<p>I'm a sophomore and my dream schools are Boston University or Stanford University and I wanted to know if I should take the ACT, SAT, or both my junior year of high school? I am pretty good at math and science, but my reading and writing could use some work, so are what are the best books or practice tests to prepare me for either or both tests. Thank you!!!</p>
<p>for the act get the official red book made by the act people
for the sat get the official blue book made by collegeboard</p>
<p>after u finish the blue book i would suggest kaplan/princeton review/official tests u find online</p>
<p>collegeboard online study service thing is good too cause it has a bunch of tests on it </p>
<p>Granted that the SAT is changing format in the next year or two, so you might want to consider taking both to see how you do in already charted territory (i.e., the ACT) as well as the SAT, which will be, well, who knows. If you try for the NMSC competition, you will have to do the PSAT/SAT game, which is a great way to get good scholarship money at a good college if by some chance you don’t get into your dream schools. Since the ACT isn’t changing, the study materials for that will be the most accessible and plentiful. The new PSAT and SAT? Might want to check out some threads on here about those. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thank you so much both of you!!</p>
<p>I would definitely recommend taking both! There are pros and cons for both, and it really depends on the person which he/she finds easier. For example, I found the ACT easier because I thought it was more direct knowledge based questions.</p>
<p>ACT: direct-based knowledge questions (which I thought made it A LOT easier than the SAT) but includes science and many people run out of time b/c of the large amount of questions</p>
<p>SAT: more critical thinking questions, more time to finish I think</p>
<p>However, I haven’t taken the new SAT, so you never know! Good luck! </p>
<p>Also, I would definitely recommend taking the SAT/ACT as soon as possible, even in October/December of your junior year. I took it in January of my junior year and was still taking it in December of my senior year to get the grade I wanted!</p>