<p>So you ACT vets, what is the best way to prepare for the ACT? When you get into the testing facilities, what are the best ways to take the test? For those of you who have taken SAT + ACT, how does the test-taking between the two differ?? </p>
<p>Thanks for your (future) input!</p>
<p>i prefer the ACT.. it just works better for me</p>
<p>get a couple of books (kaplan, real ACT book, PR) and do tests out of them</p>
<p>when you get there, just don't get nervous or anything.. just take the test like you take it at home.. relaxed and under control</p>
<p>well, in my opinion, the ACT is much less stressful than the SAT</p>
<p>good god, the ACT math is so much better than the SAT math (trust me, I'm past calculus in school, but the SAT likes to trick you every way they can)</p>
<p>the only bummer about ACT is the science section, which limits you (a lot) on time, so I recommend studying that section more than others</p>
<p>good luck
ex-SAT taker</p>
<p>yeah, ACT math is much better.... 36 ACT math... only 700 SAT math... that's why i like the ACT so much more</p>
<p>I think they are similar. If your in Calculus and you can't ace a simple algebra 2 level test, then you have some issues that you should discuss with your calc teacher. That said, the SAT is a little harder on math. The material on the ACT is far easier than that of the SAT in general. The english section is so much easier on the ACT that with practice you can significantly improve your scores. However, the reading and science are the 2 hardest because of the demanding time limits. You hardly have time to read 4 essays and answer the questions on the reading portion. As for the science protion, if you actually read it all, you will get it all right, but the time will not permit the reading of the articles and the answering of the questions.</p>
<p>The ACT is easier to improve with practice. The material is fairly easy for advanced students, but the timing is what you really have to get down. You have to improve reading speed and working speed. You must learn strategies to save time if you are to do well on the ACT.</p>
<p>I think the SAT writing [english] section is easier than the ACT english section, but I do equally well on both</p>
<p>well, we can debate about each other's hardness all we want.. the tests test us in different ways... different types of questions.. for some, the SAT is better for them; for others, the ACT is.. it's always gonna be like that and it's not going to change.. not to mention an identical amount of people take each test, and the bell curves for each test look very, very similar.. so really, they're the same difficulty in their own respect... SAT is easier on time and harder on material... ACT is easier on material and harder on time.</p>
<p>The ACT has 4 sections (English/Math/Reading/Science) plus an optional writing portion, and the SAT has 10 sections. 10 sections for me is too much to deal with. Also you have no idea what the next section is; they're completely randomly ordered. Also, one of the sections doesn't even count towards your score, it's just used for equating purposes.
The SAT tests more vocab, allows more time for reading but I think it has slightly harder and trickier passages, idk abt math, and the writing section is pretty easy except getting a high essay grade can be hard. In the SAT, the essay counts toward your score out of 2400. In the ACT, it doesn't.</p>
<p>The ACT is very straightforward. It has 4 sections. When you're done with English, no surprise English questions will come up afterwards (unless you take the June test without writing, then it might), which is nice. The last 2 sections are a rush for time, but with practice you can learn that you need to speed read reading and not even read the science passages unless you are totally confused. Being a math/science person, I liked how these sections counted for 1/2 of my composite versus the 1/3 of the SAT. Also the English person is very easy with prep. Just take tons of practice tests.</p>