SAT or ACT?? What to choose?

[LuvingLife]

What of these two choices would you rather prefer? I am leaning more towards the SAT because there are only three sections and math, english and writing is what I am really focusing on. Also, they have the PSAT which is really good for practicing and that is coming up soon. So what I am trying to ask is, which one did your children like? Why? And what are good test prep books??:001_huh:

[holdoll]

Our dd is using Chalkdust SAT math review right now. She loves it. She has already completed Alg 1, Geometry and Alg 2, but I wish we would have used Chalkdust from the very beginning. I don't think she would have struggled as much. She says Chalkdust makes things "click" for her. I'm still looking for a reasonably priced "High School Essay Intensive" from IEW to help her prepare for the essay portion. :tongue_smilie:

 

As far as SAT vs. ACT, it's a matter of personal choice and also which university your child is looking at. Some require the ACT and some SAT and some will take either. Call your admissions office to find out which or some colleges have it up on their websites.

 

We did one of those online seminars through HSLDA and the gentlemen suggested doing both. The SAT tests more of your child's reasoning skills, and the ACT test more knowledge-based skills. I've heard that depending on the student, they do better on one then the other.

[Michelle in AL]

If you are a junior you need to take the PSAT this fall. This is the test that qualifies for National Merit Scholarships. If you're a senior forgo the PSAT as it's too late to qualify.

 

I would try both the SAT and ACT. You never know which you're better at. Some kids do better on the ACT, some the SAT. If you take the SAT 1st and are completely satisfied with your score, than stick with that one.

 

I expect my kids to do as well percentage wise on the ACT/SAT as they've done on previous standardized tests before. If the percentages are off I'd have them retake it or try the other test or both. This is a totally unscientific correlation, but it works for me.

[Hunter's Moon]

I would say take both.

 

Most colleges accept SAT, but some want ACT's as well, especially for children who were homeschooled.

 

SATs are just general knowledge. ACTs actually test what you know.

[creekland]

If you want to take one or the other, go to the library and check out a book that has actual practice tests in it and try one of each (doesn't have to be all at one sitting!). See which you do better or or which style appeals to you better. Most colleges will accept either.

 

I have my boys do both and, so far, they tend to score about the same/equivalent on both. I prefer sending both scores to colleges to confirm mommy grades. It's far easier to find the SAT around here than the ACT, but we still do both.

[TravelingChris]

I would not recommend you do both. DO what some of the posters suggested and try the practice tests. If you have to choose one to try first, do ACT. Why? Because some schools want all your SAT scores but ACT requires you to request and pay for each test date score individually so you only send the one you want to send. Yes, SAT has score choice but many of the more selective schools don't honor that. Also, the ACT can be taken without the essay. The essay question on the ACT is a very different type than the SAT.

 

Another option is to take the PSAT and compare with ACT. If a child is not doing as well as expected on the PSAT, then see how the ACT goes.

 

I have had two kids go through this so far. One had similar ACT and SAT results (he took it before the essay was added in). My second had unexpectedly bad PSAT. I switched her to ACT and she is getting very good scores. She will never take the SAT and so colleges will never see how she doesn't do as well on that test. SHe is a very black/white type of thinker and the SAT's trick questions were not her forte.

 

Oh, and all colleges take SAT or ACT. There are none left who only accept one. WHat there is a difference in is that some colleges do not require the essay on the ACT>

[Tullia]

You really need to consider the admissions policies of schools you might be considering, and I suggest you think about a wide range of possibilities. Personal preferences for one test over another are important, but you also need to think about what colleges and universities are looking for from applicants.

 

My son preferred the ACT because he felt the questions were more straightforward than those on the SAT. He took the PSAT in October of 11th grade, the SAT and ACT in June just after completing 11th grade. He repeated the ACT in the fall of 12th grade because he did not feel well on test day and had to use a backup calculator for math which slowed him down. His math score was disappointing, and his second ACT math score was noticeably higher and more in line with his abilities.

 

All of the schools he considered applying to accepted both, but many preferred the ACT. Several of the schools stating a preference for the ACT were explicit about NOT wanting the ACT essay portion, so he did not take the essay the second time.

 

One other thing, as high school graduation time got closer ds was pretty sure that he intended to start at community college which meant that he did not have to meet a high standard with regard to test scores. However, we were not at all sure of his plans until fairly late in high school, so we approached testing with the idea that he needed to work to the best of his ability because we didn't want to close any doors prematurely. Chris has some good points about how SAT handles score reporting, so a good place to start would be with practice tests because you have total control over who knows the results.

[creekland]

Definitely look at the recommendations of colleges you might want to consider before deciding on the ACT essay or not. The colleges my oldest applied to all wanted the essay. Those middle son is considering also want it (most of them anyway, I didn't check all of them). It'd be a shame to have to take it over again just for the essay if you opt out of it the first time. However, the essay is at the end of the ACT... so if you don't need it, it would make your testing morning shorter.

[LuvingLife]

I would say take both.

 

Most colleges accept SAT, but some want ACT's as well, especially for children who were homeschooled.

 

SATs are just general knowledge. ACTs actually test what you know.

 

I didn't know that, pretty neat!

 

I would not recommend you do both. DO what some of the posters suggested and try the practice tests. If you have to choose one to try first, do ACT. Why? Because some schools want all your SAT scores but ACT requires you to request and pay for each test date score individually so you only send the one you want to send. Yes, SAT has score choice but many of the more selective schools don't honor that. Also, the ACT can be taken without the essay. The essay question on the ACT is a very different type than the SAT.

 

Another option is to take the PSAT and compare with ACT. If a child is not doing as well as expected on the PSAT, then see how the ACT goes.

 

I have had two kids go through this so far. One had similar ACT and SAT results (he took it before the essay was added in). My second had unexpectedly bad PSAT. I switched her to ACT and she is getting very good scores. She will never take the SAT and so colleges will never see how she doesn't do as well on that test. SHe is a very black/white type of thinker and the SAT's trick questions were not her forte.

 

Oh, and all colleges take SAT or ACT. There are none left who only accept one. WHat there is a difference in is that some colleges do not require the essay on the ACT>

 

I have heard a lot of people say that the SAT is pretty tricky, while the ACT actually tests your knowledge of the things that you learned. I am glad that all colleges now accept the SAT and ACT, or I would be in some trouble...:glare: Thanks!

 

You really need to consider the admissions policies of schools you might be considering, and I suggest you think about a wide range of possibilities. Personal preferences for one test over another are important, but you also need to think about what colleges and universities are looking for from applicants.

 

My son preferred the ACT because he felt the questions were more straightforward than those on the SAT. He took the PSAT in October of 11th grade, the SAT and ACT in June just after completing 11th grade. He repeated the ACT in the fall of 12th grade because he did not feel well on test day and had to use a backup calculator for math which slowed him down. His math score was disappointing, and his second ACT math score was noticeably higher and more in line with his abilities.

 

All of the schools he considered applying to accepted both, but many preferred the ACT. Several of the schools stating a preference for the ACT were explicit about NOT wanting the ACT essay portion, so he did not take the essay the second time.

 

One other thing, as high school graduation time got closer ds was pretty sure that he intended to start at community college which meant that he did not have to meet a high standard with regard to test scores. However, we were not at all sure of his plans until fairly late in high school, so we approached testing with the idea that he needed to work to the best of his ability because we didn't want to close any doors prematurely. Chris has some good points about how SAT handles score reporting, so a good place to start would be with practice tests because you have total control over who knows the results.

 

I am thinking of taking the PSAT, along with some of the practice tests for the SAT and ACT online and at the library like most people on here suggested. I will know soon!:001_smile:

 

Definitely look at the recommendations of colleges you might want to consider before deciding on the ACT essay or not. The colleges my oldest applied to all wanted the essay. Those middle son is considering also want it (most of them anyway, I didn't check all of them). It'd be a shame to have to take it over again just for the essay if you opt out of it the first time. However, the essay is at the end of the ACT... so if you don't need it, it would make your testing morning shorter.

 

I am looking at a few colleges right now, and some only require the writing protion of the SAT! Then others will require all of it, and a lot of the colleges I am looking at don't require the essay portion at all. Thanks for all of the help everyone! Keep them coming!!:001_smile:

[homeschoolmom97]

My son took both - aced the ACT, struggled with the SAT. They test differently - I think other posters have said this, but ACT tests basic knowledge, SAT tests test-taking skills...ok, so maybe not quite that cut and dried, but close. ACT may test for slightly higher level of math, but doesn't penalize wrong answers. We were told conflicting things about what colleges accepted what test, so by all means check, but in the end taking some practice tests may tell you which would be best:glare:

[Mom-ninja.]

Both.

 

I only took the ACT and I wish I had taken both. I had my school picked out and they accepted ACT. So that's what I took.

 

Then.....I went to Europe for the summer before college. I loved it. I decided to stay. I wanted to go to school there. The admissions office had never heard of the ACT and wouldn't accept it. They accepted the SAT only. :glare:

 

So you never know.....be safe and take both.

[Teachin'Mine]

I would recommend taking the PSAT in the fall, and both the SAT and ACT in the fall. This way you'll have lots of test taking practice, and you'll have a good idea about which one comes out more favorable score wise. Any of the test prep books are good if you use them.

[emubird]

I'm not convinced the ACT tests "what you know". The science is more of a reading comprehension test than anything. All the answers will be in the readings.

 

The math on the ACT tends to be a little more straightforward. The SAT tries to make things hard by having math questions that are more logic problems than anything. If you see the right way to do it, they're easy. But it's pretty difficult to see the trick when you're having to whiz through the questions at less than one per minute.

 

It used to be that the ACT didn't penalize for wrong answers, but the SAT did. I don't know if this is true anymore. The two tests seem to be getting more and more like each other, as they're each scoping out the competition and trying to get more customers.

 

The colleges my daughter applied to all requested the ACT, but would have been perfectly happy with the SAT. It's just a regional thing, although, the super selective schools around here seem to ask for the SAT before the ACT. Either they think it looks classier, or they're trying to attract in applicants from the east and west coast who may have been more likely to have taken the SAT.

 

My daughter took the ACT because it's offered more often where we are. If we were in an area where the SAT was more popular, she would have done that. I suspect the vast majority of colleges really don't care, but it should be easy to check with all the online applications that are available these days.

 

If your student takes too many tests, they won't do anything else, so I wouldn't just push test taking at all costs. My daughter took the ACT once, was satisfied with her score, and moved on. Reducing unnecessary stress is an important goal, and I do think that these tests are pretty overrated.

Edited August 2, 2010 by emubird

[Guest Barb B]

Bath. Sometimes kids do better on one over the other. You never know until the take them. My ds took both and did much better on the act - so thats the test he is sending

Barb

[FaithManor]

A lot of Mid-western schools, especially Michigan, prefer the A.C.T. and you don't necessarily need to do the writing portion because most require an admissions essay since they aren't impressed with the rubric grading of standardized tests...ie. they've met a lot of college kids who got very high scores on the A.C.T. or S.A.T. plus writing because they met the requirements of the rubric but their actual writing was very poor or the whole essay was nothing but fluff and stuff, no decent content. The average grader for both the A.C.T. and S.A.T. must grade ten essays per hour. So, it's a check list...the essay met this on the rubric or not, check, etc. Most college writing isn't anything like the standardized writing test. Also, because of the huge scoring scandals that the S.A.T. incurred several years ago (8000 kids in Minnesota alone were very badly affected by this - cost many of them a lot of scholarship money) the Mid-western schools began encouraging the A.C.T. because there is little controversy connected with it.

 

Check with each college that your student will apply to. East Coast schools tend to really prefer the S.A.T. I applied to thirteen institutions back in my day and ended up needing to take both. UGH!

 

Faith

[Brenda in MA]

I would not recommend you do both. DO what some of the posters suggested and try the practice tests. If you have to choose one to try first, do ACT. Why? Because some schools want all your SAT scores but ACT requires you to request and pay for each test date score individually so you only send the one you want to send. Yes, SAT has score choice but many of the more selective schools don't honor that. Also, the ACT can be taken without the essay. The essay question on the ACT is a very different type than the SAT.

 

Another option is to take the PSAT and compare with ACT. If a child is not doing as well as expected on the PSAT, then see how the ACT goes.

 

I have had two kids go through this so far. One had similar ACT and SAT results (he took it before the essay was added in). My second had unexpectedly bad PSAT. I switched her to ACT and she is getting very good scores. She will never take the SAT and so colleges will never see how she doesn't do as well on that test. SHe is a very black/white type of thinker and the SAT's trick questions were not her forte.

 

Oh, and all colleges take SAT or ACT. There are none left who only accept one. WHat there is a difference in is that some colleges do not require the essay on the ACT>

 

I agree with Chris. My son's experience was similar to her 2nd child's experience. He did fairly well on the PSAT, but extremely well on the ACT.

 

Since a couple of the colleges he was looking at required SAT2 tests, any SAT he took would have also been reported (this was before score choice) with the SAT2 scores. I didn't want the colleges to see an SAT score that was probably going to be quite a bit lower than his ACT score, so he did not take the SAT.

 

I would second the suggestion to get prep books from the library and figure out which (if any) is the better test for you, then plan accordingly. Also, as others have said, check with any colleges to make sure they accept either test.

 

Best wishes,

Brenda

[LuvingLife]

Thank you all so much! I think I may do better on the ACT than the SAT, but I am not so sure yet. I am going to the library soon and will check out some PSAT, SAT, and ACT books so that I will know which is better. I think I will take the PSAT and decide form there.:001_smile:

 

Thanks everyone for your help!!:grouphug: