<p>I just got my scores for the June test date (my first sitting): 2290, 800 CR/690 M/800 W (11 essay).</p>
<p>While I'm thrilled to have gotten perfect scores on two of the three sections, I'm concerned about not having broken the 700 mark in math. My primary academic interest is German; however, I still fear that highly selective colleges will not be pleased with this math score.</p>
<p>Now, I took the state ACT in April, and I got a 35, with a 36 in English and math, 33 in reading, and 32 in science. The 36 in math is obviously much more impressive than the 690. </p>
<p>Will the good ACT math score make up for the mediocre SAT one? Or will colleges take one look at the 690 and shake their heads sadly?</p>
<p>If the SAT is much more important, I could retake it to get the math score up. This was my first SAT and I didn't do any prep work at all (no books, practice tests, anything, because I was lazy). If I prepared for the one in the fall, my math score would probably increase. But I really don't want to retake it. I thought I was done with the tests and my motivation is pretty much gone.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you messed up on either your ACT Composite or subscores (it averages to a 34.25), but colleges don’t prefer one test over the other. If you got a 36 on the ACT Math, you can probably pull off an 800 on the SAT IF YOU WANT TO. If you don’t want to prepare, you won’t, or will do so ineffectively (trust me on that one). A 35 is impressive, and you can sit on that and be perfectly fine; in your situation, I’d be greedy and shoot for the 800 Math to frame a perfect SAT, but it really doesn’t matter after a certain point. Also, if you haven’t looked into SAT Subject Tests yet, you’ll want to spend your October date on those anyway (unless you’re choosing a college that accepts November dates or doesn’t require Subject Tests).</p>
<p>Take a break and see what you want to do after summer.</p>
<p>No college in the country will openly admit that they prefer one test over the other. But there is a LITTLE bit more weight toward the SAT. Just a little, but not significant at all.</p>
<p>Put this in perspective. Imagine yourself as a middle-aged admin officer. These people have taken the SAT; the ACT is a relatively new test, so they can better relate to scores on the SAT than those of the SAT. For example, a 2200 , on paper, seems more prestigious, than say a 33.</p>
<p>Will they think a 2290 is as prestigious as a 35? </p>
<p>@Skeezy - Yeah, I did mess up on my subscores. I got a 33 in science, not a 32. I must have mixed up the science score on that one with the one on the schoolwide practice test.</p>
<p>On the PSAT, I got a 64 on math, so 690 is actually better than expected. I just find it baffling that I could do so well on the ACT math section and so poorly on the SAT math. Perhaps I just had a particularly good day that day - the highest ACT math score I got on a practice test was 30.</p>
<p>If I did want the 2400 superscore, I know I’d have to put a large amount of time towards working with the types of math questions the SAT asks. I’d be more warm towards the idea of retaking the SAT if not for the knowledge that I would have to actually work for the desired score, when I already scored at least high above the national average. I do want the higher math score, but I’m not so sure I’m willing to prepare in advance for the test if the 36 in math on the ACT will be enough to make up for it.</p>
<p>Actually, according to ACT’s conversion chart, a 35 is higher than a 2290 (in the website, it uses the 1600 SAT format, but a 35 is still higher than your 1490).</p>
<p>As to your slight bewilderment on your ACT math success, the SAT and ACT test your math skills in two somewhat different ways: the SAT tests your math skills with logic while the ACT tests your math skills much more straightforwardly. In other words, there are many ways the SAT can make math problems (though there are some noticeable patterns), but since the ACT tests actual math you’ve learned, there are a lot less tricks into the problems, and the ACT has more problems where you either know it or you don’t.</p>
<p>Yeah, I read that a 2290 corresponds to a 34. So, it’s not a huge difference, but it’s a difference nevertheless (though a fairly typical one, it seems, since females tend to perform better on the ACT than the SAT). </p>
<p>I’m on the “advanced” track for math - I’m taking AP Calc BC senior year. However, math has always been my worst subject and my mind seems much more wired to verbal (as opposed to mathematical) learning/activities. With that in mind, it seems to make sense that I would do worse on a logic-based math test than a knowledge-based one. </p>
<p>I just hope I still stand a chance at Swarthmore!</p>
<p>I don’t think my scores will be a problem. Except for SAT math, I think I’m at least in the middle 50% just about anywhere. And schools like MIT and CalTech that are very math-centric aren’t the type of school I hope/plan to attend. </p>
<p>It would just be nice to have something to add to my application when my GPA is low for a selective school (3.8 UW/~4.6 W). I’m securely in the top 10%, but my school is doing away with rankings, including decile, so my Bs in math and chemistry might make me appear more incompetent than I actually am.</p>
<p>I took the June ACT as well and got my scores back, and my scores were completely perfect - all 36s, and a 12 on the essay - so I’m not so worried anymore. :)</p>
<p>maziar321, What is the evidence that colleges weigh more on SAT? Can you be more specific? Why can’t they be open about it? Don’t they want to know how well can a student with a perfect ACT score do on a SAT by encouraging taking SAT?</p>
<p>Colleges accept either test on equal grounds. Suggestions above that some colleges may secretly weigh the SAT on a higher ground should be ignored including because they suggest that massive numbers of colleges are liars when they say they treat the tests on equal grounds and you cannot assume that colleges regularly engage in lying to applicants.</p>