Do colleges prefer either the SAT or ACT?

Test Preparation ACT Preparation
1

<p>I know many say they don't but....</p>

<p>Basically I just want to know if ACT takers are at any disadvantage compared to SAT takers</p>

2

<p>Nope. None at all. The ACT is more common than SAT in some parts of the country and the SAT is more common than the ACT in others.</p>

3

<p>they look at it the same. they convert the act score to an sat score</p>

4

<p>When converting ACT to SAT, is the ACT reading equivalent to SAT CR and the ACT English basically the same as the SAT Writing?</p>

5

<p>they don't do it like that. there is a conversion chart. your score on the ACT has a corresponding range on the SAT. they don't do individual components.</p>

6

<p>So basically, (hypothetically speaking, of course!) if I get a good score on the ACT (say 33+), I won't have to take the SAT?</p>

7

<p>Hypothetically speaking, that is correct. If you do well on the ACT (however you define it for yourself), you don't have to take the SAT.</p>

8

<p>OK, thanks!</p>

9

<p>I have a sort of follow-up question on this; hope it's okay if I add it to this thread.</p>

<p>I took the SAT in March and got a mediocre score (2100s). When I retook in May, my score dropped by about 90 points (2000s).</p>

<p>I plan to take a stab at the ACT this October after having prepped for it this summer (my state doesn't offer the September test, unfortunately). Assuming I do well (34 or 35), I shouldn't have to retake the SAT, right? I mean, I've heard they'll take the better of the two, but I wanted to check if it's a bad sign that your SAT and ACT scores don't line up.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
Assuming I do well (34 or 35), I shouldn't have to retake the SAT, right?

[/quote]
</p>

<p><a href="http://www.act.org/news/data/06/pdf/National2006.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.act.org/news/data/06/pdf/National2006.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p>That's quite a high ACT score, and should be adequate for any college you are applying to. </p>

<p>As for the question in the original post, I'm searching various college Web sites to see if there are colleges anymore that have a strict preference for one test or the other. Harvard definitely does not, </p>

<p><a href="http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=1251&profileId=6%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=1251&profileId=6&lt;/a> </p>

<p>if I am to believe what I was told by a Harvard admission representative in May 2007. I think these days most colleges with a national draw are happy to get strong students, whatever tests those students have taken. If anyone finds a college with a stated preference, please let me know.</p>