<p>I'm planning to study both, leaning a bit more on the SAT.</p>
<p>Anyone have a knack for one over the other? For ex. 1800 on SAT and 34 on ACT</p>
<p>1820 sat with studying, 30 on act no studying… hoping to break 33 this coming act…</p>
<p>i scored a 1700 SAT and 33 ACT, different tests, test different kinds of intelligences.</p>
<p>personally i think ACT is the most valid test because it actully tests material that a person should know before college. </p>
<p>for example:
English- learn how to identify and in the future write proper and concise english
math- up to precalc, so IMO if you get a 30+ you should be ready for calculus
reading- how to read for “business” not for pleasure which is essential because in college you must learn how to effectively read
science- problem solving </p>
<p>as for the SAT how is having just a strong vocabulary the key to succeeding in college and for the math section it is not relavent to have confusing questions like that. in physics, chem, and engineering the math you need to know is formuated</p>
<p>PM me if you want any more thoughts about the ACT and strategies to score high</p>
<p>I got a 1930 on SATs and a 33 on ACTs, its a pretty big difference
I prefer the ACT because it actually seems to be about what you know rather than asking you trick questions and focusing on minor details
In addition i did absolutely no studying for the ACTs, I had no idea what to expect, but it was fine because they ask much more straightforward questions</p>
<p>My ACT w/o study > My SAT w/o study</p>
<p>Started with 1950 on practice SATs, raised to about 2050 now after a few months. 32 on first ACT practice try. I definitely find the ACT much easier and more straightforward.</p>
<p>I think there are a few factors that separate ACT and SAT scores. While I have scored similarly on both tests (2230 on SAT and 33 on ACT, so I feel I would offer an unbiased view on this) different people prefer a different type of test. Factors that one should consider:</p>
<p>-the fact that the essay makes up a portion of your actual SAT score while it has no affect on your ACT composite (instead creating a different subscore: for example, since I had a 36 on the English and an 11 on the essay, it gave me a 35 writing composite but did not affect my actual ACT score). People should take this into consideration, and this also may be the reason why some people’s SAT/ACT scores are jarringly different.</p>
<p>-the SAT allocates you more time per question than the ACT; this leads one to believe that the ACT is more of a “speed” test. This is more based on the last two sections (Reading/Science) because they only give you 35 minutes to complete 40 questions (and at the same time you have to interpret graphs/read paragraphs). The math and english sections are more “SAT-ish” this is seen through my scores (I scored a 36 and 34 in English & Math, respectively, while scoring a 32 and 30 on Reading & Science respectively).</p>
<p>-the Science section. This one section can either help or hinder you- some people find that it’s the worst section, while others find it as a major boost to their score. I have my worst score in this section and thus dislike it, but I’m sure others have found that it is easy to do and have mastered the art of interpreting graphs and answering questions in a timely manner.</p>
<p>-the fact that the SAT is broken down into more sections (10, including experimental) than the ACT (5, including writing). This leads one to believe that the ACT is also a little more endurance focused as one does not have a little time to relax between each section like the SAT allows (albeit not much when there isn’t a break, but it still provides a small aside). Also, since the SAT is always varying what type of section it is making you take (although sometimes you get multiple sections in a row) this offers more variety and keeps the student more interested.</p>
<p>I believe that it is those 4 factors that really make the difference between one’s SAT and ACT scores. Apparently I wasn’t subject to change from them, but I’m sure others would agree that those reasons listed above probably had the most adverse effects on their scores.</p>
<p>SAT 2170 without studying
ACT 36 without studying</p>
<p>Personally I loved the ACT because it seemed to test general knowledge/intelligence more than the SAT. For example, the ACT Reading section consists mostly of questions based directly from the passage, whereas SAT CR includes many obscure vocabulary words. These words help the scores of those who are able to cram obscene numbers of words into their head, but these words do not really test one’s ability to read.</p>
<p>2390 with lots of studying on the SAT
36 on the ACT without prep…so…I think I like the ACT better haha</p>
<p>The SAT is said to measure more thinking ability, the ACT more what has been learned, so such differences are to be expected.</p>
<p>interestingly, i prefer the SAT… its kind of like a game that i can beat.</p>
<p>ACT with limited prep 36
SAT with massive prep (rip off prep course, 10+ timed tests) 2310</p>
<p>but I took the SAT before so SAT prep did crossapply to ACT somewhat
and i took the ACT about half year after the SAT</p>
<p>SAT measures analytical/reasoning ability. ACT measures how well you’ve learned HS material.</p>
<p>188 on the PSAT (I’ll get my SAT scores tomorrow), 34 on the ACT :)</p>
<p>Both of my scores were about equal when I looked at the conversion chart. However, my SAT was on the lower range of the ACT score, so I did just slightly better on the ACT. </p>
<p>I really enjoyed how the SAT had no science portion.</p>
<p>Here is what I posted with respect to my thoughts on the ACT right after taking it for the first time last month with no preparation (it is required in Illinois):</p>
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<p>Similar to my situation: 2400 on the SAT while being very familiar with the test, and 36 on the ACT with no preparation (I just found out the latter today and was quite shocked).</p>
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<p>Hmm, how much prep synergy is there between SAT and ACT? I think if you prep for one, there is quite a bit of carryover for the other test.</p>
<p>^ There is certainly some overlap, but most of my preparation for the SAT was to get a sense of how the test writers think (especially for CR). In that way, the preparation actually threw me off a bit on the ACT; the tests have very different feels.</p>
<p>On my first actual SAT, I got a 2100. On my first practice ACT with absolutely no prep (today), I got a 35. I hope to mimic this result on June 12th.</p>
<p>For the record, the ACT felt like a joke compared to the SAT. Much less of a mental strain, in my opinion.</p>
<p>OP: You realize your example of a “terrible SAT score” is not terrible at all? An 1800 is generally considered pretty good. </p>
<p>There are many cases of poor scores on one and better on the other. They test you in different ways. The tests require different strategies as well as methods of thinking. There are MANY who have gotten ACT scores disproportionally high to their SAT scores. Some people are not “SAT-friendly” and for good reason, seeing as the SAT is a poor way of judging what one has learned over their school years.</p>
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<p>Indeed, it’s an aptitude test, not an achievement test.</p>
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<p>1800 is insufficient to yield any reasonable chance at a top school.</p>