Which to Take: SAT or ACT

Today I want to answer a question I get asked a lot: “Should my student take the SAT or should my student take the ACT?” 

In some states, every high schooler takes the SAT. In some states, every high schooler takes the ACT, and that’s really a product of how good of a job that test did marketing in your state. But because colleges don’t care which state you’re from—they just care whether you can succeed at their college—they don’t care which test you submit.

Yes, there are some notable differences between the tests. Most specifically, the SAT gives you more time per question, but more involved questions. The ACT gives you less time per question, but more straightforward questions. 

We see about half of our students get their best improvement on the SAT, and about half get their best improvement on the ACT. Which kind of student are you going to be? To be honest, you don’t know until you take these tests, look at the scores, and compare. And for that reason, we always encourage all of our students to take both the SAT and the ACT at least once, see how they do, and then make decisions about future tests based on that. 

If you have more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 732-556-8220. We are here to help.