ACT vs. SAT-I/II requirements at top schools

<p>Anybody have a list? For instance, I called Princeton's admissions office and they told me that while I could submit my ACT score, they still require the SAT-I nonetheless, which I found strange and seemed a little contradictory. A list would be well appreciated.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/main/admission-aid/undergraduate/requirements/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/main/admission-aid/undergraduate/requirements/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>This is their main website, not outdated or anything. It says ACT or SAT. The admissions officer prolly meant that you should send SAT if you took both tests. It's simply a lie that Princeton doesn't take ACT.</p>

<p>Also, Yale, Brown, Upenn, and Duke will let you submit ACT in the place of both SAT and 2s. Harvey Mudd is the only college in the country I know of that doesn't take ACT in the place of SAT.</p>

<p>Thanks wonafido. That's pretty much exactly what I was looking for. The only question remains: is it possible that submitting the ACT versus the SAT would be "looked down upon" at all? I know, for instance, that Stanford states that if you send both the SAT and ACT, the SAT will be given more weight.</p>

<p>wonafido,</p>

<p>I believe that Wake Forest only takes the SAT. Other than that I think you are correct, it is very rare for a school not to accept the ACT for the testing requirements.</p>

<p>I think there's no reason to look down upon it, especially since they convert it to an SAT score anyway. They treat it like an SAT score basically. Educational experts have made the concordance tables, so that's a reliable source.</p>

<p>Are these conversion charts school specific? And are they public knowledge?</p>

<p>These charts are school specific I believe. I looked on a collegeboard website and it said an ACT of 33 is like a 1470, but in Hernandez's and a Senior Harvard adcom member's books 33 is 1480. Everything else is the same in those books. There isn't a reason that you shouldn't be able to call schools you're interested in and ask them specifically.</p>

<p>Search ACT SAT concordance on Google, and you'll see basically what colleges use.</p>

<p>For Princeton, you need to look at the correct page:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/pr/admissions/u/appl/05/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.princeton.edu/pr/admissions/u/appl/05/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>"ACT</p>

<p>If all of your other college choices require ACT results and not the SAT, you may submit the ACT (old or new) to Princeton in place of the SAT Reasoning Test. As with the SAT, it is recommended that students take the new ACT with the writing option at least once. Three SAT Subject Tests are still required."</p>

<p>Princeton has that special rule which virtually means you must submit the SAT since almost all colleges take either test and thus the highlighted condition above cannot be met (except if the only other school you apply to is Brigham Young which is the only one I am aware of that requires the ACT and does not take the SAT). Harvey Mudd and Wake Forest take only the SAT. Other than the above all colleges of any rank take either test (except there are some colleges that do not require any tests). Colleges that accept either test value them equally and it is untrue that Stanford gives the SAT more weight (it has not done that for years). As to condorance tables, the ones you will find on line are generally out of date as they all have their genesis in a percentile comparison study that the College Board did in 1996 based on 1994 and 1995 scores; some colleges still use that table, many weigh each test separately and do not equate the two, and many have their own condorance tables that they base on more recent test results (and annually update).</p>

<p>Only a minority of colleges (about 50) require SAT II's and a number of those will take the ACT in lieu of both the SAT and SAT II's, among which are Yale, Brown, Penn, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Brandeis, Amherst, Pomona, Vassar, Boston College, Wesleyan. Nevertheless, the rest of the ivies other than the three listed still require II's regardless of whether you submit the ACT or SAT, as well as MIT, Caltech, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, and some other high ranked schools. UChicago does not require or even recommend II's, Northwestern does not require them except for some special programs but recommends them otherwise, Stanford does not require but recommends II's, Wash U St. Louis the same, Vanderbilt requires some II's only for placement purposes after you are admitted. The UC's and Virginia require II's, but Mich, NC, UIUC, Wis and most state colleges do not require them and generally do not even look at them for admission even if submitted.</p>

<p>Yeah, but, in those that take the ACT in lieu of both SAT-I and -II tests, it's been stated various times that those that simply submit their ACT scores seem to be accepted at a lower rate than those who send the SAT- test's too.</p>

<p>Where do you live? It would probably look weird if you were from Jersey, but if you were from, say, Indiana, it would probably look less weird. I don't know. Standardized testing is a racket anyhow.</p>