Okay, so I know that this has probably been discussed and dissected a million times before, but even after reading everything I could find on the subject, I still find myself in a pickle. I am going into 10th grade this year, and I definitely want to take the ACT/SAT once or twice this school year to get ahead and get a feel for it and how I’m scoring. The dilemma is-- I’m not really sure which I should take. I’m also unsure because of the introduction of the new SAT and how that complicates things, as the redesigned SAT seems to be more similar to the ACT.
Here is what I can tell you about myself if it helps in your evaluation-- I got a 190 on the PSAT this year after not much studying which I’m okay with. I got a 73 on writing, a 63 on CR, and a 54 on math, so obviously math is my weakest skill that I’ll have to work on. My favorite subjects in school are english and science (although I guess the science section on the ACT doesn’t even involve that much science knowledge as it does interpreting a graph knowledge). The fact that you need a more advanced vocabulary on the old SAT than the ACT doesn’t really bother me because I have a pretty good vocabulary from reading a lot and can pick up words pretty well. However the fact that there are some precalc concepts on the ACT worries me because I won’t have precalc until junior year… however I do like the fact the math questions seem to be more straightforward on the ACT.
Another thing is, I’m not sure if it would make more sense logically for me to just forget about trying to take the old SAT at all, and just focus all my efforts on taking the new SAT in the spring & taking it again junior year, or just forget about the SAT entirely because there aren’t a ton of resources released for the new SAT yet so it might be more difficult and then just choosing the ACT instead. If I chose the ACT, I wouldn’t have to worry about wasting my time studying for the old SAT and then switching my efforts for the redesigned SAT. Right now, overall, I feel like I’m kind of leaning toward the old SAT just because I know the most about it (I know way less about the ACT) and because I took the PSAT already, but I honestly would be happy to take another route.
I have no idea how to figure this out, short of actually taking a practice test of both exams,which I’m kind of reluctant to do because I’d rather just throw myself into the studying processes for one of the tests and not waste two weeks taking practice tests to try to figure out test yields the higher score. Any help would be much appreciated!
I don’t understand why you would want to take the test as a sophomore. Some schools (Yale, Stanford to name two) want to see all your scores. I do think it makes sense to take “diagnostic” practice tests at home or at a test prep center for the tests that you are considering. That is what my daughter did. It did not take weeks. Just two mornings. She saw that her scores were comparable but preferred the feel of the SAT so that is what she took. She started preparing over the summer between sophomore and junior years and her preparation was mostly taking practice tests and studying vocabulary.
@uesmomof2 Thank you so much for your reply! So you don’t think it’s wise to take the test as a sophomore? I was planning to put in a lot of study time this summer for whatever test I chose and because my PSAT score wasn’t too bad I didn’t think I was woefully unprepared… Does it look bad to a college like Yale or Stanford if an applicant has a lower score, like a 1900, but then is able to get a much higher score as a junior or senior? Thank you so much for a description of what your daughter did. I saw on a website that it was recommended to set aside two weekends for taking each diagnostic test but after your description I do think it would probably make sense to just set aside two days for taking the test, I definitely have that time. I’m just still a little bit unsure of whether I should even try the old SAT or just focus all of my efforts on the new SAT or just do the ACT. Anyway, thank you so much for your input, I definitely plan on trying to take a similar approach to your daughter!
I would definitely say that it’s wise to take the SAT as early as possible… If I were in your position, though, I’d probably focus on the new SAT or ACT, because although the old SAT has some overlap with the new one, you’ll only have a pretty limited amount of time, until January of sophomore year, to focus on the old test. You might as well get a headstart on the new one, or focus on the ACT. So I would probably find out some information on the new SAT, and how you fare with the ACT, which has a lot more study materials by the way, and figure out which one would personally be better for you.
Also, at least for me, the PSAT score increased a lot, partly because of the bad curve on the PSAT. I got a 197 on my PSAT junior year, and ended up with a 2260 SAT superscore going into my senior year. So a large improvement is possible! Good luck.
You could check to see if the local library has free SAT or ACT tests. Ours does and it gave my son a good parameter of where he would score. He did take the ACT recently as a freshman without yet taking precalc and it turned out nicely…but I would caution if math is harder for you to practice and there isn’t a problem with waiting. Either way it will work out, best of luck!
ACTs and SATs aren’t really tests one can study for other than retaking the test. Several of my friends dished out a ton of money on fancy prep courses for very little gain. Some even did a bit worse after taking the courses. So taking a bunch of practice tests to diagnose which one you’re better at is actually the best course of studying.
@ALibertarian Thank you so much! Wow, I would be thrilled with that kind of SAT score, nice job! I definitely am someone that likes a lot of practice materials so that might make me lean toward the ACT now… the only reservation I have about the ACT is that I’m worried studying for the PSAT junior year and trying to become a national merit scholar (I guess for that you have to take the SAT at some point anyway??) will interfere. Maybe as the tests become more alike this will be less of a problem. Thanks for the awesome advice, I think I’ll just try taking practice tests like you advised and see which is the better fit for me.
@jcmom716 wow, congrats on your son doing pretty well so early! That’s an excellent suggestion, I will look to see if my library has those, and I’m glad to hear that not taking precalc didn’t turn out to be much of an issue for your son. Hopefully with some practice that won’t be an issue for me either!
@Scrippsie I totally agree. I don’t think I’m going to bother with prep courses and am just going to try to get my hands on as many books/ practice tests as I can. I definitely think the best route will be for me to just try both of them out and see which I like better!
I’m just still a little bit unsure of whether I should even try the old SAT or just focus all of my efforts on the new SAT or just do the ACT. Anyway, thank you so much for your input, I definitely plan on trying to take a similar approach to your daughter!