<p>I'm a rising junior and am about to purchase the SAT Blue Book to use this summer. I'm wondering - should I take both the ACT and SAT or just the SAT?</p>
<p>You should plan on taking them both. Because they test for somewhat different skills, everyone ends up doing better on one than the other, and it is quite difficult beforehand to predict which one suits you better.</p>
<p>But you don’t mention the PSAT; I assume you know that you take that this fall. The ideal strategy is to take the SAT that is given just near the PSAT date, then your study time serves double duty.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. That’s true. I’ll have to look into that. Don’t the vast majority of colleges require SAT scores? If so, wouldn’t the ACT be a waste of time?</p>
<p>Look at the schools you are interested in, and see which they require. Many schools take either. Some elite schools want SATII tests, if you submit the SAT1.</p>
<p>But I think you are right that the SAT has the larger market share. If you take the ACT, also take the optional writing, which virtually every school demands.</p>
<p>Okay, thank you for your help! :)</p>
<p>By the way, do you have any ACT prep book recommendations? I was thinking about buying “Barron’s ACT 36”… do you know if this is a good one? Also, should I buy another SAT prep book in addition to the Blue Book?</p>
<p>My daughter recommends ‘Princeton Review’ for ACT. She is going to be sr.</p>
<p>Barron’s 36 worked well for me. Buy it.</p>
<p>Thanks, both of you! Do you have any other SAT prep book suggestions?</p>