<p>My ACT score is comparable to my sat score on the conversion chart. however, on every school viewbook my act is above the 75% average and my sat is around the 50%. Does anyone know if they weight the act grades higher or lower scores are given to the act? do colleges actually not view a 30 act as a 1350 old sat, is it actually higher?</p>
<p>It might depend on which school you're applying to. I asked this question to NYU and they said that they look at your ACT score individually and in relation to the SAT score, but that no test is necessarily "better" than the other, just "different".</p>
<p>Remember that the SAT I (old, at least) was a reasoning test. The ACT os actually more (but not all) of a measure of what you actually know.</p>
<p>In my research, I have generally found that ACT scores are somewhat lower than average SAT scores. For example, at Barnard the median SAT was a 1380 for the class of 2009, but the median ACT was a 28 (which is comparable to a 1240 - 1270 on the SAT). I don't know why that is, but I think it's something to note.</p>
<p>My advice to you would be to use that to your advantage.</p>
<p>i know that is a hundred point difference than what they use for conversion...is that because scores on act are lower so a higher score looks better or people taking the act do worse?</p>
<p>here's my view; it has some validity to it, but for the most part, it's just a guess. ACT is dominant in most of the lower ranking states in education...ie Mississippi and Louisiana. Because colleges are generally looking for different backgrounds and socio-economical differnces between applicants, their ACT scores are usually lower. Generally, most people submit SAT because the majority of the applicants to "big" places are in advanced states. My point is that the ACT range may be lower, but I belive it's because of the people who submit ACT rather than SAT.</p>
<p>Nope. It's just because the ACT is a better test than the SAT and harder to prep for.</p>
<p>Historically, the SAT dominated in schools along the coasts while the ACT dominated in the midwest and south. The College Board's VP of R&D stated in 2001 in an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, "students who do well on one test also do well on the other, and both have similar performance gaps between students of different races." It may be that the people who take the ACT differ in some way from those who take the SAT but I think it's just as likely that there is more sophisticated SAT prepping going on than ACT prepping, since ACT is mainly achievement oriented, so students often think they don't need to do all that much to prepare--and they don't. When was the last time you heard of a kid going to weekly Saturday ACT prep classes?</p>
<p>I think I did better on the ACT than the SAT (33 vs. 1980, both first tries) because I didn't want to put a lot of effort into "learning" about the SATs intricacies when I could do so well on the ACT because I really have received a great education and am a fantastic student, not because I can think critically the way CB wants me to or memorize a tactic.</p>
<p>Okay...hold on...I went to weekly saturday ACT prep classes - and I lived on Long Island...</p>
<p>I think that the ACT is more of a test of knowledge, so what you know is what you know and you can't do much to prep except practice what you know and gain more knowledge, which is hard to do two days before test time. The SAT is (or was) a Reasoning Test. Therefore, it doesn't really test what you know. It tests your ability to reason. Even though knowing alot will help you, I know people who didn't really do well in math in school who aced the math portion of the SAT. I don't think one test is better than the other. The tests are just different and they test different things.</p>
<p>You will find many colleges where their 50% range ACT appears to be lower than the 50% range for the SAT for basically two reasons. First, many colleges do not rely on those conversion charts you find on-line and neither should you. All of them have their genesis in one created by the College Board which you will find on its site. However, you need to read the footnotes at the bottom of the CB's chart. In 1996. CB did a percentile rank comparison of ACT and SAT scores from 1994-96. Its conversion chart is based on that study and its numbers are now outdated, making all those other on-line charts that rely on the CB's numbers equally outdated. The CB has since never done another conversion chart based on test score data after 1996. Many colleges today use more recent data from the two tests, ACT and SAT, to create their own conversion charts and the result is now that any particular ACT score is equivalent to a higher SAT score than the test scores showed in the mid-1990's. The second reason the 50% range ACT scores appear lower than the SAT scores is because colleges know their usual "multiple-test" rule tends to skew SAT scores to be somewhat higher than a comparable ACT score -- majority of colleges take the highest subscores from multiple SAT tests to get your SAT score but for the ACT the majority take only that ACT test with the highest composite. (Note, you will now find some conversion charts providing a conversion between the new SAT with its total potential score of 2400 to the ACT. Those charts are the most invalid and useless that exist and are simply taking old conversion charts and making a percentage projection to a new SAT II score. There isn't even enough data available yet on the new SAT, particularly the writing section, to attempt a valid comparison.)</p>
<p>they test different things</p>
<p>ACT tests "breadth of knowledge</p>
<p>SAT tests "critical reasoning</p>
<p>Different subject areas</p>
<p>ACT has science</p>
<p>SAT doens't</p>
<p>You testing "against" different things</p>
<p>ACT you test against the clock, this favors people who work quickly, and may make a few mistakes</p>
<p>SAT you test against your own judgement, points are taken off for getting a question wrong, so it favors students who are careful with bubbles, and are sure of their answers</p>
<p>Either way, the scores should be pretty close</p>