Which test to take ACT or SAT?

[Quiver0f10]

So far my older kids did the SAT because we lived in the north and that was the norm. My upcoming 12th grader only did the ACT because he plans to just go to the CC for 2 years. I am wondering which test my upcoming 10th grader should do though. He is planning on pre-med, but has no idea which school he wants to attend. Should we do both test? Or does it really matter which one he does?

[JFSinIL]

Our entire district has to take the ACT in the spring of Jr. year as a grad. requirement. So if you want the advice of the state of Illinois......ACT.

[langfam]

I've been told they should take both because you never know which one they have an aptitude for and do better in.

[Jan P.]

My ds took both. He preferred the SAT over the ACT. He thought the ACT was harder. It could have been that most of his test prep was for the SAT and not the ACT, so he didn't do as well on the ACT since it is different.

 

HTH,

Jan P.

[Brenda in MA]

so you can see if he'd do better on one vs. the other. If he take the PSAT in the fall, you'll have a good idea of how he'd do on the SAT. You can check ACT prep books out of the library and have him do the sample tests to see how he'd do with that.

 

I know that lots of people like to have their dc do both tests, but IMO, if the schools he's looking at take either one, then you'll be investing a lot of time having your child study for 2 tests. We opted just for the ACT because I felt my son's time was better spent working on his junior year classes than studying for a second round of standardized tests.

 

JM2Cents,

Brenda

[lunchlady]

My son did much better on the ACT. He got a 1230 on the SAT and a 31 on the ACT. He actually studied more for the SAT, but the logic/ tricky questions is much harder for him than the straight forward questions on the ACT. So, I definitely say to take both

 

Lisa

[momofkhm]

NC does require a standardized test each year. Even though where we live the SAT is the norm for colleges, many take the ACT because it also counts as a standardized test for NC. The SAT does not. I don't know why. It's just what high school moms have told me.

 

So for me, I'll have my kids take the ACT since it can count towards both.

[Sharon in MD]

We decided to see which test would be better suited for ds by trying them at home with the practice test books from the companies. We thought he would be better suited for the ACT, but after some prep and a practice test, we found that he did better on the SAT. I think it was because the Science section is really more of a READING section and that is a weaker area for him.

 

I was really surprised, but that was the way it fell out here....so we went for just the SAT. I didn't feel like we could afford the time to invest in two different test prep programs.... it seems to me that you have to approach them differently enough that you couldn't really do just general prep. I'd rather ds put his eggs in the best basket for him, so to speak.

 

It did cost a little time to experiment, but not as much as prepping fully for both tests.

[Lisa in TN]

While the two tests are different, they overlap enough that studying for one of them can also help with the other. My dd spent some time with SAT prep materials before taking the PSAT in 11th grade. She took the ACT around the same time, and her score went up markedly from the previous spring. She ended up using her ACT scores for college applications, and didn't bother taking the SAT.

[SandyKC]

We were advised that students planning to go into science related fields might find the ACT is better 'suited' for them. If they can pull off a high science score on the ACT it helps their scientific aspirations stand out better than the SAT.

 

Still, I go with the earlier recommendation to have the child take both and go with whichever the child shines more in. The biggest thing I think kids need to know when taking both is the differences in scoring--SAT penalizes for guessing, ACT does not.

 

My child took the ACT for the Duke TIP program, and will do it again for "real" in 11th grade, and he'll take the SAT that year too.

[mcconnellboys]

ACT seems to be gaining in prominence right now, but if he's not sure of schools, it would probably be best for him to take both tests.

[Staci in CT]

The tests are quite different from each other. While the ACT is achievement based and theoretically should be easier, the time pressure on that test is intense. The SAT is more aptitude oriented, and more easily studied for through "here's the trick" programs. One should be quite familiar with how to quickly understand these questions. Too much practice testing will never be a problem. How about 20 min. each day for 3 months before each exam?

 

All that said, and despite taking the SAT every year since 7th grade, both my dds scored noticeably higher on the ACT. Go figure.

 

Staci