a limited difference in about 20% of the text used for the passages. Both the ACT and SAT usually use contemporary texts, but one out of five SAT passages is a historical text from the 19^th century or earlier. The syntax or sentence structure of the historical text can be challenging for students. Some students feel the wording of the ACT questions are more straightforward. Some students feel the answer choices for the ACT are longer and have more facts you have to check, so that you have to re-read more of the text to answer them.

Here are links to a representative ACT reading passage and a representative SAT reading passage so that you can compare them. I've made them somewhat harder than average to give you a sense of how the ACT and SAT are difficult in different ways.

D) Finally, the writing and math sections of the SAT and ACT are fairly similar.

Overall, I'd say a large part of the challenge of the SAT and ACT is similar. And, whichever you choose to prepare, I'm confident I can help you do better.