What You Need to Know About the ACT or SAT
Last Updated on March 1, 2024 by Jill Schwitzgebel
College entrance exams become a big topic when students enter high school. It used to be that students planning to apply to college took one of the two tests, either the ACT or the SAT, one time, and that was that. In some regions, students took the ACT and in others, students took the SAT. Nobody gave real thought about which test they should take.
As with so many college admissions-related topics, times have changed. Now, both tests are no longer regional. Colleges often use superscoring when students take the tests more than one time. Increasingly, the vast majority of colleges are test-optional and don’t require students to submit test scores at all. Families need to be more strategic about how they approach college entrance exams, in order to give students the best chances at admission, and possibly, scholarships.
Which Test Do Colleges Prefer?
Students typically wonder “Do colleges prefer ACT or SAT tests?” And there is a LOT of misinformation out there related to that question. So let me answer that definitively for you right away – colleges do not care which one students take. It’s possible that students in one region of the country are more likely to submit one test or the other, but that does not mean that colleges have a preference. It used to be that the most highly selective schools in the northeast preferred for students to submit SAT scores. However, both tests have been redesigned since that era and that has not been the case for many, many years.
Differences Between the ACT and SAT.
Let’s begin by talking about the differences between the two tests. Note that big changes are currently being rolled out to the SAT, as it goes digital.
Scoring
The ACT is scored from 1 – 36. Students’ scores are based on the average of all four sections of the test.
The SAT is out of 1600 possible points. That score is the combined score of the scores on the Math and Reading/Writing sections.
Neither test penalizes students for wrong answers.
Subject Areas
Both tests include sections for Reading and Math, but with slightly different twists. And the ACT has a Science section, which the SAT does not have.
The ACT has sections for English (think, grammar) and one separately for Reading. The Reading section is at a measured 9th grade level throughout the test.
The SAT has sections for Writing/Language (again, think grammar) and one for Reading. However, the Reading section of the SAT contains passages of varying difficulty throughout that section of the test.
The ACT Math section allows students to use a calculator throughout the test. However, formulas are NOT provided.
The SAT Math test contains two parts – one where students may use a calculator, and one where they may not. But formulas are provided throughout.
Timing
The overall length of the SAT is five minutes longer than the ACT. And students will find that the time they can spend per question on the SAT is slightly longer than what they can afford to spend per question on the ACT.
When to Take the Tests
This is one of those questions that will vary depending on who you ask. I personally recommend that if a student has completed Geometry and is taking Algebra II their sophomore year, then they should take both the ACT and the SAT at the end of the sophomore year. The caveat is this: I do not recommend doing much prep for this first test, although it is a good idea for students to be familiar with the format going in to the test.
Think of this test as the baseline. IF your child is dedicated, then there is no reason that they truly need to even take this test as a formal paid test sitting. Instead, they could simulate test conditions and timing at home to obtain this baseline score using a practice test. It is my experience however, that very few students will take a practice test as seriously as a real test, which may result in less accurate scores.
One reason I recommend testing at the end of the sophomore year is that it will give you and your student an idea of what colleges to begin considering. Their scores are very likely to go up a bit on a re-take during their Junior year, especially if they do some studying or tutoring for the re-test. But, it gives you a ballpark number to work with. It gives you and your student time to process a little and consider your college search strategy and goals going forward.
If you can begin doing some college visits the summer before junior year, it will make life less stressful for everyone during their senior year. It gives you two full summers to look at colleges before application time. It can be amazingly difficult to fit in college visits during the fall of senior year when students are filling out college and scholarship applications, taking challenging courses, and participating in extracurriculars.
The other major reason I recommend taking the tests at the end of sophomore year is because taking each of them once as a baseline should help you to see which test is the better one for your student. You can use a concordance table to see whether their SAT or ACT score is in a higher percentile. And then they can focus on practicing for the test which was the better one for them, and retake it during their junior year. Ideally, they could be working on that practice over the summer before their junior year begins. I recommend taking it again somewhere between November and February that year.
Some still are not satisfied with their scores after the second test and may even wish to take it one more time. So testing in the middle of the junior year gives them time to do that before their senior year. Whatever you do, I STRONGLY recommend that students have all testing completed by the summer before their senior year.
I really recommend that students don’t take them more than three times. By the third time, chances are that you have pretty good information about your child’s performance. Subsequent testing is more anxiety-provoking and in cases where colleges want you to submit all test scores, it may not be ideal.
Superscoring
The term “superscoring” refers to when colleges are willing to consider a student’s highest section test scores across all test dates. For instance, if the student’s highest math score and highest reading score were on separate dates, the college will add the highest scores together to get the composite test score.
Historically, colleges would not superscore the ACT, only the SAT, due to differences in how the tests are scores. That is changing though. Currently, around 90% will superscore the SAT and about 70% will superscore the ACT. It remains to be seen whether the changes to the ACT in 2020 will affect what colleges will do, but I would anticipate that even more schools will now superscore the ACT, as well.
List of Schools that Superscore the ACT
When Should Students Opt Out of Submitting Scores to Test-Optional Colleges?
Did you know that the majority of colleges in the US no longer require students to submit their ACT or SAT scores? The policy has been around at some colleges for decades, but recently, more and more schools are adopting a test-optional admission policy, including highly selective colleges like the Ivy league schools
The major reason that students opt out of submitting their scores is that their GPA and overall resumé are much stronger than their test scores indicate. The students clearly demonstrate ability, yet don’t score as well on tests as they would expect based on their academic and leadership performance. Therefore, these students feel that they are more likely to be admitted without test scores.
Studies show that students that do not submit their test scores are graduating from college at a similar rate to students that do submit scores. But there is some risk to not submitting the scores and it’s good to be aware of that before making the choice. Students need to be strong in all other areas of the application if they do not submit test scores. Transcripts and recommendations are likely to be weighted more heavily. Students that opt out of submitting tests are not admitted at quite the same rate as those that do. To a college, the more data they have, the better.
One of the major risks to not submitting scores is to financial aid. At many colleges, students will not be considered for any type of merit aid without test scores. The best financial aid packages from colleges have typically gone to students that have submitted their scores, although this is changing rapidly!
The pandemic has brought about MANY changes to the testing environment, with the majority of colleges becoming test-optional. It’s a trend that is likely here to stay. If you are trying to decide if your student should take the tests, be sure to check out To Take or Not to Take the College Entrance Exams.
Conclusion
In my experience, testing is probably the second most stressful part of the college admissions process for most families. (Application essays are generally the biggest stressor.) Fortunately, with some early planning, much of that testing stress can be relieved. Having an understanding of the tests and having a strategy for how to tackle the process is key.
Related: The CLT versus the ACT and SAT
