<p>...then how can schools (west/east cost) possibly value it equally with the SAT?? I just don't see it. There are a lot of kids who score 30+ but can't break 1900. I see the ACT as a test for people who weren't smart enough to score well on the SAT. Call me biased but has anybody ever said "Well I scored 1700 on my SAT but got into _____ because of my high ACT score!" </p>
<p>Come on...</p>
<p>To be fair, it is a different test. I have gotten a 2110 on the SAT and cannot break a 28 on the ACT. They are just different, at least for me.</p>
<p>Well, with all respect, the ACT is not “easier” than the SAT. They are 2 completely different tests that measure two completely different things.</p>
<p>This is a misconception. The ACT is NOT “easier”. I could argue about this for days.</p>
<p>Well, okay, the ACT is not “easier” per-say, BUT students generally score better on it. Maybe because it seems shorter because it only has 4 sections, or maybe because it doesn’t have dreaded SAT vocab on it. I, however, did better on the SAT. The ACT just doesn’t work for me.</p>
<p>“2 different tests,” fine. And though schools accept both out of obligation, there’s still gotta be a stigma against the ACT. A top West Coast school gets sent only an ACT score by an applicant among thousands of applicants with SAT scores, the admissions officer’s probably gotta wonder what happened to his/her SAT score, and in a worst case scenario, tacitly assume he/she couldn’t take the heat of the SAT…</p>
<p>So has anybody gotten into their top/dream college after flunking the SAT but being saved by the ACT?</p>
<p>I find that the ACT has a smaller gap for improvement. While my first SAT was about 1600-1700ish, my first ACT was about the SAT equivilent of 1900-2000. </p>
<p>After tons of prep on both sides, my SAT is 2250+ and my ACT is stuck at around 32-34</p>
<p>The act has a much different curve than the sat. A score of 33+ is equal to the score of a 2250+ on SAT. As another point, if the ACT is so east, why do only about 650 people a year get a perfect 36 while thousands get 2400 sat? Answer that and then we have an argument</p>
<p>^I believe only about 200-300 people get a 2400 each year</p>
<p>The ACT is definitely different. For me, it works. I just liked the way its set up better. My SAT score was about 1700 (first time, minimal prep), but I didnt finished about a quarter of the questions. Some sections I had 5 minutes left over, some I had to scribble in 5 answers. My ACT was the equivalent of a 1900-2000 (I was halfway done with trig when I took it), but I really think that was because I had it all in one stretch. That’s just me, but I thinks its like that for a lot of kids.</p>
<p>@EsotericalApp</p>
<p>waaaaaaay more people get a perfect score on the ACT. Only 200 - 300 get a perfect score on the SAT.</p>
<p>It’s a different test. I don’t think a higher percentage of people do “better” on the ACT than SAT. Yes, there is a higher percentage of perfects on the ACT. But ACT is not saying a 36 means you’ve achieved a 2400. The 36 is an average of the 4 sections. Just because more people get 36’s than 2400’s doesn’t mean the ACT is easier. A 36 is a range of 2380-2400. </p>
<p>Neither test is “easier”. The are both curved based on percentages and comparing 36 to 2400 is not a good comparison.</p>
<p>
Because a [36, 36, 35, 35] or a [36, 36, 36, 34] constitutes a 36. One can fathomably miss 3-4 questions on the whole test and still score a perfect score, whereas on the SAT one must really score a perfect score to get a… perfect score.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth I found my CRM score to well above my ACT, using official concordance tables.</p>
<p>The explanation for all of these discrepancies is very simple. Different people excel on different tests. End of story.</p>
<p>My point in all this is that the ACT can’t possibly be a strong indicator for schools if most kids can pick it up without studying and perform better than on the SAT. Now, you say that some people do worse on the ACT. How worse? And it is as much of a point difference as the people who did better on the ACT? Does it happen as frequently as the people who did better on the ACT? I’m guessing no and no. </p>
<p>I read a thread on here from a long time ago from an upset guy whose mom said only dumbasses take the ACT. I think that’s a little harsh but I’m thinking mom had a point. I’m not convinced top west and east coast universities weigh these exams equally.</p>
<p>Denizen-How can you answer no to those questions? What proof do you have? What you see here on CC is but a microcosm compared to the whole population of test-takers. </p>
<p>And it’s not like schools will say “oh if they have a 35 or the SAT equivalent” they’re in. OBVIOUSLY, they take into account how often scores show up. If everyone got a 34 for instance, it’s not like they would all be qualified.</p>
<p>ACT is definitely just as good an indicator as SAT. Most kids CAN’T “pick it up without studying and perform better than on SAT”. I don’t knwo where you are getting your information, but you are completely undermining the accomplishments of many students out there who have utilized the ACT. All those rhetorical questions you pose…where are you getting your information? Don’t ridicule the ACT just because the SAT is slightly more well-known.</p>
<p>Well… here we go:</p>
<p>The SAT is a test of aptitude. It’s all about how you think through the test and its questions. So, are you saying, that even though a person has straight A’s in high school and studies really hard, but is incapable of out-of-the-box thinking, that said person would then have no right to go to an east coast school? I think not. However, the SAT has been around much longer than the ACT, and is thus considered more reputable and is more widely known.</p>
<p>I think when you approach the top, it gets harder to match ACT with SAT scores. It’s probably a lot harder to get a 35 on the ACT than a 2340 on the SAT. I got a 2380 on the SAT but I got a 33 on the ACT =</p>
<p>The SAT has more room for mess-ups. You can miss like one or two questions on the reading section and still pull an 800, whereas if you miss one question on the ACT you instantly drop to a 35.</p>
<p>Yes, but as I said you can still miss points on the ACT and get a 36 because it’s rounded. Also, on the math section you might occasionally be able to miss a point and still keep a 36.</p>
<p>2manyvideogames-I agree completely. Science -1 might mean a 33 on some tests. Each question wrong will drop your score in that section almost an equivalent of anywhere from 10-30 SAT points. As you go down lower, it usually is just minus 10 SAT points.</p>
<p>Thsi just shows that each test is different and it’s not good nor effective to compare the tests and claim one’s superiority over the other. They are both very valuable for adcoms and I am sure that one is not held with greater weight than the other.</p>