<p>If you take a review course for the ACT, do you really need to prep differently for the SAT?</p>
<p>Your thread title is interesting 
I would say yes since the SAT tests your knowledge in a different way than the ACT.</p>
<p>Yes. The SAT is a VERY different test; just because you know how to ace the ACT doesn’t mean you will ace the SAT. The essays you write are significantly different as are the questions on the two tests.</p>
<p>I’ve seen people get a 2300, then try for an “easy 36” and get a 31. It’s usually worse the other way around. I’ve literally seen friends go from a 34 to an 1800.</p>
<p>So unless the student is highly motivated to prep for both, he really needs to choose one or the other, right?</p>
<p>Yep. You hit the nail on the head. If you don’t have the motivation to prep for both, go with only one. And if you do good on that one, you are done.</p>
<p>True you only need to prep for one–but people tend to do better on one test or the other. For me, I took a PSAT class (in school), so that’s how I prepped for my SAT, and got a respectable 2110. But, I decided to take the ACT, since my school offered to pay for it. Never looked over a review book, never tried to look at the format/time constraints, and ended up with a 34.</p>
<p>In my opinion, the ACT is much easier to “study” for. All you really have to do is know the tricks–pace yourself, don’t read the graphs on the science part first, etc. So I’d say, prep for the ACT, see how you feel about your score, and if you don’t like it, just attempt the SAT. It can’t hurt you, but it could help.</p>