<p>Well, my dream school is absolutely Stanford. I am planning on applying Early Action with photography and piano accompaniment. But here is my dilemma, I was told by my out of school counselor, who my family pays a lot, to ONLY take the ACT. But, I recently read that 92% that applied to Stanford submitted with SAT and only 5% with ACT. That reaaaallly makes me reconsider only taking the ACT. Should I take both and only submit the better? Or stick with the only ACT strategy? I just don't want to bomb the SAT and for it to somehow end up at a college (I know that I am over exaggerating) I got a 29 on my practice ACT, without studying, which I think is high considering the circumstances. But, I also got an 1920 on the practice SAT, which I also think is somewhat high. I would be taking whichever tests I take this fall of my Junior year. So, I would have three opportunities to take the tests. I just need some advice, please! Also, my counselor told me that you submit every SAT score you ever take, but only your highest ACT. That would help if you could clarify that. Thanks!</p>
<p>Take both. See which one you score better on, then just study that one and focus on perfecting that score. And I’m sorry to say that a 29 will not get you into Stanford, but with studying I’m sure you could raise it a few points! </p>
<p>Personally, I’m just taking the SAT. I sucked at the ACT, and many colleges superscore (take the highest of each section from multiple tests) the SAT.</p>
<p>Good luck :)</p>
<p>Take both. </p>
<p>Check Stanford’s policies on Score Choice and the ACT on its website. </p>
<p>29 or 1920 will not cut it. You need 33 or 2250. </p>
<p>By the way, I got 32 with no prep.</p>
<p>The ACT works well for some, the SAT better for others. In fact, the ACT has a time element that really puts some people at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, Stanford requires all scores to be sent. Were you hoping to only take the test once? At this point, you will not have a lot of time to improve if you applying EA, and if you can get a higher score on the other test, one would assume that the poor score was a matter of “test fit”. The only reason that I can see for doing ACT only is if you planned to claim that mailing the additional ACT scores were a financial burden for you and you didn’t self-report the other scores as required. That seems shady however, and useless since all scores are eventually required upon admission.</p>
<p>Take both. The worse that can happen is you do bad on one and good on the other</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! Just signed up for prep classes for both! :D</p>
<p>What classes did you sign up for?</p>
<p>I think the main message that the 92% SAT and 5% ACT conveys is that of the score ranges provided, the SAT one is much more apt than the ACT one. For instance, if you do well on the ACT I wouldn’t say you are at a disadvantage to someone who did well on the SAT. The only thing is what “well” represents is better represented by the middle 50% of SAT than ACT.</p>
<p>I know some of my friends did much better on the SAT, some a lot better on the ACT, and some equally. I did better on the ACT I guess it just depends on your test style or whatever so just take both.</p>