<p>I'm new at this and this question is probably already answered but I'm still confused. I've been studying for my SATs but I havent been doing well on them at all. now, i was wondering if I should continue studying for the SATs or if I should try the ACT's...will all schools accept the ACTs and what is the real difference between the two? I'm going to be applying to UCLA, USC, NYU,Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley, among other schools and I just want to clarify that I have the choice of taking either the SAT or ACT and not be penalized for either or..thanks</p>
<p>Well, take my opinion on this issue with a grain of salt:</p>
<p>1) While some people believe that the SAT is preferred at elite colleges, I simply refuse to believe that. As far as I know (and would speculate), if you send in an ACT score it simply gets converted to an SAT score for ease of admissions and convenience purposes. I would bet that the actual college decision people have no idea which tests you took because everything comes in as a uniform package.</p>
<p>2) I am an adamant supporter of the ACT. I think it is a FAR better test. Like the Princeton Review book says, the SAT claims to measure aptitude (which I don't think can be measured with a standardized test), while the ACT claims to measure achievement (which is purely quantitative and can easily be measured by a test).</p>
<p>I think the material for reading and math on the ACT is much better. I think the presentation of the English, the lack of ambiguous reading questions, and the division into longer, more complete sections instead of mini-quizzes like those on the SAT make the ACT a substantially better test and a much fairer evaluation of skills learned in high school.</p>
<p>Point is: get a practice test and see if you do better.</p>
<p>How do they convert the ACT marks into SAT scores? Does that mean if you aren't good at SATs but you do really well on ACTs then your score will ultimately look like you did well on the SATs? is that what you mean?</p>
<p>ACT Composite Score Recentered SAT I Score
Verbal+Math
36 1600
35 1580
34 1520
33 1470
32 1420
31 1380 </p>
<p>30 1340
29 1300
28 1260
27 1220
26 1180 </p>
<p>25 1140
24 1110
23 1070
22 1030
21 990 </p>
<p>20 950
19 910
18 870
17 830
16 780 </p>
<p>15 740
14 680
13 620
12 560
11 500</p>
<p>Thanks. one other question. I'm taking a practise ACT test inside a book that I have. After I'm done, how do I figure out my score?There's no scoring chart like the SAT books have to change your raw score into the other score</p>
<p>I agree with ReninDetroit, the ACT is a much better test.</p>
<p>lizziebella: there should be. Your raw score is just the amount of questions you got right (no deduction for wrong answers).</p>
<p>Flip through the book again. For English, it's like this:</p>
<p>75 - 36
74 - 35
73 - 34
72 - 33
71 - 32
70 - 31
69 - 30
68 - 30</p>
<p>as you approach the average (20), a broader range of scores applies to each scaled score, and then it tapers off again towards zero.</p>
<p>But I'm positive there's a chart in there.</p>