<p>is it true that the ACT is slightly easier than the SAT?</p>
<p>It totally depends on your strengths. The ACT has a science section, so if you're good at reading and interpreting graphs/scientific information, then it'll be pretty easy. </p>
<p>I find the math and reading sections to be much easier than the SAT math and reading sections, but a LOT of people totally bomb science, so overall, they're roughly equal. Writing is about the same on each.</p>
<p>Some do better on the ACT, some the SAT, and some do the same. The only way you can know is to take some sample tests.</p>
<p>thanks..from the sample q's ive seen, the act does seem easier---also, do barron's review books overprepare ?? i mean, do they purposely make the questions harder than they really are?? thats what i heard.</p>
<p>I think you really have to take an entire test to know for sure. I've seen some people on CC complain about feeling more rushed when doing the ACT. So you can't necessarily tell how you would do if you are just looking at a few questions in isolation (unless you timed yourself). </p>
<p>It IS hard to come up with comparable tests with the commercial test prep books. My daughter scored differently on them than she did on the actual ACTs, both in practice and in reality. Try to get hold of some real ACTs to get a realistic idea of where you would score.</p>
<p>It's been a while, but I think the Barrons book was fairly close with its tests, except for the science section (which other books didn't quite get right, either). The Dummies or Idiots book (can't remember which series what we had was) seemed to have the best tests, other than the actual tests in the ACT book and computer prep program from the ACT itself.</p>
<p>Ask your GC -- you may find some more actual past tests that way.</p>
<p>ACT vs. SAT:</p>
<p>reading: much easier on ACT, only 4 choices instead of 5 plus no sentence completions!</p>
<p>math: actual material covered is more difficult, but most people find the SAT math difficult because they learned that material so long ago, so they think the ACT math is easier (less chance of making stupid mistakes)</p>
<p>writing/english: about the same, though i've heard from several people that the essay prompts on the ACT are much weirder than those on the SAT</p>
<p>science: incomparable; depends on person</p>
<p>main diff: need to read and think faster on the ACT than SAT</p>
<p>sometimes one test is easier than the other for a person, though usually i think one test's score just confirms the other test's score</p>
<p>If you have followed this question which has appeared historically on this site in one way or another dozens of times, you will come to the conclusion that about half believe the SAT is harder and half the ACT. In other words they are both about equally hard and it is just a matter of who you ask. Majority believe the questions on the ACT are somewhat easier and more straightforward and the test does not try to trick you as much as the SAT. However, the majority also believe that the ACT has more time pressure than the SAT, thus eliminating any advantage of having somewhat easier questions. Also, the ACT has a less generous curve than the SAT -- for example, to score 36 in one of the sections on the test you must get all correct, and, particularly for science, missing a few causes significant drops; on many of the ACT tests, missing one science question means you get 34 not a 35, and missing 4 means you are down to a 31.</p>
<p>The SAT - ACT conversion chart is based on how people taking both tests did. So you can see how people on average do on one versus the other. </p>
<p>But it varies for individuals, of course. My son did equally well on both. My daughter did much better on the ACT. (However, she took practice tests of the old SAT. The new test has several changes making it more like the ACT, so if she were to take it today the difference would not probably be as great. So when you see stuff on the 'net comparing the two tests, you need to check how old the information is.)</p>