<p>When college admissions officers say that they take both the ACT and SAT, do they really consider it the same? For the competitive schools, I see they list the average SAT scores of their applicants and stuff, but rarely address ACT score percentages... Would it be better if I submitted my SAT scores, or could I get away with perfect ACT scores? is a 2400 equivalent to a 36 in their minds?</p>
<p>It is the same. Most east and west coast schools list SATs because it is the majority of what they receive.</p>
<p>Ya, idk I personally believe that the SAT is much harder and more innately deceptive than the ACT, and thus they should be treated unequally. However, these ivies do all claim that they are treated equally. My honest guess is that it just depends on the admission officer that is reading your app with regard to how they view the ACT. I am certain that some officers just have a underlying personal bias for the SAT when reading your app, but many officers will really try to be objective and look at them the same. So, there is no easy way to answer this question…it just depends who is reading your app. Btw, I am from Nebraska where I am the only one at my HS who has taken the SAT…lol there is kinda an ACT bias where I live.</p>
<p>If you go on CollegeBoard.com and look up colleges’ middle 50% scores, CollegeBoard also provides the percent who submitted scores. For whatever reason, schools tend to receive more SAT scores than ACT scores. For example, here’s Cornell’s profile: [College</a> Search - Cornell University - SAT®, AP®, CLEP®](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>95% submitted the SAT while only 29% submitted the ACT.</p>
<p>For some schools like Northwestern ( [College</a> Search - Northwestern University - NU - SAT®, AP®, CLEP®](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) ) the difference isn’t quite so dramatic ( 80% vs 54% ), but it’s a pretty common trend, at least among the more prestigious schools. </p>
<p>I’m not sure why it is. Maybe because of a perceived preference for the SAT? Or maybe because of the PSAT / National Merit scholarship offerings? In any case, it’s not the product of an actual admissons officer preference for the SAT.</p>
<p>From my experience, ACT is easier and the scores are more lenient. But yes, a 36 on the ACT is the EXACT same as a 2400 SAT in their minds.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s true. The national score reports for both tests indicate that it’s actually more difficult statistically to score a 36 composite on the ACT than it is to get a 2400 on the SAT. The tests take different approaches to assessing whether students are ready for college level work, but don’t fool yourself – neither test is easy.</p>
<p>No college cares about this anymore. </p>
<p>[All</a> four-year U.S. colleges now accept ACT test - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-03-18-life-cover-acts_N.htm]All”>http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-03-18-life-cover-acts_N.htm)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Both tests measure you relative to your peers. IF the ACT were actually easier, it wouldn’t matter. ACT scores 32 and up are still all within the 99th percentile. I suppose the size of the SAT and ACT pools might be different, but besides that, there’s no reason to think high ACT scores are less valuable than high SAT scores.</p>
<p>^Actually, the size of the test pools are pretty similar – both approximately 1.5 million.</p>
<p>Ya, however they are completely different pools. I am gonna stereotype like crazy right now, but I don’t think that I am wrong here. The ACT is dominated by the midwest. Now, while there are clear exceptions, the study body in the midwest (I am a proud Nebraskan with a 35 on the ACT and 2340 on the SAT btw) is traditionally not quite as high caliber and academic as the costal student body that takes the SAT in much higher numbers. Say whatever you want, but I have invested alot of time in studying for both tests and, at least for me, the ACT is just easier than the SAT…I consider my SAT score to be a fluke because it was much higher than anything I got on the practice tests.</p>
<p>They are EQUAL. Schools say that they take either one in lieu of the other, so either one will not hurt you. Most schools just convert their ACT scores into SAT scores based on their own charts, which is similar to the one that the ACT provides.</p>
<p>Some adcoms might have a bias/preference, but it should not affect you that much. Especially if you have higher on one than the other.</p>
<p>^Sorry, rtgrove123, but I don’t buy that. The ACT-SAT concordance tables (which are published by the College Board) and the national score reports for both tests don’t support your position.</p>
<p>please elaborate gbesq</p>
<p>okay, so if I got a 36 act, I shouldn’t waste my time on studying for the SAT?</p>
<p>^Correct. Rtgrove123, back to you in a minute.</p>
<p>Concordance tables: [SAT-ACT</a> Concordance Tables](<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/sat/sat-act]SAT-ACT”>Score Comparisons – SAT Suite | College Board)</p>
<p>This is getting interesting. Explain, gbesq.</p>
<p>The two tests are most definitely not equal for elite college admissions. It’s impossible to convince some of the ACT-defenders because they refuse to accept that the ACT is easier and thus less valued by adcoms. At the end, elite universities will not treat two COMPLETELY different tests perfectly equally. </p>
<p>You might want to see this thread for more info and you can decide for yourself:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/755792-how-act-sat-even-considered-equal.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-act-tests-test-preparation/755792-how-act-sat-even-considered-equal.html</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Point 1:</p>
<p>Projected number of public and private HS graduates by region, 2009-2010:</p>
<p>Northeast 611,511
South 1,137,215
Midwest 758,546
West 801,678</p>
<p>Source: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, "Knocking at the College Door: Projections of High School Graduates by State and Race/Ethnicity, 1992-2002 (2008)</p>
<p>From this data we can conclude:
a) High School graduates in the Northeast represent less than 20% of the nation’s total.
b) The Northeast produces fewer High School graduates than any other region.
c) The South produces the most High School graduates, followed by the West and Midwest, respectively.
d) As such, the majority of the high school graduates live in areas where the ACT is the favored test.</p>
<p>Point 2:</p>
<p>The only states that perennially rank in the top 10 in BOTH statewide average SAT scores and statewide average ACT scores are Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa—all in the Midwest, NOT either coast where the supposedly “smarter” high school graduates come from. Source: ACT and SAT National Score Reports</p>
<p>Point 3: </p>
<p>The ACT-SAT concordance tables, which are published by the College Board (as we all know, the SAT’s parent organization) provide a methodology for converting from one score format to another. As such, someone like you Rtgrove123, who scored a 2340 on the SAT and a 35 composite on the ACT, did about the SAME on both tests relative to your peers. This is typical, not atypical. </p>
<p>Point 4:</p>
<p>In 2008, of the 1,518,858 seniors who took the SAT1, 7,798 scored 2270 or higher on CR and math and writing, which works out to be be 0.00597%. 13,987 scored 1510 or higher for the CR and math sections, roughly 0.009%. 34 ACT= 1510 for two SAT sections or 2270 for 3 SAT sections.</p>
<p><a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.co…osite_cr_m.pdf%5B/url%5D”>http://professionals.collegeboard.co…osite_cr_m.pdf</a>
<a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.co…ite_cr_m_w.pdf%5B/url%5D”>http://professionals.collegeboard.co…ite_cr_m_w.pdf</a>
ACT-SAT Concordance </p>
<p>In 2008, 9,658 of the 1,421,941 students who took the ACT received a composite score of 34-36. That works out to .68%. The percentage of students taking the SAT in 2008 who scored in the 1500-1600 range on BOTH CR and M is .92% (13,987 of 1,518,858), which is HIGHER than the .68% of all students who took the ACT who received a composite score in the 34-36 range. Translation: it’s harder to get a perfect score on the ACT than on the SAT.</p>
<p>Aznjunior: Definitely not, unless you just love taking tests. A 36 n the ACT is as good as it gets. Maybe, if you really want to, and you have time, you would retake after SAT IIs.</p>
<p>SAT and ACT are equal, no matter what people say here. Just to represent people’s personal test views on bot sides, I consider the ACT to be much harder than the SAT. I live in Ohio, but I think at my school more emphasis on the SAT. I’ve never really understood the ACT. When I got back my score (30), I assumed it was mediocre based on how I had felt about the test when I took it, and my random guessing on most of the science section. But it’s still low compared to me SAT score.</p>