I will be submitting both but I’m curious.
Look at the Common Data Set for the schools. You’ll see data for both, for the last entering freshman class.
A 33 is about the same as a 1480, but if you look at the 2018 concordance tables, a 33 goes from 1450-1480, with 1460 being the SAT score used if a single scoring point comparison is needed.
A 33 ACT is equal to 1490 to 1510 on the SAT.
Some people say a 33 is a 1450-1480 though. Others say 1490-1510. Which one is right??
It can depend on the school, whether they value more of what you’ve learned, or more of how you think.
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You should google SAT/ACT concordance tables on your own. Here is one.
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/pdf/guide-2018-act-sat-concordance.pdf -
The other thing that may be useful to look at is the breakout of the scores on different sections of the tests. For example if you are applying as a STEM major and did poorly on the science and math parts of the ACT but well on the math part of the SAT then the SAT may be show your skills in a preferable light (especially when the total scores are so close).
the old concordance was 1490-1510. The new one is the one I used and the table that was linked, 1450-1480. That’s why I specifically specified the date of the concordance.
Can you search the percentiles for your test date or at least test year? See which test score puts you in a higher percentile?
If I had to choose, the 33 ACT is slightly better at 99th percentile vs. 97th percentile for 1480 SAT.
Is the 33 99th for this year? I haven’t seen it being 99th for a while. Can you link to that relevant dated source? That would help OP.
One example: NYU’s 2018-19 CDS says the 75th percentile values are 34 and 1510, good agreement with ^.
Re: 99th percentile, according to prepscholar. Assumed it was up to date?
https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/MultipleChoiceStemComposite2017-18.pdf
Unfortunately ACT is a year behind on publishing the percentiles by score.
@socaldad2002 when D19 was looking at applications last year and we compared prepscholar to college websites, it was generally a year and sometimes two out of date! It’s probably fine for a quick overview and rough idea of levels of competitiveness, but not for real drilling into the numbers. I do seem to recall its concordance table was out of date too.
Percentile at a school from a CDS isn’t a good source - nothing says schools need to accept student with equivalent standardized test scores - it’s only one components of an application.
College Board and ACT worked together and published the concordance linked to above. It’s what schools use to equate scores across tests.
A 33 corresponds to a 1460 as a single SAT score. If it was a 33.25, rounded to a 33, then it’s pretty much equal to a 1480.
I’ve found way too many errors on Prepscholar vs data easily accessible on a schools web site. I’ve contacted them many times and they don’t seem very interested in correcting data.
In general, use the concordance tables published by CB and ACT.
However, there may be specific schools which have their own (effective) concordance table, which may vary slightly. The CSUs in California appear to be such schools.