<p>Well Paul, yes and no. All the ACT sections are a bit easier than the SAT's if you are fast enough. The questions are easy, but you have a pretty small amount of time to do each question. The reading and science section is a little harder because of the time again. You have to read and find the answers quickly to the problems and also understand and comprehend the passage. The science section is very wierd. It really is not what you would call science. The section is more reading comprehension and there is even a lab part, which consists of a lab report which you will have to find the information you need to answer the questions. The writing section is incredibly easy. If you just communicate everyday with friends and other members of the society, you will get a good score in writing. You won't even need to know any grammar or punctuation skills, although it will not harm you to learn them anyways. The math section is ridiculously trivial. As long as you know your formulas and mathematical concepts, you will do great on the math section. From my past experiences, time was the only problem. So remember, quicken your pace, time is key. Well, I hope this reply has answered what you were looking for. Good luck on the ACTs!!! :)</p>
<p>I agree with most of Owen's points, especially with regard to the english section. The english section of the ACT appears to consist mostly of a test of grammar/punctuation/syntax rules which are pretty straightforward. The SAT, however, puts a greater emphasis on attempting to spot subtle errors (which require a fair bit more ingenuity to unravel). </p>
<p>The math section of the ACT I find, however, to be more difficult than the SAT math. The SAT's math section really doesn't test math skills as much as it tests the ability to 'logic' things out. </p>
<p>Best of luck with the ACT, however, many people I know who score poorly on the SAT do quite well on the ACT :)</p>
<p>It really depends on the person.
Personally, I hate the SAT because its tricky and all you have to do to get high scores is pay for a good class and books; its dumb to buy a score!!!
But the ACT is curricula based, the questions are straighforward, and correlate with what you are learning in school.
Also, if you are taking upper level math courses the ACT is extemely advantacious since it has a lot of Alg II and some trig. Reme,ber your calc. though i forgot mine, and i was very discouraged and did terrible.</p>
<p>I've always been a pretty good test taker (haven't really studied...ever), and I thought the SAT would be easy after getting a 210 with a perfect Math score on the PSAT. I had taken the ACT a month earlier, (no prep, I was a little scared about the 75 questions in 45 minutes for the English section) and got:
32 English
31 Math (confused me the most, but I didn't do so well in Algebra/Coord. Geometry)
32 Reading
34 Science (agree, gift from God once you figure out what to do)
10/12 essay
So, 32 Composite, 31 combined English/Writing, which I was pretty happy about.</p>
<p>I took the March SAT with no prep again, and thought it was insanely easy. I actually finished my 5 paragraph essay on time, and had enough time on nearly every section to actually check my answers (something I've never done). I was also on Vicodin, which might have given me a bit of euphoria, but I was still suprised at my results:
640 CR
700 Math (had actually done a fair amount of prep, usually got 1 or 2 wrong per sample test)
610 Wrting, 8/12 essay (and I honestly thought my essay was better than what Orwell could have written about the topic)</p>
<p>So, 1950 SAT (on Vicodin) vs. 32 ACT. Thankfully, my counselor highly recommended we take both and see what works better for us. Every college that takes the SAT will also take the ACT, so there's nothing to lose. I think others have said it as well, but the SAT is a reasoning test, and the ACT tests if you know the material. The SAT tries to trick you, the ACT doesn't even punish for guessing.</p>
<p>personally i find ACT's English section with better score that SAT's writing section. Reading section? Well, I find ACT's reading section easier than SAT's CR, but I never run out of time on SAT's CR, so it's so-so draw. Math: Definitely ACT. MUCH EASIER!!</p>
<p>As for the Sci section, you just need to get used to them and keep the pace.</p>
<p>one thing I hate about SAT's - guessing penalty</p>
<p>overall, I'd choose ACT</p>
<p>I haven't taken the ACT, but I have done a few official tests from the book and online course.</p>
<p>It's much, much easier than the SAT, I think.The only problem I found with the reading section was that it's far too literal, even when a bit of interpretation can lead to what I think is a better answer. :I</p>
<p>it seems like there has been a lot of differing views on the math section of the act vs. sat...here's what i think. if you're the kind of person that has taken the highest level of math classes, then the act should be easier by virtue of the fact that you've been exposed to it all and it doesn't test topics too deeply, just whether you can do it. sat math, however, is for the kind of people who can solve problems given the bare minimum information (e.g. a very high level of critical thinking). the comparison is like the calculus ab exam vs. amc because calc ab just mostly tests whether you know it and amc wants to know how well you can solve very difficult problems with a relative small actual knowledge base. so for the usual high achievers (people who have earned good math grades by brilliance and not so much hard work) the easier one should be the act since, again, it doesn't test how much of a critical thinker you are. </p>
<p>and just for fun here's my comparison:</p>
<p>sat: 710 cr, 730 w, 740 m
(shut up, i know they're low. i'm not really sure what happened)</p>
<p>act: 35 e, 34 m, 33 r, 36 s, 35 c, 32 e/w</p>
<p>I’m convinced that the ACT is quite a bit easier. First of all, as has been mentioned before, the ACT is much more straightforward than the SAT, as it won’t try to trick you with questions. Further, there is not nearly as much competition in the ACT, as it is more popular with low-tier students and in areas with poor academic standards. The SAT on the other hand has more students applying to Ivies taking it. I live in the midwest and here only kids with really solid academic records take the SAT, whereas everyone takes the ACT. The only thing to watchout for on the ACT is the time limit, but if you can deal with that its an easy test. </p>
<p>My Comparison:
ACT: 35 E, 36 M, 34 R, 36 S. Composite: 35
SAT: 730 CR, 790 M, 780 W</p>
<p>I also get the impression that Ivies and Like-Ivy schools, while they will accept the ACT, prefer the SAT. Anyone have any ideas on this?</p>
<p>Rather than make an unequivocal judgment of which is easier, I’ll say you just have to try them and find your strengths. I don’t think either of them would be that bad if you study, but I personally prefer the ACT. I think it’s much more “teachable.” My scores were 34 and 2300 first time, respectively, and 36 ACT second time (won’t retake SAT) I studied about 15 hours before the first ACT, about an hour for the SAT, and took one practice test before the second ACT. Here’s my analysis:</p>
<p>SAT tests more inherent knowledge. It’s all on the test for the ACT…
I didn’t miss a question both times on ACT English. Take practice tests and look at the kinds of questions… they’re all grammar rules or easy style questions and it’s usually really easy to figure them out. SAT writing I missed 1 I don’t know what I did but I think it’s slightly more difficult because of the way the “no error” questions are designed.</p>
<p>I got 800 SAT math vs. 35 ACT math (twice)… SAT math is pretty easy but you have to be super careful… I caught a couple of questions that I almost got tricked on. Both times on the ACT there was a ridiculous question at the end that I missed. If you get through the easy ones really quickly, and can spend a few minutes on a couple at the end, you’ll be in good shape.</p>
<p>SAT Critical Reading - If you have a strong vocab you should do well here. However, a lot of them are not necessarily tough words but tertiary definitions. I missed an easy and a medium question on the passages, so I guess you just have to be really careful (more than I was at least).</p>
<p>ACT reading - you just have to be careful about pacing, all the questions are really easy. Practice tests help, and understand how the ACT likes to ask questions.</p>
<p>To me, the ACT science is the wild card. Nothing like it is tested on the SAT. I thought it was a horrible section, and I know a ton of kids who feel the same way. However, as some posters have said on this board, they find it easy. All the questions tend to be easy, but you have to work extremely quickly and not be overwhelmed by all the information presented.</p>
<p>One other thought, except for math ACT has 4 answer choices, SAT has 5, and you can guess for free on the ACT.</p>
<p>All in all, if you can work quickly and keep focus, the ACT’s probably better for you. On the SAT everybody gets done early but there are some trickier questions.</p>
<p>I personally like the SAT more than ACT…</p>
<p>I scored 28 on the ACT</p>
<p>English-28
Math-36
Reading-21
Science-29</p>
<p>I find ACT’s Reading EXTREMELY difficult to master…</p>
<p>On the other hand,</p>
<p>I received a score of 2080 on the SAT</p>
<p>Writing-700
Math-790
Critical Reading-590</p>
<p>so yeah… lol</p>
<p>Which one do I prefer? I like the SAT better (I think it is MUCH easier… I’m a concept kind of girl, not a fact-based kind of girl), but I think the ACT is a better test. They both have their merits. ACT has that darn science section going for it, though. Being able to understand charts, graphs, arguments, and foreign concepts in science on that level is very important. I just suck.</p>
<p>Full disclosure:
SAT: 2250 (780W, 750CR, 720 M)
ACT: 31 (33M, 33R, 32E, 26S)</p>
<p>“If you pause for a minute, especially in reading and science, you’re dead meat. On the SAT, you’re usually given more than a minute a question, so if you zone out, it’s still bad, but not as bad.”</p>
<p>i second this. personally, i think we get no where near enough time for the science/reading sections [well, specifically, science].</p>
<p>“The Sci. section is a gift from God!”
more like a gift from the devil…</p>
<p>“The math section is a lot tougher than the SAT math.”
i actually disagree with this. i’m pretty bad at math. 690-SAT/32-ACT. i thought the curve for the act’s section was pretty generous. some one else said ‘more stupid people take the act’. lol, it was put bluntly, but it would explain the good curve.</p>
<p>for kicks:
SAT-2020 [M-690/CR-640/W-690 (wth, i’m a grammar freak…)]
ACT-30 [M-32/R-26 (ran out of time)/E-34/S-26 (got stuck on once problem…& then ran out of time)]</p>
<p>i’m submitting both, i guess, haha.</p>