<p>I ask this because growing up, I've always been taught that the ACT is a test for wusses and that the SAT is a much more prestigious test, and if you want to go to an amazing college like Harvard, you need to take the SAT. Now with Harvard and the other top schools saying that they have no preference between the two, is this REALLY true? I ask because I feel that I can easily get 34+ on the ACT but a score of 2300+ seems impossible to me. On the Harvard common data set, 92% of applicants submitted the SAT with 30% submitting the ACT, so about 20% submitting both? So I don't want to be that minority 30% and not-knowingly having lower chances of admission.</p>
<p>And also Can I submit both or…?</p>
<p>“SAT is the more prestigious test” is a stereotype. Harvard TRULY doesnt care</p>
<p>Harvard doesn’t care. Just follow the instructions of each school regarding standardized test requirements. There is nothing hidden between the lines. They mean it exactly as written. It used to be that ACT was less widely accepted but that time has passed. In the last five to seven years, it has become equally as accepted as SAT I and in certain cases as “replacement” for SAT I and SATsubject tests.
Case in point: my D submitted ACT with Writing and three SAT subject tests to Harvard - as instructed. Then ACT with Writing ONLY to Yale - again as they instructed. She got into both H and Y . Note that she did not submit SAT I to either school.
Your ACT of 34 is roughly equivalent to SAT of 2300 - so if you have either of those scores, that should be enough (regarding standardized testing). These schools use holistic admission criteria, so no need to worry about which test. Either one is ok.</p>
<p>adit: strap on your thinking cap here. Vast areas of the country do not emphasize the SAT whatsoever. Havard and the like spend millions and countless man-hours courting applicants from these areas for great applicants.</p>
<p>Once submitted, they will then turn around and automatically handicap them b/c they only took the ACT? Wouldn’t it be more logical to master interpretation and application of student performance based on ACT scores?</p>
<p>Think about it, Havard aspirant. And YES you can submit both.</p>
<p>Page 9 of Harvard Common Data Set: <a href=“http://www.provost.harvard.edu/institutional_research/CDS2010_2011_Final.pdf[/url]”>http://www.provost.harvard.edu/institutional_research/CDS2010_2011_Final.pdf</a></p>
<p>32% of freshman enrolled submitted the ACT
91% of freshman enrolled submitted the SAT</p>
<p>So if my interpretation of the data is correct:
9% of freshman enrolled submitted just the ACT
23% of freshman enrolled submitted both the ACT and SAT
68% of freshman enrolled submitted just the SAT</p>
<p>And for the record, a 34 ACT is equivalent to a 2280 SAT: <a href=“http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/act-sat-concordance-tables.pdf[/url]”>http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/act-sat-concordance-tables.pdf</a></p>
<p>why people kept asking this question and never do some research?</p>
<p>YES YES THEY CARE THEY CARE, TAKE SAT AND BE HAPPY</p>
<p>^^ Just in case you thought henry was serious: [6</a> Myths About Standardized Tests - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/test-prep/articles/2011/09/16/6-myths-about-standardized-tests]6”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/test-prep/articles/2011/09/16/6-myths-about-standardized-tests)</p>
<p>"William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard University, states, “We accept ACT and SAT scores on an absolutely equal basis.”</p>
<p>Sometimes, I have to remind myself that some people are either new to the boards or just have some preconceived idea which is stuck in their head and they come to the boards not to get the advice of those who have been around the block a few times but to have whatever idea they have confirmed–and when it is not they keep pressing.</p>
<p>The ACT debate is one of them. I am so tired of it.</p>
<p>What a stupid question, followed by another less typos but obvious question.</p>
<p>I asked this question for a few reasons. I’ve noticed a few trends on the Common Data Set that Harvard publishes each year.</p>
<p>Over the years, it seems that less and less people are submitting the SAT score.
2008-09: 98% submitted SAT
2009-10: 96%
2010-11: 91%
2011-12: 90%</p>
<p>(ACT was at 25% in 2009 and has jumped to 35% in 2012)</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Something out of the ordinary I noticed comes from the 2010-11 data set in which the 75th percentile ACT score is 34 while a comparable SAT score to the 34 is 2265 but the 75th percentile SAT score of that year was 2390? Why is that?</p>
<p>This year was the same.
75th percentile ACT: 35 (comparable SAT score would be 2340)
75th percentile SAT: 2380</p>
<p>Why does this type of pattern occur?</p>
<p>I don’t mean to sound condescending, except a little, but you need to get a life, and to stop trying to find some secret key here where none exists.</p>
<p>One reason for that pattern is that data set does not give SAT scores as an aggregate; it gives separate distributions for each component of the SAT. It’s extremely unlikely that 2390 is the 75th percentile of combined scores for individual students. That is the sum of the 75th percentile for each of the components separately. The aggregate is likely to be 20-30 points lower . . . or just about exactly equivalent to the ACT score, which IS an aggregate.</p>
<p>Another reason is that the SAT has more gradations at the top than the ACT. A 35 ACT isn’t the same as a 2340; it’s the same as anywhere from 2300-2390. Harvard doesn’t care where its applicants fall in that range, and neither should you.</p>
<p>This is such a silly discussion. Harvard barely cares about SATs or ACTs, provided they are above a basic level. Maybe they figure into some kind of composite score they use in the admissions process, but they are about 1% as important as kids on CC seem to think. (The exception is for non-star recruited athletes. Since Ivy League teams essentially have to have a minimum GPA/SAT-or-ACT combination, extra test points could easily be important for marginal athletic recruits.)</p>
<p>Thank you for explaining this. I really appreciate it. I’m not looking for a formula btw.</p>